Why not Genghis Khan the great ?
Alexander conquered the known world. Genghis merely had the world’s second biggest empire.
What do the Mongols and their descendents call Genghis Khan?
Alex got his title because the Greeks called him that, and the Romans picked it up from them (along with all of their culture). After a few centuries, it became a habit.
Remember, it’s all about who’s telling the story.
After the romans ?
Genghis’ main problem is that he didn’t like to have stuff written down. The Golden Horde should have imparted a massive tonal shift through a wide swatch of estate. But because there was no books or written laws to hand down, the effect of their governorship was ephemeral.
Alexander, on the other hand, spread philosophy and law and left it all behind in the form of tablets and documents. He established a particular legal and governmental apparatus that could last through the ages.
British. 33.7 million km^2 vs 33.0 million km^2. The Romans were around 17th with 6.5 million km^2
Of course given the difficulty in locating exactly the borders of the Mongol empire around 1300, maybe they were first. They do have a large enough lead over the Russian empire though that they are certainly at least second.
IIRC, “Ghenghis Khan” IS the “title of greatness” given to Mongol leader Temudjin (and yeah, biggest contiguous land empire. Not our fault Alex didn’t know about a lot of the world - and he even did NOT conquer many parts of of his “known” world).
“khaaaaaaaaannnnnnn!!!”
Hmm…Brits had guns & cannons . IIRC, GK had only bows and arrows. Is the comparison fair enough ?
I think it’s fair enough - you work with what you’ve got. I feel sorry for poor old Genghis. Put all that effort in only to gain second place. In the end though, first is first, second is nowhere.
As a Brit, I’ve always wanted to meet a Mongolian so I can be all patronising and condescending - “Oh second biggest empire the world has ever seen. Well done. You must be very proud” - because there’s only Brits that can do this and it’s only Mongolians we can do it to.
Alexander was proclaimed and worshiped as a god during his own lifetime (Zeus-Amman, among others- his mother claimed he was divinely sired). Were there any supernatural or divine titles or tales or attributes attached to Genghis?
I’ve wondered why Elizabeth I of England wasn’t “the Great”. I’m much rather be known as “Sampiro the Great” or even “Sampiro the Meets or Exceeds Minimum Requirements” than “The Virgin Queen”.
Elizabeth got Gloriana though. Do the Brits do much Great-ing? I can’t think of any British Greats, except ol’ Alfred. There’s no Henry or Richard or Edward the Great. Just Alfred.
And Beowulf was soooooo close…he was Beowulf the Geat.
The name Ghengis Khan was probably an honorific in itself.
Elizabeth doesn’t get to be the Great because she didn’t conquer anything much. “Greats” typically go out and add new territory to their kingdoms/empires/whatever.
Elizabeth I just did the usual plundering of France and Ireland. Nothing special. She didn’t even really defeat the Spanish Armada; that was the weather.
Not only that, but her regency tends to be overrated because of the mess that followed (that is, James I). Sort of like people who didn’t like Clinton pining for him after a few years of Bush.
It should be noted that Alfred wasn’t really a British great; he was definitively an English one, and hence only a British Great in the sense that Charlemagne is a European Great. He never ruled any of Wales, Scotland or Ireland, and in fact only ruled about a third of England. It was his grandson Athelstan that should really have gotten the Great moniker, since he was the first king of a sort-of unified England, plus the nice bit of Wales.
Well, sure Alfred only had Wessex, but he fought the Vikings all over the place, so he deserves a Great! 
So did Brett Favre. Not buying. 
Because Khan is a great enough title.
Not everyone needs to stick “The great” onto the end of their names to feel awesome, just ask Julius Ceaser
I’d say that Julius received the greater honor. I mean, it’s not as if later Greek rulers became known as “The Alexander”. It’s one thing to be named the great - it’s something else to have great people named after you.
I believe his actual title was Khagan, which basically means Khan of Khans.