From The Great:
The title "the Great" at first seems to be a simplification/colloquialism of the 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); probably since he was the only Seleucid king to fight the Romans.
Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great and the Hindu king Shivaji 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.
The highest tribute that I can pay to someone who has so greatly improved a Wikimedia project, it is hard to imagine that project without their work, insight and help. The reason why a subject, portrait or image is chosen for the person can be seemingly arbitrary, but usually is not. All dedications are equal, and the image is a public acknowledgment of thanks to that person.
- ^ In a clay cylinder (online). Note that the expression was used in a propagandistic context: the conqueror wants to show he is a normal Babylonian ruler. The first Persian ruler to use the title in an Iranian context was Darius I of Persia (Darius the Great), in the Behistun Inscription (online).
- ^ Plautus, Mostellaria 775.