Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

6

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King Gwanggaeto the Great

광개토대왕 (고구려 광개토왕)

🌐 Goguryeo Kingdom

0374 – 0413 (39 years old)

Nineteenth monarch of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo (391–413 CE) whose posthumous name means 'Broad Expander of Territory', who conquered sixty-four walled cities and 1,400 villages, transforming Goguryeo into a grand imperial power across Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.

Ji'an (Jilin), China

6 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo

광개토대왕 / 廣開土大王

Goguryeo

c. 374 CE – c. 413 CE (39 years old)

Nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo whose brilliant military campaigns forged a vast empire spanning Manchuria, northern Korea, and Maritime Siberia.

Ji'an, China

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Theodosius I (Theodosius the Great)

Flavius Theodosius Augustus

Roman Empire (Spain)

0347 – 0395 (48 years old)

Last emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire, who established Nicene Christianity as state religion.

Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

3

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Samudragupta (Napoleon of India)

समुद्रगुप्त

Gupta Empire (India)

c. 315 CE – c. 380 CE (65 years old)

Greatest conqueror of the Gupta Empire whose undefeated military campaigns and patronage of arts and music ushered in India's Golden Age.

Prayagraj (Allahabad), India

3 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Shapur II

شاپور دوم (شاهپور ذوالأکتاف)

🌐 Sasanian Empire

0309 – 0379 (70 years old)

Tenth King of Kings of the Sasanian Empire (309–379 CE) whose reign spanned seventy years—having been crowned before birth—who defeated Roman Emperor Julian at the Battle of Samarra and expanded the Sasanian golden age from Mesopotamia to Central Asia.

Kermanshah, Iran

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

3

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Julian (Julian the Apostate)

Flavius Claudius Julianus Augustus

Roman Empire (Turkey)

c. 331 CE – 0363 (32 years old)

Roman Emperor, intellectual, and philosopher-general who was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire.

Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey

3 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

8

🕯️ 1,340

Flavius Valerius Constantinus (Constantine the Great)

Flavius Valerius Constantinus

Serbia

27 February 272 CE – 22 May 337 CE (65 years old)

Transformative Roman Emperor who legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan (313 CE), convened the Council of Nicaea (325 CE), and relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to New Rome (Constantinople).

Nicomedia (İzmit), Turkey

8 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

7

🕯️ 880

Philip II of Macedon (Father of Alexander)

Φίλιππος Β΄ ὁ Μακεδών

Greece

c. 382 BCE – October 336 BCE

Visionary King of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great. Revolutionized Greek warfare by inventing the sarissa-armed Macedonian phalanx and united the fragmented Greek city-states under the League of Corinth.

Aegae (Vergina), Greece

7 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Diocletian

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus

Roman Empire (Croatia)

0244 – 0311 (66 years old)

Roman emperor who ended the Crisis of the Third Century, instituted the Tetrarchy, and was the only Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate.

Split, Dalmatia, Croatia

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus

Roman Empire (Italy)

0121 – 0180 (58 years old)

Last of the 'Five Good Emperors' of Rome, Stoic philosopher whose private journals Meditations remain a literary monument of duty and virtue.

Rome, Italy

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

3

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Antoninus Pius

Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius

Roman Empire (Italy)

0086 – 0161 (74 years old)

Roman Emperor of the Antonine Dynasty whose 23-year reign was the most peaceful in the entire history of the Roman Empire.

Rome, Italy

3 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

7

🕯️ 990

Publius Aelius Hadrianus (Emperor Hadrian)

Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus

Spain

24 January 76 CE – 10 July 138 CE (62 years old)

Third of the "Five Good Emperors" celebrated as the empire's supreme traveler, architect, and lover of Greek culture. Built Hadrian's Wall across northern Britain, reconstructed the Pantheon in Rome, and fortified imperial frontiers.

Baiae, Italy

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

9

🕯️ 970

Marcus Ulpius Traianus (Trajan / Optimus Princeps)

Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus

Spain

18 September 53 CE – 8 August 117 CE (63 years old)

Second of the "Five Good Emperors" and declared by the Roman Senate as Optimus Princeps (The Best Ruler). Conquered Dacia and Parthia, expanding the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent in history.

Selinus (Cilicia), Turkey

9 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

3

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Vespasian

Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus

Roman Empire (Italy)

0009 – 0079 (69 years old)

Roman emperor who emerged victorious from the Year of the Four Emperors, founded the Flavian Dynasty, and commissioned the Colosseum.

Rome, Italy

3 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Roman Empire (France)

10 BCE – 0054 (~63 years old)

Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty who conquered Britain and established a professional imperial civil service.

Rome, Italy

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

3

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Augustus (Gaius Octavius / Caesar Augustus)

Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus

Roman Republic (Italy)

63 BCE – 0014 (~76 years old)

First Emperor of the Roman Empire who ended decades of civil war and established the two-century era of the Pax Romana.

Rome, Italy

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Oba Esigie

Ọba Ẹsigie

🌐 Benin

Unknown – Unknown

Visionary Oba of Benin (reigned c. 1504–1550) who triumphed in the Idah War, instituted the prestigious office of Queen Mother (Iyoba) for his mother Idia, and presided over the Golden Age of Benin bronze and brass casting.

Benin City (Edo State), Nigeria

2 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

2

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Oba Ozolua

Ọba Ozolua n'Ibaromi

Kingdom of Benin

Unknown – Unknown

Fearsome warrior Oba of the Kingdom of Benin (reigned c. 1481–1504), known as 'Ozolua the Conqueror', who fought over two hundred campaigns, expanded Benin's borders, and initiated early diplomatic contact with Portuguese explorers.

Benin City (Edo State), Nigeria

2 Full Record →