Sejong Daewang 세종대왕 世宗大王
King of Joseon
Reign	18 September 1418 – 18 May 1450
Coronation	September 18, 1418(1418-09-18) (aged 21)
Predecessor	King Taejong
Successor	King Munjong
Regent	King Taejong (1418-1422)
Issue
Munjong of Joseon, Sejo of Joseon
Father	Taejong of Joseon
Mother	Queen Wongyeong
Born	(1397-05-15)May 15, 1397
Died	April 8, 1450(1450-04-08) (aged 52)
Religion	Buddhist[1][2]

This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul or Hanja.

Sejong the Great (May 15, 1397 – April 8, 1450, r. 1418–1450) was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. During his reign, he reinforced Korean Confucian policies and executed major legal amendments (공법; 貢法). He also used the creation of Hangul and the advancement of technology to expand his territory. He was the third son of King Taejong and Queen Consort Wonkyeong.

Sejong is one of only two Korean rulers posthumously honored with the appellation "the Great", the other being Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo.^[3]

Early life[link]

Sejong was born on May 15, 1397, the third son of King Taejong.^[3] When he was twelve, he became Grand Prince Chungnyeong. As a young prince, Sejong excelled in various studies and was favored by King Taejong over his two older brothers.

Sejong's ascension to the throne was different from those of most other kings. Taejong's eldest son, Yangnyeong (양녕대군), viewing himself as lacking in the requisite skills for kingship, believed that his younger brother Sejong was destined to become king. He believed it was his duty to place Sejong as king, so he behaved rudely in court and was soon banished from Seoul. This plot ultimately brought Sejong to the throne. The eldest prince became a wandering traveler and lived in the mountains. The second son traveled to a Buddhist temple, where he became a monk.

In August 1418, following Taejong's abdication two months earlier, Sejong ascended the throne. However, Taejong still retained certain powers at court, particularly regarding military matters, until he died in 1422.

Strengthening of the Korean military[link]

King Sejong was an effective military planner. He created various military regulations to strengthen the safety of his kingdom,^[4] supported the advancement of Korean military technology, including cannon development. Different kinds of mortars and fire arrows were tested as well as the use of gunpowder.

In May 1419, King Sejong, under the advice and guidance of his father Taejong, embarked upon the Gihae Eastern Expedition, the ultimate goal of this military expedition to remove the nuisance of Japanese pirates who had been operating out of Tsushima Island. During the expedition, 243 Japanese were killed, and another 110 were captured in combat, while 180 Korean soldiers were killed. 146 Chinese and 8 Korean kidnapped were liberated by this expedition. In September 1419 the Daimyos of Tsushima and Sadamori capitulated to the Joseon court. The Treaty of Gyehae was signed in 1443, in which the Daimyo of Tsushima recognized and obeyed the suzerainty of the King of Joseon; in return, the Joseon court rewarded the Sō clan with preferential rights regarding trade between Japan and Korea.^[5]

In 1433, Sejong sent Kim Jong-seo (hangul: 김종서, hanja: 金宗瑞), a prominent general, north to destroy the Manchu. Kim's military campaign captured several castles, pushed north, and restored Korean territory, to the Songhua River.^[6][7][8] Four forts and six posts were established (hangul: 사군육진 hanja: 四郡六鎭) to safeguard the people from Jurchen nomads.

Science and technology[link]

A modern reconstruction and scaled down model of Jang Yeong-sil's self-striking water clock.

Sejong is credited with technological advances during his reign. He wanted to help farmers so he decided to create a farmer's handbook. The book—the Nongsa jikseol (hangul: 농사직설, hanja: 農事直說)—contained information about the different farming techniques that he told scientists to gather in different regions of Korea.^[9] These techniques were needed in order to maintain the newly-adopted methods of intensive, continuous cultivation in Korean agriculture.^[9]

During his rule, Jang Yeong-sil (hangul: 장영실, hanja: 蔣英實) became known as a prominent inventor. Jang was naturally a creative and smart thinker as a young person. However, Jang was at the bottom of the social class. Taejong, the father of Sejong, noticed Jang's skill and immediately called him to his court in Seoul. Upon giving Jang a government position and funding for his inventions, officials protested, believing a person from the lower classes should not rise to power among nobles. Sejong instead believed Jang merited support because of his ability. Jang created new significant designs for water clocks, armillary spheres, and sundials.^[10] However, his most impressive invention came in 1442, the world's first rain gauge, named Cheugugi (source?); this model has not survived, since the oldest existing East Asian rain gauge is one made in 1770, during the reign period of King Yeongjo. According to the Daily Records of the Royal Secretariat (hangul: 승정원일기, hanja:承政院日記) King Yeongjo wanted to revive the glorious times of King Sejong the Great, and so read chronicles of Sejong's era. When he came across mention of a rain gauge, King Yeongjo ordered a reproduction. Since there is a mark of the Qing Dynasty ruler Qianlong (r. 1735–1796) of China, dated 1770,^[11] this Korean-designed rain gauge is sometimes misunderstood as having been imported from China.

