I ask this specifically because I am currently researching Sultan Saleyman 'The Magnificent' of the Ottoman Empire. This is a side question that came to mind.
It seems, in my undergraduate historical education, that modern historians are trying to move away from the Great Man theory of history, and yet people continue to use names such as Alexander The Great; not to mention all of these other individuals.
I would really love to read a published source on the use of epithets, and hear what the contributors here have to say about why they continue to be used. Thanks!
Because that often became part of their official name or title.
Pompey Magnus = Pompey The Great
Charlemagne = Charles le magne = Charles The Great
It seems, in my undergraduate historical education, that modern historians are trying to move away from the Great Man theory of history
So...thats an academic trend, not proof of a universal truth. You cant take individuals out of histories because individuals make choice and cause events to happen. True, those choices are informed by the social conditions of the time, the current political climate, and their effects are dependent on larger social/historical issues. But to take individuals out of history is to make history nothing more than a fatalistic narrative, whose outcome is predetermined.