The Battle of Fimreite (Norwegian: Slaget ved Fimreite) was a naval battle fought on June 15, 1184, between King Magnus Erlingsson and the Birkebeiner supported Sverre Sigurdsson. At this time in Norwegian history it was extremely common for there to be changes in leadership, and political coups were often conducted to establish a new ruler. This inevitably led to the naval battle between Sverre Sigurdsson and Magnus Erlingsson that resulted in Magnus being defeated and killed in the battle, and Sverre usurping the Norwegian throne. Similarly, this battle also had long lasting effects on Norway as a whole. As stated previously, Norway was very volatile during this time, however, the result of this battle led to the installation of Sverre and a lasting effect on Norway's leadership. Sverre would go on to rule from 1184 to 1202, making him one of the longest standing sovereign kings in Norway's twelfth and thirteenth century. His leadership along with Norway's recent conversion to Christianity that spread the Administrative apparatus of the papacy would have long lasting effects on Norway's culture, economy, and society. Background During the 12th century, Norway was an extremely volatile place. Around 7 different changes in leadership took place in the early 1100's making the idea of Political coups relatively common and accepted. Part of the reason leadership changed often is because there was never one true king. Leadership of Norway was split between three individuals which were the king, earl, archbishop, and sometimes more. Naturally, this split in power led to a considerable amount of in-fighting and a lot of rebellion. This widely accepted idea of taking leadership by force led to the establishment of several different kings and resulted in a previous change of leadership before the Battle of Fimreite. Prior to the events that took place at the Battle of Fimreite, Magnus Erlingsson gained his authority through his own political coup against Håkon II. At the age of 5 he was backed by numerous Norwegian aristocrats and his father because his mothers lineage could be traced back Sigurd I. Due to his lineage and the fact that Sigurd I was once king of Norway, Magnus and his followers known as magnates' challenged Håkon II and succeeded in defeating him at Sekken in 1162. Comparatively, Another change in leadership that would take place at The battle of Fimreite was also due to tracing one's lineage back to a