Charles XII of Sweden in the context of "Karl XI of Sweden"

The Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother (Italian: Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo), BWV 992, is an early work by Johann Sebastian Bach, possibly modeled on the Biblical Sonatas of Johann Kuhnau. The story that Bach performed it at age nineteen when his brother Johann Jacob left to become an oboist in the army of Charles XII of Sweden is questionable. But the chosen tonality of B-flat major seems to be a deliberate reference to the family's name ("B" in German is B-flat in English).

From 1611 to 1721, Sweden was a European great power, becoming a dominant faction in the quest for control of the Baltic Sea and a formidable military power. During this period, known as Stormaktstiden ('The Great Power Era'), the Swedish Empire held a territory more than twice the size of its modern borders and one of the most successful military forces at the time, proving itself on numerous occasions on battlefields such as Wallhof, Narva, and Düna. The military of the Swedish empire is commonly (and wrongfully) recognized only as the Caroleans, which were in fact not in service until the late 17th century under Charles XI and his successor. The Swedish Empire and its modern military force was founded by Gustavus Adolphus, who inherited the throne in 1611 at age 17. He immediately reformed the common European military based on mercenaries to a professional national army. However, before completing his vision of conquering the Holy Roman Empire, the warrior king was killed in action in 1632. His daughter and successor did little to improve Sweden's military position and abdicated early, providing the Swedish Empire with a more warlike ruler. Charles X Gustav was only king for 5 years, but conquered large amounts of territory that still belong to Sweden today (including Blekinge, Bohuslän, Skåne, and Halland). His son Karl XI would further strengthen the army by introducing the Caroleans, which were also used by Karl XII in the Great Northern War.

However, despite great successes on the battlefield, an inadequate economy and limited manpower eventually led to the demise of the Swedish Empire, which ended its 110-year period as a great power in 1721.

Laiuse Romani was a Romani variety spoken in Estonia. It was a mixed language based on Romani and Estonian.

The Romani people first appeared in Estonia in the 17th century. According to rumors, they were first part of Swedish King Charles XII's Romani orchestra which he, after spending a winter in Laiuse, left behind. In 1841 all 44 Estonian Romani were collected and settled around Laiuse Parish. Their main stop was the village of Raaduvere, but they also lived in Rakvere, Jõgeva, and its precincts. Before the Second World War there were 60 Romani in Laiuse. Laiuse Romani became extinct in the German occupation, when all its speakers were killed by the Nazis during the Porajmos.

The Jacobite Rising of 1719 was a failed attempt to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. Part of a series of Jacobite risings between 1689 and 1745, it was supported by Spain, then at war with Britain during the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

The main part of the plan called for 5,000 Spanish troops to land in South West England, with a subsidiary landing in Scotland by an expeditionary force, led by Charles XII of Sweden. To facilitate this, Scottish Jacobites would capture the port of Inverness; however, Charles' death in November 1718 ended Swedish involvement, and rendered the Scottish operation largely irrelevant.

Christopher Polhammar (18 December 1661 – 30 August 1751) better known as Christopher Polhem (listen), which he took after his ennoblement in 1716, was a Swedish scientist, inventor, and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the economic and industrial development of Sweden, particularly mining. He was ennobled by King Charles XII of Sweden for his contributions to Swedish technological development.

The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would lead to the Swedish Empire losing its status as a European great power and also marked the beginning of Russian supremacy in eastern Europe.

During the course of six years in the initial stages of the war, King Charles XII and the Swedish Empire had defeated almost all participants in the anti-Swedish coalition, which initially consisted of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark-Norway and the Tsardom of Russia. The latter, under Tsar Peter I, was the only one still fighting. Charles therefore chose to invade Russia in the autumn of 1707 and march towards Moscow with a large Swedish army. However, the campaign was complicated by harsh weather conditions and by Russian scorched earth tactics and surprise attacks, which forced Charles to interrupt his march on Moscow and instead march south to establish winter quarters with the help of Ivan Mazepa, hetman of the Cossack Hetmanate Zaporizhian Host.

Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (Old Ukrainian: Іоан(ъ) / Іван(ъ) Мазепа; Ukrainian: Іван Степанович Мазепа; Polish: Jan Mazepa-Kołodyński; 30 March [O.S. 20 March] 1639 – 2 October [O.S. 21 September] 1709) was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host and the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687–1708. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired many literary, artistic and musical works. He was famous as a patron of the arts.

Mazepa played an important role in the Battle of Poltava (1709), where after learning that Tsar Peter I intended to relieve him as acting hetman of Zaporozhian Host and to replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he defected from his army and sided with King Charles XII of Sweden. The political consequences and interpretation of this defection have resonated in the national histories both of Russia and of Ukraine.

Caroleans (Swedish: karoliner), from Carolus, the Latin form of the name Charles, is a term used to describe soldiers of the Swedish army during the reigns of Kings Charles XI and Charles XII of Sweden, and specifically from 1680, when Charles XI instituted an absolute monarchy and embarked on a series of sweeping military reforms, to the death of Charles XII in 1718.

The Caroleans are particularly associated with Charles XII and his campaigns in the Great Northern War (1700–1721), during which they achieved a series of impressive victories, often against considerably larger enemy forces, and established themselves as one of the most feared and respected armies in Europe. However, the main Swedish field army was almost entirely annihilated after defeat at the Battle of Poltava, and the war eventually ended in utter defeat and the dissolution of the Swedish Empire.