"Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised.^[1] While the Great Northern War is generally considered to be the last of the Northern Wars, there are different scholarly opinions on which war constitutes the First Northern War.^[2]

Conflicts of the Northern Wars

Depending upon what date is chosen for the starting point, the Northern Wars comprise:

• The Russo-Swedish War (1554–1557), "First Northern War" according to Arvo Viljanti^[2]
• The Livonian War (1558–1583), "First Northern War" according to Klaus Zernack^[2]
  • The Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570), "First Northern War" according to some Polish historians^[2]
• The Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595)
• The Russo-Polish War (1654–1667), also known as the "Thirteen Years' War"; "First Northern War" according to some Russian historians^[2]
• The Second Northern War (1655–1660), "First Northern War" according to traditional English, German, Russian and Scandinavian historiography, in Poland known as Swedish Deluge^[2]
• The Scanian War (1674–1679), also called "Swedish-Brandenburgian War" by German historians
• The Great Northern War (1700–1721), also "Third Northern War"^[2] or "Second Northern War"^[3]