Conflicts & Resolutions · War

Great Northern War

1700–1721 · 18th century

The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was fought between Sweden and a coalition led by Russia. After early Swedish successes, Charles XII's defeat at Poltava in 1709 broke Swedish power, and the Treaty of Nystad in 1721 transferred Baltic provinces to Russia, ending the Swedish Empire and establishing the Russian Empire as a great power.

Great Northern War — Image: Imonoz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 5 profiles

Russian EmpireFoundation Swedish EmpireDecline Electorate of SaxonyMilitary Denmark-NorwayMilitary Tsardom of RussiaDecline

Battles and settlements

Mentioned in 10 state histories

Kingdom of Sweden Tsardom of Russia Duchy of Estonia (1561-1721)Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Swedish Ingria Swedish Livonia Bremen-Verden Duchies of Bremen and Verden Governorate of Livonia Governorate of Estonia

See also

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Great Northern War. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-northern-war
MLA: “Great Northern War.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-northern-war. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Great Northern War.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-northern-war.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Great Northern War’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-northern-war (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