Korean celestial globe first made by the scientist Jang Yeongsil during the Joseon Dynasty under the reign of King Sejong

Sejong also wanted to reform the Korean calendar system, which was at the time based upon the longitude of the Chinese capital.^[9] Sejong, for the first time in Korean history, had his astronomers create a calendar with the Korean capital of Seoul as the primary meridian.^[9] This new system allowed Korean astronomers to accurately predict the timing of solar and lunar eclipses.^[9][12]

In the realm of traditional Korean medicine, two important treatises were written during the reign of Sejong. These were the Hyangyak jipseongbang and the Euibang yuchwi, which historian Kim Yongsik says represents 'Koreans' efforts to develop their own system of medical knowledge, distinct from that of China.'^[9] They were now separated.

Literature[link]

Sejong supported literature, and encouraged high class officials and scholars to study at the court. King Sejong created the written language of hangul and announced it to the Korean people in the Hunminjeongeum (Hangul:훈민정음, Hanja: 訓民正音), meaning 'The verbally right sounds meant to teach the people.'

Sejong depended on the agricultural produce of Joseon's farmers, so he allowed them to pay more or less tax according to fluctuations of economic prosperity or hard times. Because of this, farmers could worry less about tax quotas and work instead at surviving and selling their crops. Once the palace had a significant surplus of food, King Sejong then distributed food to poor peasants or farmers who needed it. In 1429 Nongsa-jikseol (hangul: 농사직설, hanja: 農事直說) was compiled under the supervision of King Sejong. It was the first book about Korean farming, dealing with agricultural subjects such as planting, harvesting, and soil treatment.

Although most government officials and aristocrats opposed usage of hangul, lower classes embraced it, became literate, and were able to communicate with one another in writing.

Sejong's personal writings are also highly regarded. He composed the famous Yongbi Eocheon Ga ("Songs of Flying Dragons", 1445), Seokbo Sangjeol ("Episodes from the Life of Buddha", July 1447), Worin Cheon-gang Jigok ("Songs of the Moon Shining on a Thousand Rivers", July 1447), and the reference Dongguk Jeong-un ("Dictionary of Proper Sino-Korean Pronunciation", September 1447).

In 1420 Sejong established the Hall of Worthies (집현전; 集賢殿; Jiphyeonjeon) at the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It consisted of scholars selected by the king. The Hall participated in various scholarly endeavors, of which the best known may be the compilation of the Hunmin Jeongeum.^[13]

Hangul[link]

Hunmin Jeongeum Eonhae

King Sejong the Great profoundly impacted Korean history with his introduction of hangul, the native phonetic alphabet system for the Korean language.^[14]

Before the creation of Hangul, only members of the highest class were literate (hanja was typically used to write Korean by using adapted Chinese characters, while Hanmun was sometimes used to write court documents in classical Chinese). One would have to learn the quite complex hanja characters in order to read and write Korean. Further, despite modifications to the Chinese characters, hanja could prove cumbersome when transcribing the Korean language, due to considerable differences in grammar and sentence order.^[15]

King Sejong presided over the introduction of the 28-letter Korean alphabet, with the explicit goal being that Koreans from all classes would read and write. He also attempted to establish a cultural identity for his people through its unique script. While creating the alphabet, King Sejong encountered opposition of courtiers. First published in 1446, anyone could learn Hangul in a matter of days. Persons previously unfamiliar with Hangul can typically pronounce Korean script accurately after only a few hours study.

Each hangul letter is based on a simplified diagram of the patterns made by the mouth, tongue and teeth when making the sound related to the character. Morphemes are built by writing the characters in syllabic blocks. The blocks of letters are then strung together linearly.

Death and legacy[link]

The tomb of Sejong the Great located in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Sejong was blinded in later years by diabetes complications that eventually took his life in 1450. He was buried at the Yeong Mausoleum (영릉; 英陵). His successor was his first son, Munjong. Sejong judged that his sickly son Munjong was unlikely to live long and on his deathbed asked the Hall of Worthies scholars to look after his young grandson Danjong. As predicted, Munjong died two years after his accession, and political stability enjoyed under Sejong disintegrated when Danjong became the sixth king of Joseon at the age of twelve. Eventually, Sejong's second son Sejo usurped the throne from Danjong in 1455. When six martyred ministers were implicated in a plot to restore Danjong to throne, Sejo abolished the Hall of Worthies and executed Danjong and many ministers who served during Sejong's reign.

The street Sejongno and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts– both located in central Seoul– are named after King Sejong.^[16]

In early 2007, the Republic of Korea government has decided to create a special administrative district out of part of the present Chungcheongnam-do Province, near what is presently Daejeon. The new district will be named Sejong Special Autonomous City.

The life of Sejong was depicted in the KBS Korean historical drama King Sejong the Great (TV series) in 2008.^[17] Sejong is also depicted in the 2011 SBS drama Deep Rooted Tree.

