List of people known as the Great

thumb|347x347px|[[Cyrus II of Persia, first to use the title of "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 and Hindustani .

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have been a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King" (King of Kings, Shahanshah). 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 Albertus.

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

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!Dates

!class="unsortable|

| Abbas I

| Shah of Iran

| –

| Abgar VIII

| King of Osroene

| –

| Akbar

| Emperor of Mughal

| –

| Alan I

| Duke of Brittany

| –

| Alexander I

| King of Georgia

| –

| Alexander III

| King of Macedon

| –

| Alfonso III

| King of León, Galicia and Asturias

| –

| Alfred

| King of Wessex

| –

| Amenhotep III

| Pharaoh of Egypt

| – or –

|Ali

|King of Songhai

| –

| Antiochus III

| King of the Seleucid Empire

| –

| Ashoka

| Emperor of Maurya

| –

| Ashot I

| King of Armenia

| –

| Ashot I

| King of Iberia

| – or

| Bagrat V

| King of Georgia

| –

| Berengaria

| Queen of Castile and Toledo

| –

| Bhillama I

| King of Seuna

| –

| Bolesław I

| King of Poland

| –

| Borommaracha IV

| King of Thonburi

| –

| Casimir III

| King of Poland

| –

| Catherine II

| Empress of Russia

| –

| Charles I

| King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

| –

|Chʼeen II

|King of Kaan

| –

| Cnut

| King of England, Denmark and Norway

| –

| Constantine I

| Emperor of Rome

| –

| Cyrus II

| Shahanshah of the Achaemenid Empire

| –

| Darius I

| Shahanshah of the Achaemenid Empire

| –

| Eucratides I

| King of Bactria and Yavana

| –

| Ewuare I

| King of Benin

| –

| Farrukhan

| Chief of Tabaristan

| –

| Ferdinand I

| King of León and Count of Castile

| –

| Frederick II

| King of Prussia

| –

| Gustav II

| King of Sweden

| –

| Gwanggaeto

| King of Goguryeo

| –

| Gwrgan

| King of Ergyng

| –

| Henry IV

| King of France and Navarre

| –

| Herod I

| King of Judea

| – or –

| Hugh

| Co-king of France

| –

| Hugh III

| King of Cyprus and Jerusalem

| –

| Inal

| Supreme Prince of Circassia

| –

| Ivan III

| Grand Prince of Moscow and All-Russia

| –

| Iyasu I

| Emperor of Ethiopia

| –

| John II

| King of Aragon and Navarre

| –

| Justinian I

| Emperor of Eastern Rome

| –

| Kamehameha I

| King of Hawaii

| –

| Kanishka I

| Emperor of Kushan

| –

| Krešimir II

| King of Croatia

| –

| Kvirike III

| King of Kakheti-Hereti

| –

| Leo I

| Emperor of Eastern Rome

| –

| Llywelyn

| King of Gwynedd

| –

| Louis I

| King of Hungary, Croatia, and Poland

| –

| Louis XIV

| King of France and Navarre

| –

| Misost II

| Grand Prince of Kabardia

| –

| Mardavij

| King of the Ziyarids

| –

| Marianus IV

| Judge of Arborea

| –

| Miloš I

| Prince of Serbia

| 1817 – 1839, –

| Mircea

| Prince of Wallachia

| – , –

| Mithridates I

| King of the Parthian Empire

| –

| Mithridates II

| King of the Parthian Empire

| –

| Mithridates VI Eupator

| King of Pontus

| –

| Mstislav I

| Grand Prince of Kiev

| –

| Mubarak

| Sheikh of Kuwait

| –

|Muhammad I

|King of Songhai

| –

| Nebuchadnezzar II

| King of Babylon

| –

| Otto I

| Emperor of the Romans

| –

| Pakal I

| King of Palenque

| –

| Parakramabahu I

| King of Polonnaruwa

| –

| Peter I

| Emperor of Russia

| –

| Peter III

| King of Aragon and Sicily

| –

| Pharasmanes I

| King of Iberia

| –

| Radama I

| King of Madagascar

| –

| Radu IV

| Prince of Wallachia

| –

| Rajendra I

| Emperor of Chola

| –

| Rama I

| King of Siam

| –

| Rama IV

| King of Siam

| –

| Rama IX

| King of Thailand

| –

| Rama V

| King of Siam

| –

| Ramathibodi III

| King of Ayutthaya

| –

| Ramesses II

| Pharaoh of Egypt

| –

| Ramkhamhaeng

| King of Sukhothai

| –

| Reza

| Shah of Iran

| –

| Rhodri

| King of Gwynedd

| –

| Roman

| Grand Prince of Kiev

| –

| Sancho III

| King of Navarre

| –

| Sanphet II

| King of Ayutthaya

| –

| Sargon

| King of Akkad

| –

| Sejong

| King of Joseon

| –

| Shahi

| Sultan of Kashmir

| – , –

| Shapur II

| Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire

| –

| Simeon I

| Emperor of Bulgaria

| –

| Simon I

| King of Kartli

| – , –

| Solomon I

| King of Imereti

| – , –

| Stefan Uroš I

| King of Serbia

| –

| Stephen III

| Prince of Moldavia

| –

| Svatopluk I

| King of Moravia

| –

| Tamar I

| Queen of Georgia

| –

| Theodoric

| King of the Ostrogoths, Regent of the Visigoths and Viceroy of Byzantine

| –

| Theodosius I

| Emperor of Rome

| –

| Thoros II

| Lord of Cilicia

| or –

| Thutmose III

| Pharaoh of Egypt

| –

| Tigranes II

| Emperor of Armenia

| –

| Tiridates III

| King of Armenia

| –

| Valdemar I

| King of Denmark

| –

| Valentinian I

| Emperor of Rome

| –

| Vigraharaja IV

| King of Chauhan

| –

| Vladimir I

| Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev

| –

| Vytautas

| Grand Duke of Lithuania

| –

| Wilhelm I

| Emperor of Germany

| –

| Xerxes I

| Shahanshah of the Achaemenid Empire

