List of people known as The Great
This is an incomplete list of people known as "The Great". There are many people in history whose names are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great" or the equivalent in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively and Maha in the devanagari script (Hindi script) as in Mahatma Gandhi.
In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.[1] The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great". The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).
Later rulers and commanders used the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, such as the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.
As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "the Great" in his lifetime, but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "the Great". German Emperor Wilhelm I was often called "the Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.
Rulers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629) | Shah of Iran |
| Afonso de Albuquerque (c. 1453-1515) | Portuguese general, statesman and empire builder |
| Akbar (1542–1605) | Indian Mughal Emperor |
| Alain I of Albret (1440–1522) | French aristocrat |
| Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446) | King of Georgia |
| Alexander III of Macedonia (356 BC-323BC) | King of Macedonia and Persia. Pharaoh of Egypt. |
| Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910) | King of León, Galicia and Asturias |
| Alfred the Great (848/849-899) | King of Wessex, England |
| Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC) | ruler of the Seleucid Empire |
| Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC) | Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty |
| Ashot I of Iberia (died 826/830) | presiding prince of Caucasian Iberia (in modern Georgia) |
| Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538) | ruler of the Songhai Empire |
| Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025) | first King of Poland |
| Bruno the Great (925–965) | Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section) |
| Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035) | King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden |
| Casimir III the Great (1310–1370) | King of Poland |
| Catherine the Great (1729–1796) | Empress of Russia |
| Chandragupta Maurya (reigned 340 BC - 298 BC) | Founder of the Mauryan Empire and first emperor to unify most of Greater India into one state |
| Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415) | ruler of the Gupta empire in India |
| Charlemagne (died 814) ("Charles the Great") |
King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans |
| Chlothar II (584-629) | King of Neustria and King of the Franks |
| Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157) | Margrave of Meissen |
| Constantine I (c. 272-337) | Roman emperor |
| Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC) | founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire |
| Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC) | third ruler of the Persian Empire |
| Devapala (died 850) | ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent |
| Eucratides I (reigned c. 170–145 BC) | ruler of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom |
| Farrukhan the Great | Ruler of the Dabuyid dynasty |
| Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065) | King of León and Count of Castile |
| Frederick the Great (1712–1786) | King of Prussia |
| Genghis Khan (1162-1227) | founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire |
| Gerhard III (c. 1292-1340) | German prince who ruled Schauenburg and Holstein-Rendsburg and for a while a large part of Denmark |
| Gero (c. 900–965) | ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe |
| Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632) | King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader |
| Gwanggaeto the Great | King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea[3][4] |
| Hanno the Great | the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC |
| Han Wudi (156 BC-87 BCE) | Emperor of Han China, from whose reign dynasty the Chinese majority people be named |
| Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002) | Duke of Burgundy |
| Henry IV of France (1553–1610) | King of France and King of Navarre |
| Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC) | King of Judea |
| Hugh the Great (898-956) | Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris |
| Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025) | co-King of France |
| Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101) | Count of Vermandois |
| Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123) | Anglo-Norman aristocrat |
| Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505) | Grand Prince of Moscow |
| John I of Portugal (1358–1433) | King of Portugal and the Algarve |
| John II of Aragon (1398–1479) | King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre |
| Justinian I (483-565) | Byzantine Emperor |
| Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819) | first King of Hawai'i |
| Kangxi Emperor (1654-1722) | Emperor of Qing China |
| Kanishka (died c. 127) | ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India |
| Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029) | King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia |
| Kublai Khan (1215–1294) | Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty |
| Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240) | Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales |
| Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382) | King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland |
| Mangrai the Great (1238–1317) | Lanna, northern Thailand |
| Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418) | ruler of Wallachia |
| Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC) | ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran) |
| Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC) | ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom |
| Mubarak the Great (1840–1915) | ruler of Kuwait |
| Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132) | Grand Prince of Kievan Rus' |
| Naresuan (1590-1605) | King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (now Thailand) |
| Sihanouk (1922-2012) | Great King of Cambodia |
| Odo the Great (died c. 735) | Duke of Aquitaine |
| Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973) | Holy Roman Emperor |
| K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683) | ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque |
| Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186) | King of Sri Lanka |
| Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075) | King of Croatia |
| Peter the Great (1672–1725) | Tsar of Russia |
| Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285) | King of Aragon and King of Sicily |
| Pompey (106-48 BCE) | rival of Julius Caesar in the late Roman Republic |
| Qin Shi Huang (259 BC-210 BC) | First emperor of China, who unified China from Warring States |
