Joachim Murat ( , also , ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the Empire and Admiral of France. He was the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and King of Naples as Joachim-Napoleon () from 1808 to 1815. He was the brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte. Early life Murat was born on 25 March 1767 in La Bastide-Fortunière (later renamed Labastide-Murat after him), in Guyenne (the present-day French department of Lot). His father was Pierre Murat-Jordy (d. 27 July 1799), an affluent yeoman, innkeeper, postmaster and churchwarden. His mother was Jeanne Loubières (1722 – 11 March 1806), the daughter of Pierre Loubières and his wife Jeanne Viellescazes. Murat's father, Pierre Murat-Jordy, was the son of Guillaume Murat (1692–1754) and his wife Marguerite Herbeil (d. 1755), the paternal grandson of Pierre Murat (b. 1634) and his wife Catherine Badourès (d. 1697), and the maternal grandson of Bertrand Herbeil and his wife Anne Roques. Murat's parents intended that he pursue a vocation in the church. He was taught by the parish priest, after which he won a place at the College of Saint-Michel at Cahors when he was ten years old. He then entered the seminary of the Lazarists at Toulouse. When a regiment of cavalry passed through the city in 1787, he ran away and enlisted on 23 February 1787 in the Chasseurs des Ardennes, which the following year became known as the Chasseurs de Champagne, or the 12th Chasseurs. In 1789, an affair forced him to resign, and he returned to his family, becoming a clerk to a haberdasher at Saint-Ceré. French Revolutionary Wars By 1790, Murat had joined the National Guard. The Canton of Montaucon sent him as its representative to the celebration of the first anniversary of Bastille Day (la Fête nationale). He was reinstated in his former regiment. Because part of the 12th Chasseurs had been sent to Montmédy to protect the royal family on its flight to Varennes, the regiment had to defend its honour and loyalty to the Republic. Murat and the regiment's adjutant made a speech to the assembly at Toul to that effect. In 1792, Murat joined the Constitutional Guard, but left it that same year. His