Nikephorus II of the Byzantine Empire.
the Bringer of Victory:
"Phocas was indeed a Nicephorus (Bringer of Victory) for the empire. The Byzantines surnamed him Kallinikos, artisan of good victories; the Arabs called him Nikfour. His death caused joy in the Muslim world and shook Christianity. His legend was quickly nourished with stories of his exploits and tragic death. Byzantine and even Bulgar poets were inspired by his exploits, and posterity has kept his memory alive: he is celebrated in the epic poetry of the frontier; the church beatified him (an acolouthie was composed in his honour); and the monks of Mt. Athos still venerate as their benefactor and founder Nicephorus, emperor and martyr. His life was summed up in the phrase inscribed on his sarcophagus: 'You conquered all but a woman.'. . . "
the White Death of the Saracens: Nikephorus II " . . . restored the Byzantine position in the Mediterranean and by victories against the Saracens, earning the nickname 'White Death of the Saracens'. . . ." (Bradbury: 71)
Father Joanikit: " . . . Another object of veneration was Zotof, who in public life was the Keeper of the Seals and had been Peter's tutor; here he was the most clownish Father Joanikit, Archbishop of Presburg (sic), Patriarch of the Suburb and of the banks of the Youzza. He sat holding a goose's egg in one unsteady hand and a Dutch pipe in the other; a tankard hung on a chain about his neck, and on his head he wore a tin miter painted with a naked Bacchus." (Jones: 50)
the Bismarck of the Balkans: "With the exception of our own gracious sovereign, there is probably no potentate in the world so universally beloved by his people as Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro, and the secret of his popularity lies chiefly in an absolute simplicity of life and manner which appeals to this rugged race of mountaineers. The relations of Nikita (as he is affectionately called) toward his subjects more resemble those of a paternal English squire on the best of terms with his tenants than the head of a State, the occupants of which are angels one minute and devils the next. The ruler of the Black Mountain is what the French call "a good boy," but one whose shrewdness and tact at home and abroad have earned him the nickname of 'The Bismarck of the Balkans.' And it needs a clear brain and steady nerves to keep the helm straight in this little Principality, which, after finally disposing of one powerful enemy, finds herself practically at the mercy of a doubtful friend.
the Nero of Wallachia: " . . . Called by Raicevich the 'Nero of Wallachia', Nicholas knew no Romanian when he came to the Principalities, something that earned him the contempt of local chroniclers. Later on, however, he learned the language of his subjects... His knowledge of the local vernacular was useful because it enabled him to study the history of the country, thus improving his statesmanship. . . ." (Ricks and Trapp: 8)
Palkin: "Nicholas I, Alexander II’s father and predecessor, was one of the most conservative monarchs in Russian history. One of his nicknames was 'Palkin,' or man with a club. . . ." (Russia Beyond)
the Bloody: The Tsar was, unfortunately, not well liked amongst his people, particularly those in the larger cities. His twenty-two year reign was fraught with difficulties: the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese war; the heavy-handed response to the Bloody Sunday protests earned him the nickname ‘Nicholas the Bloody’; he implemented few changes that would improve the lives of his millions of citizens; and his ill-advised decision to take command of the Russian Army in September 1915 on the Eastern Front put him in the firing line to take the blame for any defeats the Army had (and there were many)." (The Royal Forums)
the Colonel: " In the late 1890s, German diplomats and the Kaiser were becoming increasingly aware of the weakness of the Russian monarchy. In June 1898, Heinrich von Tschirschky und Bögendorff, the charge at the German embassy at St. Petersburg, reported that the standing of the monarchy in the eyes of the Russian people had declined in the three and a half years since Nicholas's accession. The Tsar's own failure to assert his authority was a major factor in this. Nicholas was referred to more and more often in official circles by the contemptuous nickname 'the Colonel', and his reign was increasingly seen as one of transition, perhaps to a republic. . . ." (Royalty and Diplomacy in Europe, 1890-1914: 36)
the Don Quixote of Russian Absolutism: "'The Don-Quixote of the Russian absolutism' was the nickname of Nicholas I. He was a great adherent of various court entertainment; for him it was part of the image of the powerful and prosperous Empire, where the Court had to amaze with brilliance, elegance, luxury and grandeur. For this Russian monarch regular balls were an equal priority with receiving the Ministers and with the church services. . . ." (Barkovetz)
the Gendarme of Europe:
--" . . . The suppression of the Hungarian uprising was a triumph of conservative foreign policy of Nicholas I, who came to be called 'the gendarme of Europe.' (Raleigh: 290)
--" . . . Another moniker, earned after crushing a rebellion in Austria-Hungary, was 'the gendarme of Europe.'" (Russia Beyond)
the Iron Czar:
--" . . . Nicholas I (1825-1855), was the very embodiment of the methods and ideals of Russian autocracy. Nicholas was wont to consider himself the providential guardian of legitimacy and autocracy against the liberal encroachments of the 'rotten West,' and he was ready to help others in fighting for the same cause, to serve, as he actually did serve, as the 'gendarme of Europe.' This mission Nicholas I, very different from his gentle and wavering brother, carried out with an energy and vigour which rightly won for him the title of the 'Iron Czar.'. . . ." (Friedlander: 129)
--" . . . Nicholas was professional soldier who came to be known as the 'Iron Czar.' His agenda included nationalism, loyalty to Russian Orthodox teachings, and autocracy, or absolute government by the Czar. . . ." (Bloomberg: 13)
the Iron Emperor
the Knout: "Nicholas I, the 'iron czar,' was and has remained the object of contempt and even outright hatred. His countrymen called him the 'knout.' His fellow officers . . . disliked him intensely, in part because of his obsessive enforcement of even the most trivial of military discipline, a liability that may explain his hesitation to claim the throne in 1825. . . ." (A Brief History of Russia: 83)
(with George V of Great Britain)
the Elder:
Nikolai Konstantinovich of Russia (1850-1918)
the Black Sheep of the Family.
God Apollo: "In August of 1901, she married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg. Two years later, she attended a review of her brother Michael's regiment at nearby Pavlovsk. It was there that she first set eyes on 'God Apollo' as his fellow junior officers called him. Colonel Nikolai Kulikovsky, age 22, was a close friend of Michael's and she persuaded her brother to seat her next to Nikolai during lunch, which he did. Before the meal was over Olga was in love. Soon after, Olga wanted to divorce Peter and marry Nikolai, but neither her husband, Peter, or (sic) her brother, Nicholas II would permit it. However, the marriage remained unconsummated, both Olga and Peter were unhappy, and was finally officially annulled in 1916 by Tsar Nicholas II." (Royal Russia)
Notre Dame d'Amours (by Walpole)
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