Family[link]

• Father: King Taejong (태종)
• Mother: Queen Wongyeong of the Yeoheung Min clan (원경왕후 민씨, September 1337 – September 12, 1391)
• Consorts and their Respective Issue:

1. Queen Soheon of the Cheongsong Shim clan (소헌왕후 심씨, September 28, 1395 – March 24, 1446)^[18][19]
   1. Yi Hyang, the Royal Prince Successor (이향 왕세자), 1st son
   2. Yi Yoo, the Grand Prince Suyang (이유 수양대군), 2nd son
   3. Yi Yong, the Grand Prince Anpyeong (이용 안평대군, 1418–1453), 3rd son
   4. Yi Gu, the Grand Prince Imyeong (이구 임영대군, January 7, 1419 – January 21, 1469), 4th son
   5. Yi Yeo, the Grand Prince Gwangpyeong (이여 광평대군, 1425–1444), 5th son
   6. Yi Yoo, the Grand Prince Geumseong (이유 금성대군, March 28, 1426 – October 21, 1457), 6th son
   7. Yi Im, the Grand Prince Pyeongwon (이임 평원대군, 1427–1445), 7th son
   8. Yi Yeom, the Grand Prince Yeongeung (이염 영응대군, 1434–1467), 8th son
   9. Princess Jeongso (정소공주, 1412–1424), 1st daughter^[20]
   10. Princess Jeong-ui (정의공주, 1415–1477), 2nd daughter^[21]
2. Royal Noble Consort Hye of the Cheongju Yang clan (혜빈 양씨, ? – November 9, 1455)^[22][23]
   1. Yi Eo, the Prince Hannam (이어 한남군), 1st son
   2. Yi Hyeon, the Prince Soochun (이현 수춘군), 2nd son
   3. Yi Jeon, the Prince Yeongpung (이전 영풍군, August 15, 1434 – June 20, 1456), 3rd son
3. Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jinju Kang clan (영빈 강씨)^[24]
   1. Yi Yeong, the Prince Hwa-ui (이영 화의군), Only son
4. Royal Noble Consort Shin of the Cheongju Kim clan (신빈 김씨, 1406 – September 4, 1464)^[25][26]
   1. Yi Jeung, the Prince Gyeyang (이증 계양군, 1427–1464), 1st son^[27]
   2. Yi Gong, the Prince Uichang (이공 의창군, 1428–1460), 2nd son
   3. Yi Chim, the Prince Milseong (이침 밀성군, 1430–1479), 3rd son
   4. Yi Yeon, the Prince Ikhyeon (이연 익현군, 1431–1463), 4th son
   5. Yi Dang, the Prince Yeonghae (이당 영해군, 1435–1477), 5th son
   6. Yi Geo, the Prince Damyang (이거 담양군, 1439–1450), 6th son
   7. 2 Unnamed daughters who died at childbirth
5. Park Gwi-in (귀인 박씨) – No issue.^[28]
6. Choi Gwi-in (귀인 최씨) – No issue.^[29]
7. Jo Suk-ui (숙의 조씨) – No issue.
8. Hong So-yong (소용 홍씨) – No issue.
9. Lee Suk-won (숙원 이씨)
   1. Princess Jeong-an (정안옹주, 1438–1461), Only daughter^[30]
10. Song Sang-chim (상침 송씨)
    1. Princess Jeonghyeon (정현옹주, 1424–1480), Only daughter^[31]
11. Cha Sa-gi (사기 차씨, ? – July 10, 1444)
    1. An unnamed daughter (1430–1431)

His full posthumous name[link]

• Hangul : 세종장헌영문예무인성명효대왕
• English : King Sejong Jangheon Yeongmun Yemu Inseong Myeonghyo the Great
• Hanja : 世宗莊憲英文睿武仁聖明孝大王

Depiction in arts and media[link]

• King Sejong the Great (TV series)
• The Divine Weapon (film)
• Sid Meier's Civilization V
• Deep Rooted Tree

Portrait in Korean Currency Notes[link]

Sejong the Great is one of the five linguistic scholars, with Samuel Johnson^[32], Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm^[33] and Elias Lönnrot^[34], depicted as a portrait in a national currency.

See also[link]

	Korea portal
	Biography portal

• List of Korea-related topics
• History of Korea
• Rulers of Korea
• Sejongno
• Sejong the Great class destroyer
• Sejong Center
• King Sejong Station
• UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kim, Yung Sik. (1998). "Problems and Possibilities in the Study of the History of Korean Science," Osiris (2nd series, Volume 13, 1998): 48–79.

Further reading[link]

• King Sejong the Great: the Light of Fifteenth Century Korea, Young-Key Kim-Renaud, International Circle of Korean Linguistics, 1992, softcover, 119 pages, ISBN 1-882177-00-2
• Kim-Renaud, Young-Key. 2000. Sejong's theory of literacy and writing. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 30.1:13–46.
• Gale, James Scarth. History of the Korean People Annotated and introduction by Richard Rutt. Seoul: Royal Asiatic Society, 1972..

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sejong the Great

• King Sejong's Confucian Humanism in the Early Choson Period
• Location of the four forts and the six posts
• King Sejong featured on the 10000 Korean Won banknote.

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

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 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. 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 later generations in 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, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• 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
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• 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, Palestine
• 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

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]