Prince of the House of Savoy. He was born in Paris; his mother, Olympe Mancini, was a niece of Mazarin. When Vienna was besieged by the Turks in 1683 he entered the Austrian army and became one of the country’s greatest generals. In 1697 he was given command of the Danube army and won a decisive victory over the Turks at Zente. In the War of the Spanish Succession he was President of the Council of War, cooperated successfully with Marlborough at Blenheim and Oudenarde, and won control of north Italy at the Battle of Turin in 1706. In 1716–17 he led another successful campaign against the Turks and recovered Belgrade.