List of people known as the Great


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 e Bozorg and Hindustani 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 of Persia. 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, 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 kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus III. Once the term gained currency, it was broadened to include persons in other fields, such as the philosopher Albert.
Later rulers and commanders were given the epithet during their lifetime, for example, the Roman general Pompey. Others received the title posthumously, such as the Indian emperor Ashoka. As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of the designation varies greatly. For example, Louis XIV of France 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 was often called "the Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely before or after.

Monarchs

NameDescriptionDates
Abbas IShah of Iran
Abgar VIIIKing of Osroene
AkbarMughal emperor of India
Alan IDuke of Brittany
Alexander IKing of Georgia
Alexander IIIBasileus of Macedonia and King of Kings of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt
Alfonso IIIKing of León, Galicia and Asturias
AlfredKing of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxons
Ali Sher KhanSultan of Baltiyul1595 – 1633
Amenhotep IIIPharaoh of Egypt – or –
Antiochus IIIRuler of the Seleucid Empire
AshokaMauryan ruler of India and "Emperor of Emperors"
Ashot IKing of Armenia
Ashot IBagratid king of Georgia – or
Askia Mohammad IRuler of the Songhai Empire
Bagrat VKing of Georgia
Barnim IIIDuke of Stettin Pomerania
BerengariaQueen of Castile and Toledo
Bhillama IKing of Seuna dynasty of India
Bogusław VDuke of Wolgast and Słupsk
Bolesław IKing of Poland
Borommaracha IVKing of the Thonburi Kingdom
Casimir IIIKing of Poland
Catherine IIEmpress of Russia
CharlemagneKing of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
Constantine IRoman emperor
CnutKing of England, Denmark and Norway
Cyrus IIShahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire
Darius IShahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire
Eucratides IRuler of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom
Ewuare IOba of the Benin Empire
FarrukhanIspahbadh of Tabaristan
Ferdinand IKing of León and Count of Castile
Frederick IIKing of Prussia
GwrganKing of Ergyng
Gustav IIKing of Sweden
GwanggaetoKing of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Henry IVKing of France and King of Navarre
Herod IKing of Judea – or –
Hugh IIIKing of Cyprus and Jerusalem
HughCo-King of France
InalSupreme Prince of Circassia
Ivan IIIGrand Prince of Moscow and All Russia
Iyasu IEmperor of Ethiopia
John IIKing of Aragon and King of Navarre
Justinian IByzantine Emperor
Kamehameha IKing of Hawaii
Kanishka IEmperor of Kushan Empire
Kvirike IIIKing of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
Leo IRoman emperor
LlywelynKing of Gwynedd
Louis IKing of Hungary, Croatia, and Poland
Louis XIVKing of France and Navarre
Manuel IByzantine emperor
Marianus IVJudge of Arborea
Michael Krešimir IIKing of Croatia
Miloš IPrince of Serbia1817 – 1839, –
MirceaVoivode of Wallachia –, –
Mithridates IKing of Parthia
Mithridates IIKing of Parthia
Mithridates VIKing of Pontus
MubarakRuler of Kuwait
Mstislav IGrand Prince of Kiev
Nebuchadnezzar IIKing of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
Otto IHoly Roman Emperor
Kʼinich Janaab Pakal IRuler of the Maya city-state of Palenque
Parakramabahu IKing of Polonnaruwa
Peter ITsar of Russia
Peter IIIKing of Aragon and King of Sicily
Pharasmanes IKing of Iberia
Radama IKing of greater Madagascar
Radu IVVoivode of Wallachia
Rajendra IImperial Chola Emperor of Tamilakam-
Rama IKing of Siam
Rama IVKing of Siam
Rama IXKing of Thailand
Ramathibodi IIIKing of Ayutthaya
Rama VKing of Siam
Ramesses IIPharaoh of Egypt
Ram KhamhaengKing of Sukhothai
Reza ShahShah of Iran
RhodriKing of Gwynedd
RomanGrand Prince of Kiev
Sancho IIIKing of Navarre
Sanphet IIKing of Ayutthaya
SargonRuler of the Akkadian Empire
SejongKing of Joseon
Shadab KhanKing of Chibhal, Governor of Kashmir and Kandahar1463 – 1568
Shapur IIShahanshah of Persia, Sassanid Empire
Simeon ITsar of Bulgaria
Simon IKing of Kartli –, –
Solomon IKing of Imereti –, –
Sonni AliRuler of the Songhai Empire
Stefan Uroš IKing of Serbia
Stephen IIIPrince of Moldavia
Svatopluk IKing of Moravia
TamarQueen of the Georgian Empire
TheodericKing of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
Theodosius IRoman emperor
Thoros IILord of Armenian Cilicia or –
Thutmose IIIPharaoh of Egypt
Tigranes IIEmperor of Armenia
Tiridates IIIKing of Armenia
Valdemar IKing of Denmark
Valentinian IRoman emperor
Vigraharaja IVKing of Chauhan Dynasty of India
Vladimir IPrince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev
VytautasGrand Duke of Lithuania
Xerxes IShahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire
Yuknoom Ch'een IIMaya king of Kaan
ZayedRuler of Abu Dhabi
Zayn al-AbidinSultan of Kashmir –, –

