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Peter the Great used the Table of Ranks which placed superiority to those who were endowed and served in the military – not by birthright – with the highest civil rank being a chancellor. This improved Peter the Great’s control over how much power certain nobles had because they could not skip ranks and need to be promoted to advance. Louis XIV used the two main classes Nobles of the Robe and Nobles of the Sword. The Nobles of the Sword were those in the nobility by birthright – their predecessors were of high ranks in the military. The Nobles of the Robe were favored by Louis because they bought their way into nobility and were devoted to the king. Those who were elite were members of the Parlement and could now measure up to the values of the Nobles of the Sword while giving Louis a profit and more control over the