| Radama I (1793–1828) | first king of greater Madagascar |
| Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014) | Chola emperor of Tamil Nadu.[5][6][7] |
| Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044) | Chola King of Tamil Nadu |
| Rama I (1782 – 1809) | King of Siam (now Thailand) |
| Rama V (1853–1910) | King of Siam (now Thailand) |
| Rama IX (1946–Present) | King of Thailand |
| Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC) | Pharaoh of Egypt known for his temples, monuments, and military feats. |
| Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298) | King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand) |
| Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131) | Count of Barcelona, Provence and various other counties |
| Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878) | King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales) |
| Robert I, Count of Dreux | Count of Dreux |
| Roman the Great (after 1160-1205) | Grand Prince of Kiev |
| Samudragupta (c. 335–375) | ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent |
| Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035) | King of Kingdom of Navarre |
| Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC) | ruler of the Akkadian Empire |
| Sejong the Great (1397–1450) | Korean king[8] |
| Shapur II (309-379) | king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia |
| Shivaji (1627-1680) | Indian warrior king Maratha Empire, India |
| Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927) | ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire |
| The Great Stanley (1607-1651) | Lord of Mann (1627–1651) |
| Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504) | Prince of Moldavia (Romania) |
| Stephen Uroš I of Serbia (c. 1223–1277) | King of Serbia (1243–1276) |
| Sultan Agung of Mataram (1593-1645) | King of Mataram Sultanate in Java |
| Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355) | King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks (r. 1331-1355) |
| Taksin (1734–1782) | King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand) |
| Tamar of Georgia (1160–1223) | Queen of the Georgian Empire |
| Tang Taizong (598-649) | Emperor of Tang China |
| Timur (1336–1405) | better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty |
| Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151) | Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie |
| Theodoric the Great (454-526) | King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire |
| Theodosius I (347-395) | Roman emperor |
| Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC) | Emperor of Armenia |
| Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339) | King of Armenia |
| Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182) | King of Denmark |
| Valentinian I (364-375) | Roman Emperor |
| Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015) | ruler of Kievan Rus' |
| Vytautas (c. 1350-1430) | archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy |
| Washington (1732-1799) | Founding Father of United States |
| William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087) | Count of Burgandy and Mâcon |
| William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030) | Duke of Aquitaine,also Count of Poitou |
| Xerxes I (519-465 BC) | King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia) |
| Yongle Emperor (1360-1424) | Emperor of Ming China |
| Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC) | legendary ruler in ancient China |
| Yuknoom Ch'een II (c. 600-680s) | King of Calakmul |
Religious figures
- Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
- Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366), hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
- Rebbe Aaron HaGadol (The Great) of Karlin (1736–1772), Hasidic rabbi and founder of Karlin (Hasidic dynasty)
- Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
- Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
- Arsenius the Great (354-445), a Roman anchorite saint in Egypt
- Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
- Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
- Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
- Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
- Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
- Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
- Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi in Israel
- Joannicius the Great (752-846), Byzantine hermit, theologian and saint
- Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
- Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
- Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
- Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
- Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
- William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites
Other
- Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh mythology and literature
- Matteo Rosso the Great (1178–1246), a Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
- Melias, distinguished 10th-century Byzantine general of Armenian origin, called "Mleh the Great" in Armenian sources
- Prokop the Great, a Hussite general in Bohemia
See also
- Mao Zedong, leader of communist China called the "Great Helmsman"
- Mohandas Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah, honourably called "Quaid-e-Azam", which means "The Great Leader" in Urdu
- Muhammad Ali, boxing champion nicknamed "the Greatest"
- Wayne Gretzky, hockey player known by the nickname "The Great One"
- The Great Khali, a Rajput wrestler from India, former WWE world champion
- The Great Gatsby, a 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gonzo (also known as "Gonzo the Great"), one of the main characters of The Muppets
- List of monarchs by nickname
- List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility
Notes
- ↑ In a clay cylinder (online). The expression was used in a propagandistic context: the conqueror wants to show he is a normal Babylonian ruler. The first Persian ruler to use the title in an Iranian context was Darius I of Persia (Darius the Great), in the Behistun Inscription (online).
- ↑ Plautus, Mostellaria 775.
- ↑ World and Its Peoples:Korea. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. September 2008. p. 887. ISBN 0-7614-7631-8.
- ↑ Alison Behnke (2004). North Korea in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 70. ISBN 0-8225-1908-9.
- ↑ Sarkar, Benoy Kumar (December 1919). "An English History of India". Political Science Quarterly 34 (4): 644–653. doi:10.2307/2142032. JSTOR 2142032.
The finances of the state were not more centralized under Louis XIV than under Rajaraja the Great.
- ↑ "Heaven sent: Michael Wood explores the art of the Chola dynasty". Royal Academy, UK. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
- ↑ "The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great". Sify.com. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
- ↑ Christoph Bluth; Gareth Schott (2007). Korea. Polity. p. 10. ISBN 0-7456-3356-0.
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