Charles XII of Sweden

Reign: 1697 – 1718
Life: 1682–1718

He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the only surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. A major victory over a much larger Russian army in 1700, at the Battle of Narva, compelled Peter the Great to sue for peace, an offer that Charles subsequently rejected. That year, Swedish forces under general Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld won a decisive victory over a combined army of Saxony and Russia at the Battle of Fraustadt.

During Charles XII of Sweden's reign, Kangxi Emperor ruled China, Louis XIV of France ruled France, and Frederick I of Prussia ruled Prussia.

Want to learn more? Further reading

A History of Sweden by Byron J. Nordstrom

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The World During Their Reign

The most notable rulers who held power elsewhere at the same time, from European courts to Ottoman, Mughal, and Chinese thrones.

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