Charles XII of Sweden
Biography
Charles became king at fifteen and soon faced an alliance of Denmark, Saxony-Poland, and Russia. He won dazzling victories, including Narva in 1700, but his invasion of Russia ended in disaster at Poltava in 1709. He spent years in Ottoman territory before returning to fight on. He was killed by a gunshot at the siege of Fredriksten in Norway in 1718, and Sweden lost its status as a great power.
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