Tiridates III was the son of Khosrov II of Armenia by an unnamed mother, the latter being assassinated in 252 by a Parthian agent named Anak under orders from Ardashir I. Tiridates had one known sibling, a sister called Khosrovidukht. Anak was captured and executed along with most of his family, while two of his sons, one of whom was Gregory the Illuminator, were sheltered in Caesaria, in Cappadocia. Being the only surviving heir to the throne, Tiridates was quickly taken away to Rome soon after his father’s assassination while still an infant. He was educated in Rome and was skilled in languages and military tactics[2][3]; in addition he firmly understood and appreciated Roman law. The Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi described him as a brave and strong warrior who participated in the battles against enemies. He personally led his army to victories in many battles.

« سألت عمر رضي الله تعالى عنه لأي شيء سميت الفاروق؟ قال: أسلم حمزة قبلي بثلاثة أيام، ثم شرح الله صدري للإسلام، فقلت: الله لا إله إلا هو له الأسماء الحسنى، فما في الأرض نسمة أحب إلي من نسمة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قلت: أين رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " ؟ قالت أختي: هو في دار الأرقم بن الأرقم عند الصفا، فأتيت الدار وحمزة في أصحابه جلوس في الدار، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في البيت، فضربت الباب فاستجمع القوم، فقال لهم حمزة: مالكم؟ قالوا: عمر، قال: فخرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخذ بمجامع ثيابه ثم نثره فما تمالك أن وقع على ركبته، فقال: ما أنت بمنته يا عمر؟ قال: فقلت: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لاشريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله. قال: فكبر أهل الدار تكبيرة سمعها اهل المسجد، قال: فقلت: يا رسول الله ألسنا على الحق إن متنا وإن حيينا؟ قال: بلى، والذي نفسي بيده إنكم على الحق إن متم وإن حييتم، قال: فقلت: ففيم الاختفاء؟ والذي بعثك بالحق لتخرجن، فاخرجناه في صفين حمزة في أحدهما، وأنا في الآخر، له كديد ككديد الطحين حتى دخلنا المسجد، قال: فنظرت إلى قريش وإلى حمزة فأصابتهم كآبة لم يصبهم مثلها فسماني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يومئذ الفاروق. وفرق الله بين الحق والباطل.[7][8] »

« "قلت لعائشة: من سمى عمر الفاروق؟ قالت: النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم" [9][10][11]. »

«وافقنا من علي يوماً أطيب نفساً ومزاجاً فقلنا يا أمير المؤمنين حدثنا عن عمر بن الخطاب قال: "ذاك امرؤ سماه الله الفاروق فرق به بين الحق والباطل".

« قال ابن شهاب: "بلغنا أن أهل الكتاب كانوا أول من قال لعمر الفاروق، وكان المسلمون يأثرون ذلك من قولهم، ولم يبلغنا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذكرمن ذلك شيئاً ولم يبلغنا" [15].»

Valdemar I of Denmark (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until his death in 1182.

Biography
He was the son of Canute Lavard, a chivalrous and popular Danish prince, who was the eldest son of Eric I of Denmark. Valdemar's father was murdered by Magnus the Strong days before the birth of Valdemar; his mother, Ingeborg of Kiev, daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, named him after her grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev.
As an heir to the throne, and with his rivals quickly gaining power, he was raised in the court of Asser Rig of Fjenneslev, together with Asser's sons, Absalon and Esbern Snare, who would become his trusted friends and ministers.
In 1146, when Valdemar was fifteen years old, King Erik III Lamb abdicated and a civil war erupted. The pretenders to the throne were: Sweyn III Grathe, son of Eric II Emune, son of Eric I. Canute V, son of Magnus the Strong who was the son of King Niels, who was the brother of Erik I. Valdemar himself held Jutland, at least Schleswig, as his possession. The civil war lasted the better part of ten years.
In 1157, the three agreed to part the country in three among themselves. Sweyn hosted a great banquet for Canute, Absalon, and Valdemar during which he planned to dispose of all of them. Canute was killed, but Absalon and Valdemar escaped. Valdemar returned to Jutland. Sweyn quickly launched an invasion, only to be defeated by Valdemar in the Battle of Grathe Heath. He was killed during flight, supposedly by a group of peasants who stumbled upon him as he was fleeing from the battlefield. Valdemar, having outlived all his rival pretenders, became the sole King of Denmark.

In 1158 Absalon was elected Bishop of Roskilde, and Valdemar made him his chief friend and advisor. He reorganized and rebuilt war-torn Denmark. At Absalon's instigation he declared war upon the Wends who were raiding the Danish coasts. They inhabited Pomerania and the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. In 1168 the Wendish capital, Arkona, was taken, and the Wends became Christians and subject to Danish suzerainty. Danish influence reached into Pomerania.
Valdemar's reign saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its zenith under his second son Valdemar II.

