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 –, –