# 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" (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 the Great. Once the term gained currency, it was broadened to include persons in other fields, such as the philosopher Albert the Great.
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

| Name | Description | Reign (Dates) |
| Abbas the Great | King of Kings of Persia | 1588 – 1629 |
| Abgar VIII | King of Osroene | ? – 212 |
| Akbar the Great | Third Mughal emperor of India | 11 February 1556 – 27 October 1605 |
| Alan I, King of Brittany | Duke of Brittany | ? – 907 |
| Alexander I of Georgia | King of Georgia | 1412 – 1442 |
| Alexander the Great | Basileus of Macedonia and King of Kings of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt | 356 BC – 323 BC |
| Alfonso III of Asturias | King of León, Galicia and Asturias | 848 – 910 |
| Alfred the Great | King of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxons | 848/849 – 899 |
| Amenhotep III | Pharaoh of Egypt | ? – 1353 BC |
| Antiochus III the Great | Ruler of the Seleucid Empire | 241 BC – 187 BC |
| Ashoka the Great | Third Mauryan ruler of India and "Emperor of Emperors." | 268 BC – 232 BC |
| Ashot I of Armenia | King of Armenia | 820 – 890 |
| Ashot I of Iberia | First Bagratid king of Georgia | ? – 830 |
| Askia Mohammad I | Ruler of the Songhai Empire | 1442 – 1538 |
| Bagrat V of Georgia | King of Georgia | ? – 1393 |
| Barnim III | Duke of Stettin Pomerania | c. 1300 – 1368 |
| Bayinnaung | King of Toungoo Dynasty (in present-day Myanmar) | 1550 – 1581 |
| Berengaria of Castile | Queen of Castile and Toledo | 1179 – 1246 |
| Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand | 1927 – 2016 |
| Bogusław V | Duke of Wolgast and Słupsk | 1317/18 – 1374 |
| Bolesław I the Brave | First king of Poland | 967 – 1025 |
| Casimir III the Great | King of Poland (1333–1370) | 1310 – 1370 |
| Catherine the Great | Empress of Russia | 1729 – 1796 |
| Charlemagne ("Charles the Great") | King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans | 800 – 814 |
| Chlothar II | King of Neustria and King of the Franks | 584 – 629 |
| Chulalongkorn | King of Siam (in present-day Thailand) | 1868 – 1910 |
| Constantine the Great | Roman emperor | 272 – 337 |
| Cnut the Great | King of England (1016–1035), Denmark (1018–1035) and Norway (1028–1035) | 985 or 995 – 1035 |
| Cyrus the Great | Founder and First Shahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire (in present-day Iran) | 600 BC or 576 BC – 530 BC |
| Darius the Great | Third Shahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire (in present-day Iran) | 550 BC – 486 BC |
| Eucratides I | Ruler of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom | 170 BC – 145 BC |
| Ewuare | Founder and Oba (king) of the Benin Empire (in present-day Nigeria) | ? – 1473 |
| Farrukhan the Great | Ispahbadh of Tabaristan | 712 – 728 |
| Ferdinand I of León | King of León and Count of Castile | 1015 – 1065 |
| Frederick the Great | King of Prussia | 1712 – 1786 |
| Genghis Khan | Founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire | 1162 – 1227 |
| Gwrgan Fawr | King of Ergyng | c. 619 – 645 |
| Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden | King of Sweden (1611–1632), founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader | 1594 – 1632 |
| Gwanggaeto the Great | King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea | 374 – 413 |
| Henry IV of France | King of France and King of Navarre | 1553 – 1610 |
| Herod the Great | King of Judea | 73 BC/74 BC – 4 BC |
| Hugh III of Cyprus | King of Cyprus and Jerusalem | 1267 – 1284 |
| Hugh Magnus | Co-King of France | 1007 – 1025 |
| Inal the Great of Circassia | Supreme Prince of Circassia | 1427 – 1453 |
| Ivan III of Russia | Grand Prince of Moscow and All Russia | 1462 – 1505 |
| Iyasu I | Emperor of Ethiopia | 1654 – 1706 |
| Jeongjo of Joseon | 22nd King of the Joseon Dynasty | 1753 – 1800 |
| John I of Portugal | King of Portugal and the Algarve | 1358 – 1433 |
| John II of Aragon and Navarre | King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre | 1398 – 1479 |
| Justinian I | Roman Emperor (Eastern) | 483 – 565 |
| Kamehameha I | First king of Hawaii | 1758 – 1819 |
| Kangxi Emperor | Emperor of Qing China | 1654 – 1722 |
| Kanishka | Emperor of Kushan Empire, ruled Central Asia and parts of India | 127 – 150 |
| Kvirike III of Kakheti | King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia | 1010 – 1029 |
| Kublai Khan | Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty | 1215 – 1294 |
