Louis XIV

Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 at St Germain-en-Laye. He became king at the age of four on the death of his father, Louis XIII. His mother, Anne of Austria, and his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, ruled on his behalf until he came of age in 1661. He declared that he would rule as an absolute monarch, with the famous phrase "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state"). He consolidated his power by building a magnificent palace at Versailles, where he moved his court and government in 1682. He patronized the arts and culture, and employed famous artists such as Molière, Racine, Lully, Le Brun, and Le Nôtre. He also reformed the legal system with the Code Louis, which unified the laws of France and served as a model for other countries. He also expanded France's territory through a series of wars, such as the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. He secured the Spanish throne for his grandson Philip V in 1714. However, his wars also drained France's resources and provoked resentment from other European powers. He also faced domestic opposition from the Huguenots (French Protestants), whom he persecuted and deprived of their rights with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He died on 1 September 1715, after a reign of 72 years, the longest in European history. He was succeeded by his great-grandson Louis XV.