| –

| Zayed

| Sheikh of Abu Dhabi

| –

| Qizbech

| Prince of Besleney

Aristocrats

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!Dates

!class="unsortable|

| Alain I

| Lord of Albret

| –

| Amadeus V

| Count of Savoy

| –

| Arnulf I

| Count of Flanders

| –

| Atenulf I

| Prince of Capua

| ? –

| Barnim III

| Duke of Stettin Pomerania

| –

| Bogislaw X

| Duke of Pomerania

| –

| Bogusław V

| Duke of Wolgast and Słupsk

| –

| Bruno

| Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia

| –

| Charles Emmanuel I

| Duke of Savoy

| –

| Charles III

| Duke of Lotharingia

| –

| Conrad I

| Margrave of Meissen

| –

| David III

| Prince of Tao

| –

| Frederick II

| Duke of Legnica, Brzeg, Wołów, Głogów, and Ziębice

| –

| Frederick William

| Duke of Prussia

| –

| Gerhard III

| Count of Holstein-Rendsburg

| –

| Gero I

| Ruler of Gero

| –

| Godfrey I

| Count of Brussels and Leuven, Duke of Lower Lorraine, Langrave of Brabant

| –

| Gothelo I

|Duke of Lotharingia, Count of Verdun, and Margrave of Antwerp

| –

| Gurgen II

| Prince of Tao

| –

| Hanno I

| Carthaginian politician and military leader

| 4th century BC

| Hanno II

| Carthaginian aristocrat, general, and politician

| 3rd century BC

| Hanno III

| Carthaginian politician

| 2nd century BC

| Henry I

| Duke of Burgundy

| –

| Henry V

| Count of Luxembourg

| –

| Hugh

| Count of Paris and Duke of the Franks

| –

| Hugh

| Count of Vermandois

| –

| Hugh

| Margrave of Tuscany

| or –

| Humphrey I

| Baron of Trowbridge

| ? –

| Intef

| Nomarch of Thebes

| ? –

| Matthew II

| Lord of Montmorency

| –

| Maximilian I

| Duke of Bavaria

| –

| Milo I

| Lord of Montlhéry

| –

| Odo

| Duke of Aquitaine

| ? –

| Ralph IV

| Count of Valois, Bar-sur-Aube, Vexin, Vitry, Amiens, Montdidier and Tardenois

| –

| Ramon Berenguer III

| Count of Barcelona, Provence, and various other counties

| –

| Robert I

| Count of Dreux

| –

| Roger

| Earl of Shrewsbury and Arundel

| ? –

| Roger Bernard II

| Count of Foix

| –

| Roger II

| Count of Sicily

| –

| Świętopełk II

| Duke of Pomerania

| ? –

| Theobald II

| Count of Champagne and Brie

| –

| William I

| Count of Burgundy and Mâcon

| –

| William V

| Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou

| –

Military

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!Dates

!class="unsortable|

| Afonso

| Portuguese general, statesman and empire builder

| –

| Melias

| Byzantine general of Armenian origin

| –

| Pompey

| Military and political leader of Rome

| –

| Prokop

| Hussite general in Bohemia

| –

Religious figures

Christian

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!Dates

!class="unsortable|

| Abraham

| Monk and saint of the Church of the East

| –

| Albertus

| Medieval German philosopher and theologian

| or –

| Anthony

| Early Christian saint of Egypt

| –

| Arsenius

| Roman anchorite saint in Egypt

| –

| Athanasius

| Early Christian saint and bishop of Alexandria

| –

| Babai

| Assyrian church leader

| –

| Basil

| Greek bishop and theologian

| –

| Bertin

| Frankish Abbot of a namesake monastery

| –

| Dioscorus I

| Coptic Orthodox Church pope

| ? –

| Euthymius

| Abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

| –

| Gertrude

| German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

| –

| Gregory I

| Catholic pope

| –

| Hilarion

| Ancient Roman anchorite and Orthodox and Catholic saint

| –

| Hugh

| Abbot of Cluny

| –

| Isaac

| Armenian Catholicos

| –

| James

| One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus

| –

| Joannicius

| Byzantine hermit, theologian and saint

| –

| Leo I

| Catholic pope

| or –

| Macarius

| Egyptian hermit

| –

| Michael

| Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church

| –

| Nerses I

| Armenian Catholicos

| ? –

| Nicholas I

| Catholic pope

| –

| Photios I

| Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

| –

| Shenoute

| Oriental Orthodox saint and abbot of the White Monastery

| –

| Sisoes

| An early desert father, a solitary monk pursuing asceticism in the Egyptian desert in a cave of Anthony the Great

| ? –

| William

| Founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

| ? –

Jewish

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!Dates

!class="unsortable|

| Aharon I

| Hasidic rabbi

| –

| Eliezer

| Rabbi in Judea

| 1st century

| Hiyya

| Rabbi in Judea

| –

Legendary and mythological figures

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Description

!class="unsortable|

| Ajax

| Greek hero in the Iliad

| Beli

| In medieval Welsh mythology and literature

| Belinus

| Legendary king of the Britons

| Fergus

| Semi-mythical king of Dál Riata

| Gradlon

| Semi-mythical king of Cornouaille

| Hayk

| Legendary founder and patriarch of the Armenian nation

| Phrom

|Legendary king of Yonok

| Yu

| Legendary king of Xia

List of people known as the Great

Monarchs

Aristocrats

Military

Religious figures

Christian

Jewish

Legendary and mythological figures

See also

Notes