Charles V (; ) (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558), also known as
Charles I of Spain , was
Duke of Burgundy and ruler of
the Netherlands from 1506, ruler of the
Spanish Empire from 1516 and
Holy Roman Emperor from 1519, until he voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of
abdications between 1554 and 1556. Through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in central, western, and southern Europe, and the
Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four million square kilometers, and were the first to be described as "
the empire on which the sun never sets".