(born Aug. 21, 1165, Paris—died July 14, 1223, Mantes) French king (1179–1223). The first of the great Capetian kings, he gradually reconquered the French territories held by the kings of England. He joined with Richard I on the Third Crusade, but the two kings soon quarreled.
Philip returned to France (1191) and attacked English possessions; imprisoned in Austria on his journey home, Richard was freed in 1194 and promptly went to war with the French. When Richard was killed (1199), his brother John signed a treaty with Philip (1200), but within two years France and England were again at war. Philip conquered Normandy (1204) and subdued Maine, Touraine, Anjou, and most of Poitou (1204–05). John later organized a coalition against France, but he was defeated by Philip at the Battle of Bouvines (1214). Philip also expanded his territory into Flanders and Languedoc.
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