Great Northern War

The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in northern and eastern Europe in which Russia and its allies defeated Sweden, ending Swedish dominance around the Baltic Sea.

Battle of Narva: A 1700 battle in which Sweden’s Charles XII defeated a much larger Russian army near Narva. Russia’s defeat opened the war, but Charles XII’s decision to turn west gave it time to recover.
Peter the Great: The Russian ruler who transformed the state and led it to victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. His military reforms and persistence made Russia the war’s principal beneficiary.
Swedish Empire: A major early modern European power whose territories surrounded much of the Baltic Sea. Its regional supremacy gave neighboring rulers shared grounds for challenging Sweden.
Russian Empire: A state proclaimed in 1721 under Peter I, expanding from the Tsardom of Russia into a transcontinental empire. Peter adopted the imperial title after victory established Russia as a great power.
Second Northern War: A 17th-century conflict involving Sweden, Denmark-Norway, Poland-Lithuania, and Russia over Baltic power. It preceded the Great Northern War and helped establish the Swedish supremacy later challenged.
Battle of Poltava: A 1709 battle in which Peter I’s Russian army decisively defeated Charles XII’s Swedish forces in Ukraine. The defeat ended Sweden’s prospects of restoring its former position in the war.
Charles XII of Sweden: The Swedish king who led major campaigns during the Great Northern War before dying in 1718. His victories prolonged Sweden’s resistance, while the invasion of Russia ended in catastrophe.
Dano-Swedish wars: A series of conflicts between Denmark-Norway and Sweden over territory and influence in Scandinavia and the Baltic. Their long rivalry shaped Denmark-Norway’s decision to join the coalition.
Estonia: A Baltic region on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1721. Its transfer exemplified the war’s territorial cost to Sweden.
Scanian War: A 1675–1679 conflict in which Denmark-Norway and Brandenburg fought Sweden in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany. It was an earlier coalition war against Sweden that failed to overturn its Baltic position.

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