A Crown of Swords (abbreviated as aCoS by fans) is the seventh book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on May 15, 1996.

Lord of Chaos, the book which preceded A Crown of Swords, had been the longest Wheel of Time book thus far. A Crown of Swords was, by contrast, the shortest. The books of the Wheel of Time beginning with A Crown of Swords have, in general, been of shorter length than the books that came before it.

A Crown of Swords consists of a prologue and 41 chapters.

A Crown of Swords has three primary plotlines:

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, prepares to attack the Forsaken Sammael in Illian while enjoying life with his lover, Min Farshaw, and attempting to quell the rebellion by nobles in Cairhien. In the end, Rand al'Thor, accompanied by Asha'man, attacks Illian and defeats Sammael in a duel of the One Power in Shadar Logoth. Rand then takes the crown of Illian, formerly the Laurel Crown, but now called the Crown of Swords.
Egwene al'Vere and Siuan Sanche attempt to manipulate the Aes Sedai rebels in Salidar to move against Elaida's Aes Sedai in the White Tower in Tar Valon.
In the city of Ebou Dar in Altara, Elayne Trakand, Nynaeve al'Meara, and Mat Cauthon search for a ter'angreal, the Bowl of the Winds, to break the unnatural heat brought upon by the Dark One's manipulation of climate. They find it and enlist the help of the Kin and the Sea Folk. They also confront a Gholam.