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
Valentinian I (Latin: Flavius Valentinianus Augustus;[1] 321 – 17 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.
During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers – even building fortresses in enemy territory.
Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.

Early life
Valentinian was born in 321 at Cibalae in southern Pannonia (now Vinkovci in Croatia). Valentinian and his younger brother Valens were the sons of Gratianus Major, a prominent commander during the reigns of emperors Constantine I and Constans I.[8] He and his brother grew up on the family estate where they were educated in a variety of subjects, including painting and sculpting.[9]
Gratianus was promoted to Comes Africae in the late 320's or early 330's, and the young Valentinian accompanied his father to Africa.[10] However, Gratianus was soon accused of embezzlement and was forced to retire.[10] Valentinian joined the army in the late 330's and later probably acquired the position of protector domesticus.[10] Gratianus was later recalled during the early 340s and was made comes of Britannia.[10] After holding this post, Gratianus retired to the family estate in Cibalae.[11]
In 350, Constans I was assassinated by agents of the usurper Magnentius, a commander in Gaul proclaimed emperor by his soldiers.[12] Constantius II, older brother of Constans and emperor in the East, promptly set forth towards Magnentius with a large army.[13] The following year the two emperors met in Pannonia. The ensuing Battle of Mursa Major resulted in a costly victory for Constantius.[14] Two years later he defeated Magnentius again in southern Gaul at the Battle of Mons Seleucus.[15] Magnentius, now realizing the futility of continuing his revolt, committed suicide in August that year; making Constantius sole ruler of the empire.[16] It was around this time that Constantius confiscated Gratianus' property, for supposedly showing hospitality to Magnentius when he was in Pannonia.[11] Despite his father's fall from favor, Valentinian does not seem to have been adversely affected at this time, making it unlikely he ever fought for the usurper.[17] It is known that Valentinian was in the region during the conflict, but what involvement he had in the war, if any, is unknown.

· Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, Russian: Влади́мир, Vladimir, Ukrainian: Володимир, Volodymyr,[2]; c. 958 near Pskov – 15 July 1015, Berestovo) was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in (980–1015).[3][4]
Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty.[5] After the death of his father in 972,
Vladimir, who was then prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976 after his brother Yaropolk had murdered his other brother Oleg and conquered Rus. In Sweden with the help from his relative Ladejarl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk.[6] By 980 Vladimir had consolidated the Kievan realm from modern day Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads. Originally a pagan, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988,[7][8][9] and proceeded to baptise all of Kievan Rus'.[10]
Way to the throne
Vladimir, born in 958, was the natural son and youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper Malusha. Malusha is described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga Prekrasa, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns.
Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death (972), a fratricidal war erupted (976) between Yaropolk and his younger brother Oleg, ruler of the Drevlians. In 977 Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, collecting as many of the Norse warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod, and on his return the next year marched against Yaropolk.
On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman, but Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, and took Ragnhild by force. Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and the capture of Polotsk and Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev (978), where he slew Yaropolk by treachery, and was proclaimed knyaz of all Kievan Rus.

Vytautas (Lithuanian: Vytautas Didysis (help·info), Belarusian: Вітаўт, Polish: Witold Kiejstutowicz, Rusyn: Vitovt, Latin: Alexander Vitoldus, Italian: Vito il Grande); styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 – October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler (1392–1430) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians. He was also the Prince of Hrodna (1370–1382) and the Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), postulated king of Hussites.

Vytautas the Great, Lithuanian Vytautus Didysis, Polish Witold Wielki (born 1350, Lithuania—died Oct. 27, 1430, Trakai, Lith.), Lithuanian national leader who consolidated his country’s possessions, helped to build up a national consciousness, and broke the power of the Teutonic Knights. He exercised great power over Poland.
Vytautas was the son of Kęstutis, who for years had waged a struggle with his brother Algirdas for control of Lithuania.
The conflict between the two branches of the family continued into the next generation, as Vytautas vied with Algirdas’ son Jogaila. Both Vytautas and his father were captured by Jogaila in 1382 and Kęstutis was murdered while a prisoner.
Vytautas, however, escaped and two years later was able to make peace with Jogaila, who returned to Vytautas the family lands seized earlier. In an effort to consolidate his position and widen his power, Jogaila married the 12-year-old Polish queen Jadwiga and was crowned king of Poland in Kraków on Feb. 15, 1386, as Władysław II Jagiełło.
Vytautas then waged an intermittent struggle for power with Jogaila and on occasion sought further assistance from the Teutonic Order. Vytautas’ popularity grew until his cousin was forced to adopt a conciliatory position. Jogaila offered to make Vytautas his vice regent over all of Lithuania. The offer was accepted, and in August 1392 a formal compact was signed. As time was to show, Vytautas by this act became supreme ruler of Lithuania in fact if not in law.
Vytautas began his rule by subduing and banishing rebellious and ineffective nobles and trying to conquer the Mongols in the east. His forces, however, were defeated by the Mongols in the Battle of the Vorskla River in present-day Russia on Aug. 12, 1399 (see Vorskla River, Battle of the).
In this same period, union between Poland and Lithuania was proclaimed in a treaty concluded at Vilnius in January 1401. Under the terms of the treaty, the Lithuanian boyars promised that in the event of Vytautas’ death they would recognize Jogaila as grand prince of Lithuania, and the Polish nobility agreed that if Jogaila died they would not elect a new king without consulting Vytautas.
Vytautas and Jogaila then turned their attention westward, and there followed a series of wars with the Teutonic Order, which recognized Švitrigaila (Swidrygiełło), a brother of Jogaila, as grand prince of Lithuania. Vytautas was able to drive Svidrigaila out of the country, but the Teutonic Order was able to retain control of a portion of Lithuania. Early in 1409 Vytautas concluded a treaty with Jogaila for a combined attack on the Order, and on June 24, 1410, the Polish-Lithuanian forces crossed the Prussian frontier. In the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) on July 15, 1410, the Teutonic Knights suffered a blow from which they never recovered. German supremacy in the Baltic area was broken and Poland-Lithuania began to be regarded in the West as a great power.
In 1429 Vytautas revived his claim to the Lithuanian crown, and Jogaila reluctantly consented to his cousin’s coronation as king, but before the ceremony could take place Vytautas died

