I
Russian Pyotr Fyodorovich orig. Karl Peter Ulrich, duke von Holstein-Gottorp
born Feb. 21, 1728, Kiel, Holstein-Gottorp
died July 18, 1762, Ropsha, near St. Petersburg, Russia
Tsar of Russia (1762).
Grandson of Peter I , the young duke was brought to Russia by his aunt Elizabeth when she became empress (1741). Proclaimed the heir to the Russian throne, he was unpopular at court for his pro-Prussian attitude. After he succeeded Elizabeth (1762), he reversed her foreign policy, making peace with Prussia and withdrawing from the Seven Years' War . He offended the Orthodox church by trying to force it to adopt Lutheran practices. After six months he was forced to abdicate by a group of nobles, in collusion with his own wife, Catherine (later Catherine II ), and Count
II
Spanish Pedro known as Peter the Great
born 1239
died Nov. 11, 1285, Villafrance del Panades, Catalonia
King of Aragon (1276–85) and of Sicily (as Pedro I, 1282–85).
He married the Hohenstaufen heiress of Sicily (1262) and ended the Sicilian revolt (1282), becoming king despite Guelph and papal opposition (see {{link=Sicilian Vespers">Sicilian Vespers ). Unhappy with his Sicilian venture, nobles and municipalities in Aragon forced Peter to confirm their legal rights and to diminish crown rights. In 1285 he defeated Philip III of France, who had invaded Aragon in an effort to dethrone him.