This is a list of people known as the Great, or the equivalent, in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''e Bozorg'' and
''e Azam''.
In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have been a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". It was first used by
Cyrus II
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, wikt:𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the History of Iran, first Persian empire.#refachaemenids-EI, Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty ...
of Persia.
[In a clay ]cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
online
). 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
. The title was inherited by
Alexander III when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the
epithet eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference to this is in a comedy by
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
,
[Plautus, ''Mostellaria'' 775.] in which it is assumed that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no evidence that he was called "the Great" before this. The early
Seleucid
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for
Antiochus the Great
Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...
. Once the term gained currency, it was broadened to include persons in other fields, such as the philosopher
Albert the Great
Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...
.
Later rulers and commanders were given the epithet during their lifetime, for example, the Roman general
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
. Others received the title posthumously, such as the Indian emperor
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
. As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of the designation varies greatly. For example,
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
was often referred to as "the Great" in his lifetime, but is rarely called such nowadays, later writers preferring his more specific epithet "the Sun King". German Emperor
Wilhelm I
William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the ...
was often called "the Great" in the time of his grandson
Wilhelm II
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United)
, signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
, but rarely before or after.
Monarchs
Aristocrats
Military
Religious figures
Christian
Jewish
Legendary and mythological figures
See also
*
List of monarchs by nickname
This is a list of monarchs (and other royalty and nobility) sorted by nickname.
This list is divided into two parts:
* Cognomens: Also called ''cognomina''. These are names which are appended before or after the person's name, like the '' epithe ...
*
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, KG (31 January 160715 October 1651) was an English nobleman, politician, and supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Before inheriting the title in 1642 he was known as Lord Strange. He was ...
(1607–1651), "Yn Stanlagh Mooar" ("the Great Stanley"), also Lord of Mann
*
Bantul the Great
Batul, Bantul, Batul the Great, or Bantul the Great ( bn, বাঁটুল দি গ্রেট) is a popular Bengali comic strip character created by Narayan Debnath. It was inspired by the famous comics character Desperate Dan drawn by Dud ...
, a Bengali comic strip character
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great, List Of People Known As The
Lists of people by epithet