Peter the Great
Toured western Europe, forced through westernising reforms, defeated Sweden for access to the Baltic and built St Petersburg as his new capital.
| Lived | 1672 – 1725 |
| Known as | Tsar of Russia |
| Birthplace or main place | Moscow |
| Places on the map | Moscow, St Petersburg |
MoscowSee the world of Peter the Great in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1650) | At death (map of 1700) |
|---|---|---|
| Moscow | Tsardom of Muscovy | same |
| St Petersburg | Sweden | same |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1703 | Peter the Great founds the city | St Petersburg |
| 1712 | Peter the Great moves the capital to St Petersburg | Moscow |
Battles and sites of the time
- Battle of Narva · 1700
- Battle of Poltava · 1709
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1643 – 1727 | Isaac Newton | Scientist |
| 1654 – 1722 | Kangxi Emperor | Qing emperor |
| c. 1660 – 1717 | Osei Tutu | Founder of the Asante Empire |
| 1638 – 1715 | Louis XIV | King of France |
| 1685 – 1750 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Composer |
| 1618 – 1707 | Aurangzeb | Mughal emperor |
| 1694 – 1778 | Voltaire | Enlightenment writer |
| c. 1648 – 1695 | Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz | Poet and scholar |
| 1706 – 1790 | Benjamin Franklin | Scientist and statesman |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.