Great nicknames often belong to interesting people, and these rulers are no exception. Which of these historical nicknames do you think is the best?
Note: one ruler per country.
who: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Caligula, Roman Emperor (r. 37-41)
why: when he was a child, Caligula often accompanied his father Tiberius on military campaigns, outfitted in a children-sized war gear
who: Attila Flagelum Dei, ruler of the Huns (r. 434-453)
why: He was a great threat to the Romans, some of whom believed that Attila was sent from God to punish people for their sins (scourge = whip)
who: Harald Gormsson Blátǫnn, King of Denmark and Norway (r. around 958-986)
why: several possible theories: either he had very bad teeth (i.e. ''blue''), or he was very fond of eating blueberries, which would stain his teeth purple-blue, or the nickname is a corrupted form of the original name, which means ''dark chieftain''
who: Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes, Byzantine Emperor (r. 1071-1078)
why: the country's currency devaluated under his rule
who: Richard I Anjou Cœur de Lion, King of England (r. 1189-1199)
why: he had a reputation of a great warrior and military leader
who: Vsevolod III Yuryevich Bolyshoe Gnezdo, Grand Prince of Vladimir (r. 1177–1212)
why: he had at least 14 children
who: Frederick II Hohenstaufen Stupor Mundi, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1220–1250)
why: a lot of his contemporaries were astonished – and sometimes repelled – by Frederick's pronounced unorthodoxy and temperamental stubbornness
who: Přemysl Otakar II Kral Železny a Zlaty, King of Bohemia (r. 1253-1278)
why: his country prospered during his rule
who: Ivaylo Bardokva/Lakhanas, Bulgarian Tsar (r. 1278–1279)
why: he was the leader of a successful peasant rebellion against the Tsar; it is possible that his commoner roots played a role in him getting that nickname, since cabbage and lettuce were seen as peasant's food
who: Magnus Birgersson Ladulås, King of Sweden (r. 1275–1290)
why: he issued a decree in which he freed yeomen from having to provide sustinence to nobles and bishops, who are travelling through their village (i.e. their barns would remain locked)
who: Bayezid I Yildirim, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1389-1402)
why: because of his great military prowess; some say that he earned the nickname after his lightning-quick counter attack in the Battle of Kosovo (1389)
who: Vladislav III Dracula Tepes, Prince of Wallachia (r. 1448; 1456–1462; 1476)
why: his father, Vlad II, gained the nickname Dracul (Dragon) because he was a member of the knightly Order of the Dragon, so therefore, Vlad III was called Dracula (Dragon's son); as for the 'impaler' part, his favorite method of execution was impalement on a wooden spike (a practice he picked up from his enemies, the Ottoman Turks)
who: Louis XI Valois L'universelle Aragne, King of France (r. 1461-1483)
why: his enemies were accusing him of spinning webs of conspiracies and deceit
who: Vuk Grgurević Branković Zmajognjeni Vuk, Despot of Serbia-in-exile (r. 1471-1485)
why: both tradition and epic poetry gave him the nickname Fire-dragon because of his battle prowess; his real name Vuk literally means Wolf
note: the Fire-dragon part is never used without the 'Vuk', hence why his real name also counts as a part of the nickname
who: Isabel a Redentora, Princess Imperial of Brazil (r. 1891-1921)
why: she actively promoted and ultimately signed the Golden Law, emancipating all slaves in Brazil
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