| Leo I the Thracian | Roman emperor | 457 – 474 |
| Llywelyn the Great | King of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales | 1172 – 1240 |
| Louis I of Hungary | King of Hungary, Croatia, and Poland | 1326 – 1382 |
| Louis XIV of France | King of France and Navarre | 1638 – 1715 |
| Manuel I Komnenos | Byzantine emperor | 1143 – 1180 |
| Marianus IV of Arborea | Judge of Arborea | 1319 – 1376 |
| Michael Krešimir II | King of Croatia | 949 – 969 |
| Miloš Obrenović I of Serbia | Prince of Serbia | 1780 – 1860 |
| Mircea the Elder | Voivode of Wallachia | 1386 – 1394, 1397 – 1418 |
| Mithridates I of Parthia | Fifth King of Parthia (in present-day Iran) | 171 BC – 132 BC |
| Mithridates II of Parthia | Eighth King of Parthia (in present-day Iran) | 121 BC – 91 BC |
| Mithridates VI Eupator | King of Pontus | 120 BC – 63 BC |
| Mongkut | King of Siam (in present-day Thailand) | 1804 – 1868 |
| Mubarak Al-Sabah | Ruler of Kuwait | 1840 – 1915 |
| Mstislav I of Kiev | Grand Prince of Kiev | 1076 – 1132 |
| Narai | King of Ayutthaya (in present-day Thailand) | 1633 – 1688 |
| Naresuan | King of Ayutthaya (in present-day Thailand) | 1590 – 1605 |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire | 642 BC – 562 BC |
| Otto the Great | Holy Roman Emperor | 912 – 973 |
| Owain Gwynedd | King of All Wales | c. 1100/23 – 1170 |
| Pakal | Ruler of the Maya city-state of Palenque | 603 – 683 |
| Parakramabahu I | King of Polonnaruwa | 1123 – 1186 |
| Peter the Great | Tsar of Russia; founder of the Russian Empire | 1672 – 1725 |
| Peter III of Aragon | King of Aragon and King of Sicily | 1239 – 1285 |
| Pharasmanes I of Iberia | King of Iberia | 1 – 58 |
| Phutthayotfa Chulalok | King of Siam (In present-day Thailand) | 1782 – 1809 |
| Qin Shi Huang | First emperor of China, who unified China from Warring States | 259 BC – 210 BC |
| Radama I | First king of greater Madagascar | 1810 – 1828 |
| Radu IV the Great | Voivode of Wallachia | 1495 – 1508 |
| Rajaraja Chola I | Imperial Chola Emperor of Tamilakam | 985 – 1014 |
| Rajendra Chola I | Imperial Chola Emperor of Tamilakam | 1014 – 1044 |
| Ramesses II | Pharaoh of Egypt known for his temples, monuments, and military feats. | 1279 BC – 1213 BC |
| Ram Khamhaeng | King of Sukhothai (In present-day Thailand) | 1279 – 1298 |
| Reza Shah | Shah of Iran | 1925 – 1941 |
| Rhodri Mawr | King of Gwynedd (in present-day Wales) | 844 – 878 |
| Roman the Great | Grand Prince of Kiev | 1160 – 1205 |
| Sancho III of Pamplona | King of Navarre | 1004 – 1035 |
| Sargon of Akkad | Ruler of the Akkadian Empire | ? – 2215 BC |
| Sejong the Great | Fourth King of the Joseon Dynasty | 1418 – 1450 |
| Shapur II | Tenth Shahanshah of Persia, Sassanid Empire (in present-day Iran) | 309 – 379 |
| Simeon I of Bulgaria | Tsar of Bulgaria | 893 – 927 |
| Simon I of Kartli | King of Kartli | 1556 – 1569, 1578 – 1599 |
| Solomon I of Imereti | King of Imereti | 1752 – 1765, 1767 – 1784 |
| Sonni Ali Ber | First Ruler of the Songhai Empire | 1464 – 1492 |
| Stefan Uroš I | King of Serbia | 1243 – 1276 |
| Stephen the Great | Prince of Moldavia (in present-day Romania) | 1457 – 1504 |
| Svatopluk I of Moravia | King of Moravia | 840 – 894 |
| Taksin | King of the Thonburi Kingdom (in present-day Thailand) | 1767 – 1782 |
| Tamar of Georgia | Queen of the Georgian Empire | 1184 – 1223 |
| Emperor Taizong of Tang | Emperor of Tang (China) | 626 – 649 |
| Theoderic the Great | King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire | 471 – 526 |
| Theodosius I | Roman emperor | 379 – 395 |
| Thoros II of Armenia | Lord of Armenian Cilicia | ? – 1169 |
| Thutmose III | Pharaoh of Egypt | 1479 BC – 1425 BC |
| Tigranes the Great | Emperor of Armenia | 95 BC – 55 BC |
| Tiridates III of Armenia | King of Armenia | 298 – 339 |
| Valdemar I of Denmark | King of Denmark | 1154 – 1182 |
| Valentinian I | Roman emperor | 364 – 375 |
| Vigraharaja IV | King of Chauhan Dynasty of India | 1150 – 1164 |
| Vladimir the Great | Prince of Novgorod | 970 – 988 |
| Vladimir the Great | Grand Prince of Kiev | 978 – 1015 |
| Vytautas | Grand Duke of Lithuania | 1392 – 1430 |
| Emperor Wu of Han | Emperor of Han China, from whose reign dynasty the Chinese majority people are named | 141 BC – 87 BC |
| Xerxes I | Fourth Shahanshah of Persia, Achaemenid Empire (in present-day Iran) | 486 BC – 465 BC |
| Yuknoom Ch'een II | Maya king of Kaan | 636 – 686 |
| Zayed Bin Khalifa | Ruler of Abu Dhabi | 1855 – 1909 |
| Zayn al-Abidin the Great | Sultan of Kashmir | 1418 – 1419, 1420 – 1470 |
| Bhillama I | King of Seuna (Yadava) dynasty | 910–930 A.D |

