A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adopted as a practice by many later empires, especially the French, British and Russian Empires.
Victory titles were suffixed to the commander's name and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Some victory titles became hereditary cognomina, while others were personal agnomina and not carried on by later family members. Names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian") expressed the triumphal subjugation of these peoples or their territories, or commemorated the locations of general's successful campaigns, equivalent to modern titles like Lawrence of Arabia, and were not indicators of origin.
The practice of awarding victory titles was established in the Roman Republic. The most famous grantee of a Republican victory title was Publius Cornelius Scipio, who for his great victories in the Second Punic War, specifically the Battle of Zama was awarded by the Roman Senate the title "Africanus" and is thus known to history as "Scipio Africanus" (his adopted grandson Scipio Aemilianus Africanus was awarded the same title after the Third Punic War and is known as "Scipio Africanus the Younger"). Other notable holders of such victory titles include Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, who was replaced by Gaius Marius as command-in-chief of the Jugurthine War; Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, who commanded Roman anti-pirate operations in the eastern Mediterranean (and was father of Julius Caesar's colleague in his second consulate); Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus in 48 BC), while Marcus Antonius Creticus, another anti-piracy commander, (and father of Caesar's magister equitum, Mark Antony) actually lost in Crete and was called Creticus mockingly, as it also meant "Man made of Chalk". Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" received his title posthumously from those glorifying his suicide, rather than defeat, at Utica.
The practice continued in the Roman Empire, although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding Maximus ("the Greatest") to the victory title (e.g., Parthicus Maximus, "the Greatest Parthian"). This taste grew to be rather vulgar by modern standards, with increasingly grandiose accumulations of partially fictitious victory titles.
In a broader sense, the term victory title is sometimes used to describe the repeatable awarding of the invariable style of Imperator (Greek equivalent Autokrator; see those articles), which is the highest military qualification (as modern states have awarded a non-operational highest rank, sometimes instituted for a particular general), but even when it marks the recipient out for one or more memorable victories (and the other use, as a permanent military command for the ruler, became in fact the more significant one), it does not actually specify one.
Medieval victory titles
After the fall of Western Rome, the practice continued in modified form.
Charlemagne, the first Carolingian emperor of the Franks, styled himself Dominator Saxonorum ("Dominator of the Saxons") after subduing by force the last major pagan people in the empire[citation needed]
Byzantine Emperor Basil II (r. 960–1025) — "the Bulgar-slayer"
Prince Dmitry of Moscow was styled Dmitry Donskoy for his victory over Mamai Khan at Kulikovo on the Don.
Modern victory titles
The term "victory-title" occurs in English from as early as 1938.[1]
Modern monarchs awarded titles in commemoration of major military victories, but in the guise of a feudal aristocratic title, often hereditary, but only in appearance: an actual fief was not required, indeed they often were granted in chief of a battlefield where the awarding monarch simply had no constitutional authority to grant anything validly under local law.
This new form was even more specific than the Roman practice. Instead of naming the enemy — which could well need to be repeated — it linked the name of a battle, which was almost always unique. A further level of protection was available by naming a nearby place, such as 'Austerlitz' which Napoleon declared sounded better than the alternative.[citation needed]
Russian Empire
In the Russian Empire, many victory titles originated in the period between the accession of Catherine the Great (1762) and the death of Nicholas I of Russia (1855). But as early as 1707, after Alexander Menshikov occupied Swedish Ingria (Izhora) during the Great Northern War, Peter I of Russia officially designated him Duke or Prince of Ingria (Russian: герцог Ижорский - gertsog Izhorsky). Other Russian victory titles (sometimes referencing whole campaigns rather than specific battles) include:
Furthermore, similar titles were awarded for comparable non-military services to the empire, e.g. in 1858 — Amursky for another Nicholas Muravyov, who had negotiated a new border between Russian and China along the Amur River under the Treaty of Aigun.
