In English we have names for historical figures like "Alexander the Great"/"Catherine the Great", "Ivan the Terrible", or "Suleiman the Magnificent". Are these always directly translated the same way or are their titles different depending on the culture/language?

by SolarGorillaTortoise

For example, in a land that doesn't look favorably on Alexander, what do they call him?

Do their titles vary much in other languages?

Have their titles changed over history with chroniclers assigning different names or did they stay pretty much the same?

lcnielsen

Have a look here for Alexander: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ahuixh/why_is_alexander_the_great_remembered_in_history/eej9dxr?utm_source=reddit-android

In Middle Persian sources he is variously known as "Alexander the Accursed", "Evil King Alexander" and "Alexander the Roman [sic]".

Ivan the "Terrible" is an archaic translation of Ivan Grozny. Grozny is often rendered "Formidable" by present day authors - it is supposed to suggest he ruled with an iron hand, meted out harsh punishment on those who defied him, and frightened people into obedience. Bear in mind that these aren't necessarily intended to be seen as bad traits - compare to the Biblical proverb, "Fear the Lord and the King" or the notion of being "God-fearing".

iamjeremybentham

Followup related question: why is Charlemagne the only one that doesn't seem to be translated in English?

LEGiNO

In Turkey, we generally call "Suleiman the Magnificent" as "Kanuni Sultan Süleyman". "Kanun" means a law in turkish and the "kanuni" represents Sultan Suleiman's ability to apply the laws strictly and manage the empire in a perfectly fair way.