Charles V

Reign1519-1556 as emperor
TitleEmperor
House or dynastyHouse of Habsburg
RealmOther Europe

Life and reign

Ruler of an empire on which the sun never set, inheriting Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and the Americas, where conquistadors toppled the Aztec and Inca empires during his reign. He fought France, the Ottomans and German princes, weathered the Reformation, and retired to a monastery in 1556, splitting his realms.

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