## Aristocrats

| Name | Description | Dates |
| Alain I of Albret | French aristocrat | 1440 – 1522 |
| Amadeus V of Savoy | Count of Savoy | 1249 – 1323 |
| Arnulf I, Count of Flanders | Count of Flanders | 893 – 964 |
| Atenulf I of Capua | Prince of Capua | ? – c. 910 |
| Bogislaw X | Duke of Pomerania | 1454 – 1523 |
| Bruno | Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia | 925 – 965 |
| Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy | Duke of Savoy | 1562 – 1630 |
| Charles III, Duke of Lorraine | Duke of Lorraine | 1543 – 1608 |
| Conrad, Margrave of Meissen | Margrave of Meissen | 1097 – 1157 |
| David III of Tao | Prince of Tao | 966 – 1001 |
| Frederick II of Legnica | Duke of Legnica, Brzeg, Wołów, Głogów, and Ziębice | 1488 - 1547 |
| Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg | The German prince (house of Schauenburg); also ruled a large part of Denmark | 1292 – 1340 |
| Gero | Ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe | 900 – 965 |
| Godfrey I of Louvain | Count of Brussels and Leuven; Duke of Lower Lorraine; Langrave of Brabant | 1060 – 1139 |
| Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine | Duke of Lorraine; count of Verdun; and margrave of Antwerp | 967 – 1044 |
| Gurgen II of Tao | Prince of Tao | 918 – 941 |
| Hanno I the Great | Carthaginian politician and military leader | 4th century BC |
| Hanno II the Great | Carthaginian aristocrat, general, and politician | 3rd century BC |
| Hanno III the Great | Carthaginian politician | 2nd century BC |
| Henry I, Duke of Burgundy | Duke of Burgundy | 946 – 1002 |
| Henry V of Luxembourg | Count of Luxembourg | 1216 – 1281 |
| Hugh the Great | Count of Paris and Duke of the Franks | 898 – 956 |
| Hugh, Count of Vermandois | Count of Vermandois | 1057 – 1101 |
| Hugh, Margrave of Tuscany | Margrave of Tuscany | 953/954 – 1001 |
| Humphrey I de Bohun | Anglo-Norman aristocrat | ? – 1123 |
| Intef the Elder | Nomarch of Thebes | ? – c. 2135 BC |
| Matthew II of Montmorency | Lord of Montmorency | 1189 – 1230 |
| Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria | Ruler of Bavaria | 1573 – 1651 |
| Milo I of Montlhéry | Lord of Montlhéry | 1095 – 1102 |
| Odo the Great | Duke of Aquitaine | ? – 735 |
| Pompey | Military and political leader of the late Roman Republic | 106 BC – 48 BC |
| Ralph IV of Valois | Count of Valois, Bar, Vexin, Vitry, Amiens, Montdidier and Tardenois | 1025 – 1074 |
| Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona | Count of Barcelona, Provence, and various other counties | 1082 – 1131 |
| Robert I, Count of Dreux | Count of Dreux | 1123 – 1188 |
| Roger-Bernard II, Count of Foix | Count of Foix | 1223 – 1241 |
| Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury | Earl of Shrewsbury and Arundel | ? – 1094 |
| Roger I of Sicily | Count of Sicily | c. 1030 – 1101 |
| Świętopełk II the Great | Duke of Gdańsk Pomerania | ? – 1266 |
| Theobald II, Count of Champagne | Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie | 1090 – 1151 |
| William I, Count of Burgundy | Count of Burgundy and Mâcon | 1020 – 1087 |
| William V, Duke of Aquitaine | Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou | 969 – 1030 |

