After Romania became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, Prince Carol was crowned its first king. Carol's birth name was Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig, and he belonged to a German royal family, the Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen. Carol had already been ruling Romania as Prince since 1866, thus he was chosen as ruler in an attempt to end the vicious infighting among local nobility for power, and to gain the respect of the Western Powers. Once Carol could officially be crowned king of Romania in 1881, he established a royal dynasty here that would have ties to the most important European dynasties. Carol died in 1914 after 48 successful years, during which Bucharest was transformed from a poor provincial town into a city, dubbed by many ‘The Paris of the East’. Carol was succeeded by three more kings: Ferdinand (1914-1927), Carol II (1930-1940) and Mihai (1927-1930, then again 1940-1947).