During the peak of the French Revolution, the National Convention found King Louis XVI guilty of high treason and crimes against the state. On January 21, 1793, he was executed by guillotine at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. His death marked the definitive end of the thousand-year-old French monarchy and the birth of the First French Republic. The execution sent shockwaves throughout Europe, prompting other monarchies to form a coalition against revolutionary France. It also paved the way for the 'Reign of Terror,' a period of state-sanctioned violence led by Maximilien Robespierre against perceived enemies of the revolution.