## Civil servants

| Name | Description | Dates |
| Koca Davud Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1482–1497) | 1446–1498 |
| Koca Dervish Mehmed Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1653–1654) | d. 1655 |
| Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1839–1841) | 1769–1855 |
| Koca Mehmed Ragıp Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1757–1763) | 1698–1763 |
| Mustafa Reşid Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1846–1848, 1848–1852, 1852, 1854–1855, 1856–1857, 1857–1858) | 1800–1858 |
| Koca Mustafa Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1511–1512) | d. 1512 |
| Koca Mehmed Nizamüddin Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1429–1438) | d. 1439 |
| Koca Sinan Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1580–1582, 1589–1591, 1593–1595, 1595, 1595–1596) | 1506–1596 |
| Mimar Sinan | Chief architect of the Ottoman Empire | 1488–1588 |
| Koca Yusuf Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1786–1789, 1791–1792) | 1730–1800 |

## Military

| Name | Description | Dates |
| Afonso de Albuquerque | Portuguese general, statesman and empire builder | 1453 – 1515 |
| Melias | Byzantine general of Armenian origin, called "Mleh the Great" in Armenian sources | 10th century |
| Prokop the Great | Hussite general in Bohemia | 1380 – 1434 |

## Religious figures
### Christian

| Name | Description | Dates |
| Abraham Kidunaia | Hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia | ? – 366 |
| Abraham the Great of Kashkar | Monk and saint of the Church of the East | 492 – 586 |
| Albertus Magnus | Medieval German philosopher and theologian | 1193/1206 – 1280 |
| Anthony the Great | Early Christian saint of Egypt | 251 – 356 |
| Arsenius the Great | Roman anchorite saint in Egypt | 354 – 445 |
| Athanasius of Alexandria | Early Christian saint and bishop of Alexandria | 296 – 373 |
| Babai the Great | Assyrian church leader | 551 – 628 |
| Basil of Caesarea | Greek bishop and theologian | 330 – 379 |
| Bertin | Frankish Abbot of a monastery that was named after him after he died | 615 – 709 |
| Bruno the Great | Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section) | 925 – 965 |
| Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria | Coptic Orthodox Church pope | ? – 454 |
| Euthymius the Great | Abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint | 377 – 473 |
| Gertrude the Great | German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint | 1256 – 1302 |
| Pope Gregory I | Roman Catholic pope | 540 – 604 |
| Hilarion | Ancient Roman anchorite and Orthodox and Roman Catholic saint | 291 – 371 |
| Hugh of Cluny | Abbot of Cluny | 1024 – 1109 |
| Isaac of Armenia | Armenian Catholicos | c.354 – 439 |
| James, son of Zebedee | One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ | 3 – 44 |
| Joannicius the Great | Byzantine hermit, theologian and saint | 752 – 846 |
| Pope John Paul II | Roman Catholic pope | 1920 – 2005 |
| Pope Leo I | Roman Catholic pope | 391 or 400 – 461 |
| Macarius of Egypt | Egyptian hermit | 300 – 391 |
| Michael the Great | Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church | 1126 – 1199 |
| Nerses I | Armenian Catholicos | ? – 373 |
| Pope Nicholas I | Roman Catholic pope | 800 – 867 |
| Photius I of Constantinople | Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople | 810 – 893 |
| Severus of Antioch | Oriental Orthodox saint and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church | 459/465 – 538 |
| Shenoute | Oriental Orthodox saint and abbot of the White Monastery | c.348 – 465 |
| Sisoes the Great | An early desert father, a solitary monk pursuing asceticism in the Egyptian desert in a cave of Anthony the Great | ? – 429 |
| William of Maleval | Founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites | ? - 1157 |

### Jewish

| Name | Description | Dates |
| Aharon of Karlin (I) | Hasidic rabbi | 1736 – 1772 |
| Eliezer ben Hurcanus | Rabbi in Judea | 1st century |
| Hiyya the Great | Rabbi in Judea | 3rd century |

## Legendary and mythological figures

| Name | Description |
| Ajax the Great | Greek hero in the Iliad |
| Beli Mawr | In medieval Welsh mythology and literature |
| Belinus | Legendary king of the Britons |
| Boyi | Tribal leader of the Longshan |
| Fergus Mór | 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 Singhanavati Realm |
| Yu the Great (c. 2200–2100 BC) | Legendary ruler in ancient China |