Charles XII Swedish: Karl XII (Latinized to Carolus Rex "King Charles", Turkish Demirbaş Şarl "Charles the Habitué") (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718) was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.
Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father.
He left the country three years later to embark on a series of battles overseas. These...
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Charles XII Swedish: Karl XII (Latinized to Carolus Rex "King Charles", Turkish Demirbaş Şarl "Charles the Habitué") (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718) was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.
Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father.
He left the country three years later to embark on a series of battles overseas. These battles were part of the Great Northern War and many of them were fought against Russia, Saxony and Denmark-Norway. These respective nations joined in a coalition to attack Sweden, starting what would later be known as the Great Northern War.
Charles XII was a skilled military leader and tactician. However, although he was also skilled as a politician, he was reluctant in making peace. Charles is quoted by Voltaire as saying upon the outbreak of the Great Northern War, "I have resolved never to start an unjust war but never to end a...
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