Question: Why is Alexander the Great called the Great?

List of people known as "the Great"



This is a list of people known as "the Great". There are many people in history whose names are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great" or the equivalent in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as Persian e Bozorg and Urdu e azam.
In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.[1] The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great". 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 (223–187 BC).
Later rulers and commanders used the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, such as the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.
As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "the Great" in his lifetime, but is rarely called such nowadays. German Emperor Wilhelm I was often called "the Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely before or after. In contemporary times, Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) is recurringly called "the Great" without official sanction.
Monarchs

Aristocrats
Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
Bruno[26] (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia
Gerard, Duke of Lorraine (c. 1020-1070), Duke of Lorraine
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (1607–1651), "Yn Stanlagh Mooar" ("the Great Stanley"), also Lord of Mann
Matteo Rosso the Great (1178–1246), Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
Ralph IV of Valois (c. 1025–1074), Count of Valois, Bar, Vexin, Vitry, Amiens, Montdidier and Tardenois
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, also Earl of Arundel
Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgundy and Mâcon
William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030), Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou
Religious figures
Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492–586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366), hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
Aaron the Great (1736–1772), Hasidic rabbi and founder of Karlin (Hasidic dynasty)
Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
Arsenius the Great (354–445), Roman anchorite saint in Egypt
Athanasios the Great (296-373), early Christian saint and bishop of Alexandria
Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
Basil of Caesarea (330–379), Greek bishop and theologian
Bertin (615-709), a Frankish Abbot of a monastery that was named after him after he died
Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
Eliezer ben Hurcanus 1st century rabbi in Judea
Euthymius the Great (377–473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
Gertrude the Great (1256–c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
Pope Gregory I (c. 540–604)
Hiyya the Great 3rd-century rabbi in Judea
Joannicius the Great (752–846), Byzantine hermit, theologian and saint
Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400–461)
Macarius of Egypt (c. 300–391), Egyptian hermit
Pope Nicholas I (c. 800–867)
Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites
Military people
Melias, distinguished 10th-century Byzantine general of Armenian origin, called "Mleh the Great" in Armenian sources
Prokop the Great, a Hussite general in Bohemia
Legendary people
Beli Mawr, figure in medieval Welsh mythology and literature
Yu the Great (c. 2200–2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China
See also
List of monarchs by nickname
List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility
Notes