Victory title A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation . This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans , but it has also been adopted as a practice by many later empires , especially the Napoleonic , British and Russian . Roman victory titles . Victory titles were treated as Latin " cognomina " and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander . Hence , names like " Africanus " ( " the African " ) , " Numidicus " ( " the Numidian " ) , " Isauricus " ( " the Isaurian " ) , " Creticus " ( " the Cretan " ) , " Gothicus " ( " the Goth " ) , " Germanicus " ( " the German " ) and " Parthicus " ( " the Parthian " ) , seemingly out of place for ardently patriotic Romans , are in fact expressions of Roman superiority over these peoples . Literally , this would be akin to calling generals Erwin Rommel " Rommel the African " , George S . Patton , Jr . " Patton the German " and H . Norman Schwarzkopf " Schwarzkopf the Iraqi " ; however , the real intended meaning would be better expressed as " Rommel of African " fame " " , " Patton of German " fame " " , " Schwarzkopf of Iraqi " fame " " and so forth . Some victory titles were treated as hereditary , while others were not passed on . The practice of awarding victory titles was well established within the Roman Republic . The most famous grantee of Republican victory title was Publius Cornelius Scipio , who for his great victories in the Second Punic War , specifically the Battle of Zama was awarded by the Roman Senate the title " Africanus " and is thus known to history as " Scipio Africanus " ( his adopted grandson Scipio Aemilianus Africanus was awarded the same title after the Third Punic War and is known as " Scipio Africanus the Younger " ) . Other notable holders of such victory titles include Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus , who was replaced by Gaius Marius in command - in - chief of the Jugurthine War ; Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus , who commanded Roman anti - pirate operations in the eastern Mediterranean ( and was father of Julius Caesar ' s colleague in his second consulate , Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus in 48 BC ) , and Marcus Antonius Creticus , another anti - piratical commander ( and father of Caesar ' s master of the horse , Mark Antony of Egyptian fame ) . The practice continued in the Roman Empire , although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding " Maximus " ( " the Greatest " ) to the victory title ( " e . g . " , " Parthicus Maximus " , " the Greatest Parthian " ) . This taste grew to be rather vulgar by modern standards , with increasingly grandiose accumulations of partially fictitious victory titles . " See also : " List of Imperial Victory Titles Medieval victory titles . After the fall of Rome , the practice continued in modified form . Notable examples : Modern victory titles . Later , the term would again be applied to titles awarded in commemoration of a major military victory , but now in the guise of a feudal aristocratic title , often hereditary , but only in appearance : an actual fief was not required , indeed they often were granted in chief of a battlefield where the awarding Monarch simply had no constitutional authority to grant anything validly under local law . This new form also was even more specific than the Roman practice . Instead of naming the enemy — which could well need to be repeated — it linked the name of a battle , which was almost always unique . A further level of protection was available by naming a nearby place , such as ' Austerlitz ' which Napoleon declared " sounded " better than the alternative . Russian Empire . In the Russian Empire , many victory titles originated in the period between the accession of Catherine the Great ( 1762 ) and the death of Nicholas I of Russia ( 1855 ) . But as early as 1707 , after Alexander Menshikov occupied Swedish Ingria ( Izhora ) during the Great Northern War , Peter I of Russia officially designated him Prince Izhorsky . Other Russian victory titles ( sometimes for whole campaigns rather than specific battles ) include : Furthermore , similar titles were awarded for comparable non - military services to the empire , e . g . in 1858 — " Amursky " for another Nicholas Muravyov , who had negotiated a new border between Russian and China along the Amur River under the Treaty of Aigun . General Wrangel awarded the last victory - title in Russia ( " Krymsky " - " Crimean " ) unofficially after the abolition of the monarchy : to the White Lieutenant - General Yakov Aleksandrovich Slashchyov ( ) in August 1920 for his defence of the Crimea in 1919 - 1920 . France . First Empire . As Napoleon I , the founder of the Bonaparte dynasty and only head of the First French Empire , owed his success – both his personal rise and the growth of his empire – above all to his military excellence , it is hardly surprising that he bestowed most elaborate honours on his generals , especially those raised to the supreme army rank of " maréchal " ( marshal ) . The revival of the original victory title , created for a specific victory , was an ideal form , and many incumbents were victorious marshals ( or posthumously , in chief of the widow ) . The highest of these titles were four nominal principalities , in most cases awarded as a ' promotion ' to holders of ducal victory titles : Next in rank were ten dukedoms : Counts : Second Empire . Although Napoleon III never came close to his predecessor ' s military genius ( is even rather remembered for defeats ) , he loved tying in to numerous aspects of the First Empire , so he not only revived many of its institutions and reestablished titles Napoleon I had awarded , but also made some new ones . These included : British Empire . Many victory titles have been created in the Peerages of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . Examples include : Often the victory is commemorated in the territorial designation rather than the peerage itself . Examples include : Austrian Empire . In the Austrian empire titles of nobility could be amended with territorial designations , the so - called " predicates " . These were usually named after the estates of the family in question , but sometimes the Habsburg rulers of Austria also granted victory titles . This was particularly common during World War I . Examples include : Kingdom of Hungary . The system used in the Kingdom of Hungary by the Habsburgs was much like the one employed in Austria . Titles of nobility could be amended with territorial designations , also called " predicates " . These were usually named after the estates of the family in question , but sometimes also specific victory titles were granted . Examples include : During the Regency of Hungary after World War I , the Regent Miklós Horthy was not authorized to grant titles of nobility , but conferred the Order of Vitéz which sometimes but necessarily also carried noble predicates . Initially membership was restricted to men who had served with special distinction in the war . Examples commemorating military action include : Kingdom of Italy . Many victory titles have been created in the Kingdom of Italy ( 1861 – 1946 ) under the Savoy House of Piemonte - Sardinia . The practice of bestowing such titles was especially common after the unification of Italy and again after World War I , when a number of nominations was made by the Mussolini government . Examples include : Sources and references . François R . Velde . Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry : Victory Titles