The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 was the event that sparked World War I. The Archduke, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was killed alongside his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the nationalist group known as the Black Hand. This act of violence set off a chain reaction of diplomatic crises and mobilizations among European powers, entangling alliances and leading to a full-scale war. The assassination is often viewed as the ignition point of already existing tensions, nationalism, and militarism, culminating in a conflict that would reshape the world map and alter political dynamics for years to come.