In the Great Northern War a coalition led by Russia successfully contested the supremacy of Sweden in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter
Top to bottom, left to right: Battle of Narva (1700) Crossing of the Düna (1701) Battle of Poltava (1709) Battle of Gadebusch (1712) Bringing Home the Body of King Charles XII (1718)
Swedish cavalry of the Västergötland Regiment
Russian guard of the Semyonovsky Regiment
Uniforms of two Danish guard regiments in 1703
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII, was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the only surviving son
Great Northern War
…Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Saxony-Poland-Lithuania. Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII, and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706, respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava. George…
Charles's parents King Charles XI and Queen Ulrika Eleonora
The 15-year-old Charles in 1697 as king of the Swedish Empire, painting belonging to the workshop of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl
Monument to Charles XII in Stockholm, with Charles pointing towards Russia. Stockholmers call this statue "the lion among four pots" ("Lejonet mellan fyra krukor") referring to the mortars. This contrasts with a nearby statue of Charles XIII, which has lions similarly arranged; that statue is known as "the pot among four lions" ("Krukan mellan fyra lejon").
Charles XII and Ivan Mazepa at the Dnieper River after Poltava by Gustaf Cederström