King Louis XIV(September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715) ruled as the King of France for seventy-two years until his death right before his seventy-seventh birthday. He acceded to the throne on May 14, 1643 and was fourteen at the time. Also known as Louis the Great, King Louis increased the power and influence of France in Europe. Louis XIV worked successfully to create a centralized government governed from the capital in order to sweep away the fragmented feudalism which had persisted in France, thus giving rise to the modern state.