General Wrangel awarded the last victory-title in Russia (Krymsky – "Crimean") unofficially after the abolition of the monarchy: to the White Lieutenant-General Yakov Aleksandrovich Slashchyov in August 1920 for his defence of the Crimea in 1919–1920.
Napoleon I, the founder of the Bonaparte dynasty and only head of the First French Empire, owed his success – both his personal rise and the growth of his empire – above all to his military excellence, and he bestowed elaborate honours on his generals, especially those raised to the supreme army rank of maréchal (marshal).
The bestowing of a victory title (French: titre de victoire), commemorating a specific victory, was an ideal form of honour, and many incumbents were victorious marshals (or posthumously, in chief of the widow).
The highest of these titles referenced four nominal principalities, in most cases awarded as a "promotion" to holders of ducal victory titles:
MarshalDavout, Prince d'Eckmühl – 1809 (extinct 1853) – also duc d'Auerstaedt (see below)
Marshal Ney, Prince de la Moskowa – 1813 (extinct 1969) – also duc d'Elchingen – Bataille de la Moskowa is the French name for the Battle of Borodino of 1812
Marshal Lefebvre, duc de Dantzig – 28 May 1807 (extinct 1820) – Dantzig was then still a city republic, which became part of Prussia after Napoleon's defeat, and subsequently Gdańsk in Poland
General Junot, duc d'Abrantès – 1808 (extinct 1859 but extended in female line in 1869, again extinct 1985)
Marshal Davout, duc d'Auerstaedt – 1808 (extinct 1853, extended to collaterals) – also prince d'Eckmühl
Marshal Marmont, duc de Raguse – 1808 (extinct 1852) – present-day Dubrovnik, on the Croatian coast; conquered as part of Napoleon's own Italian kingdom, soon to become part of France's imperial exclave the Illyrian provinces (1809–1816)
In the interest of insinuating a continuation of his Uncle's Empire, to prove legitimacy during his early reign, Napoleon III reestablished many titles that Napoleon I had issued during his own reign. During his long rule, Napoleon III also created new titles rewarding his generals for victory.
Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the 1st Duke of Wellington), victor of the Battle of Douro, was in 1809 created Baron Douro as the subsidiary title granted to him with the Viscountcy of Wellington (see below). He was later, in 1814, created Marquess Douro as the subsidiary title granted to him with the Dukedom of Wellington.
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, in 1798, and (by this time a Vice-Admiral) was further created Viscount Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk. He was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Hilborough in the County of Norfolk in August 1801. After his victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar, his brother was created Earl Nelson, of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey, and Viscount Merton, of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey, in 1805, in his honour. (Nelson also earned the Dukedom of Bronte in Sicily, awarded to him in 1799 (in recognition of military support) by King Ferdinand III of the Kingdom of Sicily.)
Gerard Lake, victor of the Battle of Delhi (1803) and the Battle of Laswari (1803), was created Baron Lake, of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham in 1804 and Viscount Lake with the same designation in 1807.
Rowland Hill, victor of the Battle of Almaraz (1812), was created Baron Hill, of Almaraz and of Hawkestone in the County of Shropshire in 1814 and Baron Hill, of Almaraz and of Hardwicke in the County of Shropshire in 1816.
The Lord Combermere, who captured the fort at Bharatpur in 1826 while serving as Commander-in-Chief, India, was created Viscount Combermere, of Bhurtpore in the East Indies and Combermere in the County Palatine of Chester in 1827.
Sir John Lawrence, who served as Chief Commissioner of the Punjab during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1859, was created Baron Lawrence, of the Punjab and of Grateley in the County of Southampton in 1869.
Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts, victor of the Battle of Kandahar in 1880, was created Baron Roberts, of Kandahar in Afghanistan and of the City of Waterford in 1892. Following the Battle of Diamond Hill near Pretoria in 1900, he was further created Earl Roberts, of Kandahar in Afghanistan and of Pretoria in the Transvaal Colony and of the City of Waterford in 1901.
