The story
Attested in Middle English as king of kinges. An ancient formula which seems to have originated in a Semitic language of the Ancient Near East; see Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠𐭭 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (šāhān-šāh, “king of kings”) for more.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.