Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (c.1547-1616) was a novelist born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Much of his life was spent in poverty, and, after being forced to leave Spain for Rome, he eventually enlisted in the Navy. While serving, he was badly injured in the Battle of Lepanto, and spent five years as a captive of pirates until he was ransomed back to Madrid. While he published earlier works, he is best known for his two-part epic novel, Don Quixote, published in 1605 and 1615, a foundational work of Western Literature often regarded as the first modern novel.