Henry IV (December 13, 1553 - May 14, 1610), (King of France from 1589 to 1610)

Also known as Henry the Great (Henri le Grand) or Henri de Navarre (Henri de Navarre), King of France (reigned 1589-1610), King of Navarre (called Enrique III, from 1572). Founder of the French Bourbon dynasty. He was originally the king of the small and poor Kingdom of Navarre in southern France, and was a distant relative of the Valois royal family of France. He participated in the Huguenot Religious War in 1562 as a leader of the Protestants in the Huguenot Religious War provoked by die-hard Catholics. With his outstanding military talent and ability to take advantage of the enemy's contradictions, he became the last laugh in this civil war and was crowned in 1589. Became king of France and started the Bourbon dynasty. The performance of becoming the queen further proved Henry IV's foresight.

Henry is the third son of Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vend?me, and Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre (known as Juana III). He was born in France-Spain Pau on the border. He had been involved in France's brutal religious wars since his youth. He gradually gained great popularity as the leader of the Huguenots. But after the massacre of St. Bartholomew, he was placed under house arrest in the French court and accepted the asylum of King Charles IX of France. In 1584, due to the death of the Crown Prince Francois, Duke of Alen?on, he became the legal heir to the French throne. After Henry III was assassinated in 1589, he became king of France.

Henry IV ended the religious wars that had plagued France for many years. With the death of their leader, Duke Henri, the Guise family, which had long dominated French politics, could no longer be an obstacle to peace. France's economy developed during his reign. Henry IV became a very popular monarch.

In 1610, Henry IV was assassinated by Fran?ois Lavalec, a man said to be regicide.

Considering that France is still a country with a Catholic majority, Henry IV announced his conversion to Catholicism in 1593. Five years later, he issued the "Edict of Nantes", declaring Catholicism as the state religion and granting rights to Protestants. Full freedom of belief reflected the spirit of religious tolerance that was rare in that era. It ended more than 30 years of Huguenot War and fully won the hearts and minds of the people. Henry IV will be remembered for his famous saying "to put a chicken in every French farmer's pot", and he did achieve good results in economic recovery. He appointed Sully to reorganize the finances, with remarkable results.

Henry IV was a rare king in French history with perfect personality and political performance. After a long period of chaos, he re-established a unified and prosperous France. The more than 100 years after Henry IV were the most powerful period in French history, almost dominating the European continent. Since there are many outstanding emperors like Henry IV in the history of the world, and Henry IV lacks some longer-term influencing factors, due to quota restrictions, he is not ranked among the 100 most influential emperors.