Aristocrats

NameDescriptionDates
Alain IFrench aristocrat
Amadeus VCount of Savoy
Arnulf ICount of Flanders
Atenulf IPrince of Capua? – c.
Bogislaw XDuke of Pomerania
BrunoArchbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia
Charles Emmanuel IDuke of Savoy
Charles IIIDuke of Lorraine
Conrad IMargrave of Meissen
David IIIPrince of Tao
Frederick IIDuke of Legnica, Brzeg, Wołów, Głogów, and Ziębice -
Frederick WilliamDuke of Prussia -
Gerhard IIIGerman prince
Gero IRuler of Marca Geronis
Godfrey ICount of Brussels and Leuven; Duke of Lower Lorraine; Langrave of Brabant
Gothelo IDuke of Lorraine; count of Verdun; and margrave of Antwerp
Gurgen IIPrince of Tao
Hanno ICarthaginian politician and military leader4th century BC
Hanno IICarthaginian aristocrat, general, and politician3rd century BC
Hanno IIICarthaginian politician2nd century BC
Henry IDuke of Burgundy
Henry VCount of Luxembourg
HughCount of Paris and Duke of the Franks
HughCount of Vermandois
HughMargrave of Tuscany/ –
Humphrey IAnglo-Norman aristocrat? –
IntefNomarch of Thebes? – c.
Matthew IILord of Montmorency
Maximilian IRuler of Bavaria
Milo ILord of Montlhéry
OdoDuke of Aquitaine? –
PompeyMilitary and political leader of Roman Republic
Ralph IVCount of Valois, Bar, Vexin, Vitry, Amiens, Montdidier and Tardenois
Ramon Berenguer IIICount of Barcelona, Provence, and various other counties
Robert ICount of Dreux
Roger-Bernard IICount of Foix
RogerEarl of Shrewsbury and Arundel? –
Roger ICount of Sicilyc. –
Świętopełk IIDuke of Gdańsk Pomerania? –
Theobald IICount of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
William ICount of Burgundy and Mâcon
William VDuke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou

Military

NameDescriptionDates
AfonsoPortuguese general, statesman and empire builder
MeliasByzantine general of Armenian origin
ProkopHussite general in Bohemia

Religious figures

Christian

NameDescriptionDates
AbrahamMonk and saint of the Church of the East
AlbertusMedieval German philosopher and theologian/ –
AnthonyEarly Christian saint of Egypt
ArseniusRoman anchorite saint in Egypt
AthanasiusEarly Christian saint and bishop of Alexandria
BabaiAssyrian church leader
BasilGreek bishop and theologian
BertinFrankish Abbot of a namesake monastery
Dioscorus ICoptic Orthodox Church pope? –
EuthymiusAbbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
GertrudeGerman Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
Gregory IRoman Catholic pope
HilarionAncient Roman anchorite and Orthodox and Roman Catholic saint
HughAbbot of Cluny
IsaacArmenian Catholicos-
JamesOne of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
JoanniciusByzantine hermit, theologian and saint
Leo IRoman Catholic pope or –
MacariusEgyptian hermit
MichaelPatriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church
Nerses IArmenian Catholicos? –
Nicholas IRoman Catholic pope
Photius IEastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
ShenouteOriental Orthodox saint and abbot of the White Monastery
SisoesAn early desert father, a solitary monk pursuing asceticism in the Egyptian desert in a cave of Anthony the Great? –
WilliamFounder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites? -

Jewish

NameDescriptionDates
Aharon IHasidic rabbi
EliezerRabbi in Judea1st century
HiyyaRabbi in Judea