· William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
William I (1020 – 12 November 1087), called the Great (le Grand or Tête Hardie, "the Rash"), was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 and Mâcon from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Renaud I and Alice of Normandy, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
William was the father of several notable children, including Pope Callixtus II.
In 1057, he succeeded his father and reigned over a territory larger than that of the Franche-Comté itself. In 1087, he died in Besançon and was buried there in the cathedral of St John.
William married a woman named Stephanie.[1]

Alice (or Adeliza, Adelaide or Aelis) was born circa 1002 and died around 1038,

· William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Yu the Great (Chinese:pinyin: c. 2200 - 2100 BC), was a legendary ruler in ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character.
Few, if any, records exist from the period of Chinese history when Yu reigned. Because of this, the vast majority of information about his life and reign comes from collected pieces of oral tradition and stories that were passed down in various areas of China, many of which were collected in Sima Qian's famous Records of the Grand Historian. Yu and other "sage-kings" of Ancient China were lauded by Confucius and other Chinese teachers, who praised their virtues and morals.[4]
Yu is one of the few Chinese rulers posthumously honored with the appellation "the Great".

Ancestry and early life
According to several ancient Chinese records, Yu was the 8th great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor: Yu's father Gun was the 5th great-grandson of King Zhuanxu; Zhuanxu's father Changyi was the second son of the Yellow Emperor. Yu was said to be born at Mount Wen (Chinese: 汶山), in modern day Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, though there are debates as to whether he was born in Shifang instead.[10] Yu's mother was a woman of the Youxin clan named either Nüzhi (Chinese: 女志) or Nüxi (Chinese: 女嬉).
As a child, Yu's father Gun moved the people east toward the Chinese heartland. King Yao enfeoffed Gun as lord of Chong, usually identified as the middle peak of Mount Song. Yu is thus believed to have grown up on the slopes of Mount Song, just south of the Yellow River. He later married a woman from Mount Tu (Chinese: 塗山) who is generally referred to as Tushan-shi (Chinese: 塗山氏; literally "Lady Tushan").[12] They had a son named Qi, a name literally meaning "revelation".[12]
The Nine Provinces
King Shun, who reigned after his father Yao, was so impressed by Yu's engineering work and diligence that he passed the throne to Yu instead of to his own son. Yu is said to have initially declined the throne, but was so popular with other local lords and chiefs that he agreed to become the new emperor, at the age of 53. He established a capital at Anyi (Chinese: 安邑) - the ruins of which are in modern Xia County, in southern Shanxi Province - and founded what would be called the Xia Dynasty, traditionally considered China's first dynasty.[17]
Yu's flood control work is said to have made him intimately familiar with all regions of what was then Han Chinese territory. According to the Book of History, Yu divided the Chinese "world" into nine zhou or provinces. These were Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou), Xuzhou), Yangzhou), Jingzhou (), Yuzhou), Liangzhou and Yongzhou .
Death
According to the Bamboo Annals, Yu ruled the Xia Dynasty for 45 years; and, according to Yue Jueshu , he died from an illness.It is said that he died at Kuaiji Mountain , south of present day Shaoxing, while on a hunting tour to the eastern frontier of his empire, and was buried there. The Yu mausoleum known today was first built in the 6th century CE during the Southern dynasty in his honor. It is located four kilometers southeast of Shaoxing city.[24] Most of the structure was rebuilt many times in later periods. The three main parts of the mausoleum are the Yu tomb , temple and memorial In many statues he is seen carrying an ancient plow . A number of emperors in imperial times have travelled there to perform ceremonies in his honor, notably Qin Shi Huang.[23