When did the Swedish Empire exist?

The Swedish Empire existed 1611–1721. On this map it is drawn 1612–1814.

How large was the Swedish Empire?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Swedish Empire covered about 1.1 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Europe · Reformation to revolution

Swedish Empire

1611–1721

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Existed: 1611–1721
Shown on the map: 1612–1814
Peak area: 1.1M km²
Region: Europe

Character

Sweden's era as a great power (stormaktstiden), conventionally dated from the accession of Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav II Adolf, 1611) to the loss of the Baltic provinces in 1721. Cross-reference Part 8 (Kingdom of Sweden). Government combined the monarchy with the Riksdag of the Estates and, in the provinces, governor-generals; it was a parliamentary constitutional monarchy 1611–1680 and 1719–1721, and an absolute monarchy 1680–1719.

Rulers

Gustavus Adolphus (1611–1632), Christina (1632–1654), Charles X Gustav (1654–1660), Charles XI (1660–1697), Charles XII (1697–1718), Ulrika Eleonora (1718–1720), Frederick I (1720–1721).

Rise

Gustavus Adolphus, the "Lion of the North," reformed the army (church-organised conscription of men aged 16–60) and intervened decisively in the Thirty Years' War (from 1630), winning at Breitenfeld (1631) but dying at Lützen (1632). The Peace of Westphalia (1648) granted Sweden Western Pomerania, Wismar, and the secularised bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, giving it control of German river mouths. Charles X Gustav's wars against Denmark yielded the Treaty of Roskilde (1658), transferring Scania and the southern Swedish provinces to Sweden.

Fall

In the Great Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII won early victories (Narva 1700) but, after allying with Mazepa and invading Ukraine, was catastrophically defeated by Peter the Great at Poltava (27 June/8 July 1709). Charles fled to the Ottoman Empire, returned to Stralsund in 1714, and died in 1718. The Treaty of Nystad (10 September 1721) ceded Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, and part of Karelia to Russia, ending Sweden's Baltic hegemony and confirming Russia's rise. Sweden's fundamental weakness — an inadequate economy and limited manpower relative to its enemies — underlay the collapse.

Common questions

What was the Swedish Empire?: Sweden's era as a great power (stormaktstiden), conventionally dated from the accession of Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav II Adolf, 1611) to the loss of the Baltic provinces in 1721. Cross-reference Part 8 (Kingdom of Sweden).
When did the Swedish Empire exist?: The Swedish Empire existed 1611–1721. On this map it is drawn 1612–1814.
How large was the Swedish Empire?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Swedish Empire covered about 1.1 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Swedish Empire?: Gustavus Adolphus (1611–1632), Christina (1632–1654), Charles X Gustav (1654–1660), Charles XI (1660–1697), Charles XII (1697–1718), Ulrika Eleonora (1718–1720), Frederick I (1720–1721).
How did the Swedish Empire end?: In the Great Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII won early victories (Narva 1700) but, after allying with Mazepa and invading Ukraine, was catastrophically defeated by Peter the Great at Poltava (27 June/8 July 1709). Charles fled to the Ottoman Empire, returned to Stralsund in 1714, and died in 1718.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, EBSCO Research Starters, the New World Encyclopedia, UNESCO, and academic works including Henry Kamen's *Spain, 1469–1714* and Shaul Stampfer's study of Khmelnytsky-era Jewish casualties. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Swedish Empire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Empire

This entry was last updated 27 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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