Major-General Sir Herbert Kitchener, in recognition of his victory in the Battle of Omdurman (1898), was created Baron Kitchener, of Khartoum and of Aspall in the County of Suffolk (Khartoum being the less obscure but relatively nearby capital of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), in 1898. In 1902 (by this time a full General) he was further created Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum, of Khartoum and of the Vaal in the Colony of Transvaal and of Aspall in the County of Suffolk (having been Administrator of Transvaal and of the Orange River Colony in 1901). In June 1914 (having achieved the rank of Field Marshal in 1909) he was further created Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and of Broome, of Khartoum and of Broome in the County of Kent.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir David Beatty, the First Sea Lord (1919-1927) and formerly Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet (1916-1919) during the last years of the First World War, was, as one of the subsidiary titles granted to him with the Earldom of Beatty, created Baron Beatty, of the North Sea and of Brooksby in the County of Leicester, in 1919.
In the Austrian empire titles of nobility could be amended with territorial designations, the so-called predicates. These were usually named after the estates of the family in question, but sometimes the Habsburg rulers of Austria also granted victory titles. This happened particularly during World War I (1914-1918). Examples include:
Major GeneralIgnaz Trollmann, whose XIX. Corps helped to conquer the Lovćen mountain near Kotor in 1916, was ennobled as Freiherr (baron) in 1917 with the style of Freiherr Trollmann von Lovcenberg.
Kingdom of Hungary
The system used in the Kingdom of Hungary by the Habsburgs resembled the one employed in Austria. Titles of nobility could be amended with territorial designations, also called predicates. These were usually named after the estates of the family in question, but sometimes also specific victory titles were granted. Examples include:
Colonel GeneralStefan Sarkotić, the Commanding General in Bosnia and Herzegovina during World War I, was ennobled as a Hungarian baron and the style of Baron Sarkotić von Lovćen in early 1917 after Trollmann's XIX. Corps had conquered the Lovćen mountain near Kotor.
During the Regency of Hungary after World War I, the RegentMiklós Horthy was not authorized to grant titles of nobility, but conferred the Order of Vitéz which sometimes but necessarily also carried noble predicates. Initially membership was restricted to men who had served with special distinction in the war. Examples commemorating military action include:
Captain Rihmer de Granasztó granted the title vitéz Gerlefalvi for his bravery at Gerlefalva, today Girovce, Slovakia.
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy of Piemonte-Sardinia granted many victory titles. The practice of bestowing such titles became especially common after the unification of Italy and again after World War I, when the Mussolini government (1922–1943) made a number of nominations. Examples include:
Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, created 1st Duca del Mare ("Duke of the Sea") in 1922. He had been the Chief of the Italian Naval Staff (1913–1915 and 1917–1919) during World War I.
Commodore Luigi Rizzo, created 1st Conte di Grado e di Premuda for his services as naval commander in World War I during which he also sank the Austrian battleship SMS Szent István.
The Spanish crown has awarded similar titles such as Adelantado which was used as a military title held by some Spanish conquistadors of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Other titles include such as Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (hereditary) for the English Viscount Wellington (later Duke of Wellington). General O'Donnell was granted the title Duke of Tetuán by Isabella II after his success at the Battle of Tétouan. José Malcampo, 3rd Marquess of San Rafael, Prime Minister of Spain in 1871, during the reign of Amadeo I, was granted the titles of Count of Jolo and Viscount of Mindanao after he victoriously took the city of Jolo from the Sultanate of Sulu during his governorship-general (1874-1877) of the Philippines.
^Nibley, Hugh (1938). The Roman Games as the Survival of an Archaic Year-cult. University of California, Berkeley. p. 164. Retrieved 2016-06-06. The Imperator was necessarily the victorious leader, his title was awarded with his triumph, and, as Prof. Nesselhauf has recently shown, his rule was simply in the last analysis a protracted triumph: it was not the proconsular title which he chose to express his military power, but the victory-title of Imperator.