Macbeth, King of Scotland

Macbeth Macfinlay (aka Mac Bethad mac Findláig) reigned as the king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057 CE. The ruler of Moray, he took the throne via the battlefield from his predecessor Duncan I of Scotland (r. 1034-1040 CE). Macbeth reigned over a relatively prosperous kingdom, but Scotland's lack of unity proved fatal. The English king Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) joined forces with Duncan I's exiled son Malcolm, and their army defeated Macbeth at Dunsinane in 1054 CE. Macbeth then died in a skirmish with rebels in 1057 CE. He was briefly succeeded by his stepson Lulach (r. 1057-1058 CE) and then by his great rival and cousin Malcolm who became Malcolm III of Scotland (r. 1058-1093 CE). William Shakespeare (1564-1616 CE) made the Scottish king infamous in his early 17th-century CE play Macbeth but the character has little to do with the historical figure, even if he became one of the most memorable of all the playwright's creations.