1.
Duchies of Silesia
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The Duchies of Silesia were a crown land of the Bohemian Crown, that were formed when Duchy of Silesia joined the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1335 under the Treaty of Trentschin. The duchies were ruled by the Dukes of Silesia, consisted of the Duchy of Lower Silesia, beside which, the Seniorate Province with the residence of Kraków was reserved for the eldest, who according to the principle of agnatic seniority was to be High Duke of all Poland. This act inadvertently started the process known as Fragmentation of Poland, Bolesławs son Władysław II received the Duchy of Silesia and, as the eldest, was also granted the title of a High Duke among with the Seniorate Province. Nevertheless, after he had tried to control over all Poland. Bolesławs second eldest son Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia, when, in 1163, Władysławs three sons, backed by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa returned to Poland, Bolesław IV had to restore their heritage. After ten years of joint rule, Władysławs sons finally divided Silesia in 1173, Bolesław I the Tall, in 1180, he granted the Duchy of Opole to his son Jarosław, who ruled until his death in March 1201. Upon Bolesławs death in December 1201, his lands were inherited by his remaining son Henry I the Bearded Mieszko I Tanglefoot became Duke of Racibórz and received Bytom. Konrad Spindleshanks, the youngest, in 1177 also claimed his rights and received the Duchy of Głogów from his brother Bolesław, after his brother Bolesław I had died, Miezsko I Tanglefoot also conquered and took the Duchy of Opole from his nephew Henry I the Bearded. He ruled over the Racibórz and Opole duchies, which emerged as Upper Silesia, High Duke of Poland from 1232, he conquered further Greater Polish territories around Santok in 1234. Mieszkos heir was Duke Casimir I of Opole, who died in 1230, thereupon, Henry I managed to reunite whole Silesia under his reign. He was succeeded by his son Henry II the Pious in 1238 and he and his younger brother, Władysław Opolski, had already received Greater Polish Kalisz in 1234. Henry II was killed at the Battle of Legnica in 1241 and his eldest son and heir, Duke Bolesław II the Bald temporarily gave Lubusz Land to his younger brother Mieszko. He reconciled with his Greater Polish cousin Duke Przemysł I and finally returned Santok in 1247, Mieszko II the Fat, of Upper Silesia, in 1244, returned Kalisz to Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland. He died in 1246 and his possessions were inherited by his brother Władysław Opolski, Silesia was subsequently divided among the descendants and successors of the Piast dynasty, until they died out in 1675. Those Silesian Piasts, known as Dukes of Silesia, and territories they ruled were known as Duchies of Silesia, after the Piasts had become extinct, the duchies were State Countries of the Bohemian Crown, which fell to the House of Habsburg in 1526. In 1742, most of Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia following the First Silesian War, note, this list may not be complete
2.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
3.
Kingdom of Bohemia
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The Kingdom of Bohemia, sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czech Republic. It was an Imperial State in the Holy Roman Empire, the kings of Bohemia, besides Bohemia ruled also the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, which at various times included Moravia, Silesia and parts of Saxony, Brandenburg and Bavaria. Numerous kings of Bohemia were also elected Holy Roman Emperors and the capital Prague was the seat in the late 14th century. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the became part of the Habsburg Austrian Empire. The Czech language was the language of the Diet and the nobility until 1627. German was then formally made equal with Czech and eventually prevailed as the language of the Diet until the Czech national revival in the 19th century. German was also used as the language of administration in many towns after Germans immigrated and populated some areas of the country in the 13th century. The royal court used the Czech, Latin, and German languages, depending on the ruler, following the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, both the Kingdom and Empire were dissolved. Bohemia became the part of the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic. In 1204 Ottokars royal status was accepted by Otto IV as well as by Pope Innocent III and it was officially recognized in 1212 by the Golden Bull of Sicily issued by Emperor Frederick II, elevating the Duchy of Bohemia to Kingdom status. Under these terms, the Czech king was to be exempt from all obligations to the Holy Roman Empire except for participation in the imperial councils. The imperial prerogative to ratify each Bohemian ruler and to appoint the bishop of Prague was revoked, the kings successor was his son Wenceslaus I, from his second marriage. Corresponding with the Pope, she established the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star in 1233, four other military orders were present in Bohemia, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from c. 1160, the Order of Saint Lazarus from the late 12th century, 1200–1421, and the Knights Templar from 1232–1312. The 13th century was the most dynamic period of the Přemyslid reign over Bohemia, at the same time, the Mongol invasions absorbed the attention of Bohemias eastern neighbors, Hungary and Poland. Přemysl Ottokar II married a German princess, Margaret of Babenberg and he thereby acquired Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and part of Styria. He conquered the rest of Styria, most of Carinthia, and he was called the king of iron and gold. He campaigned as far as Prussia, where he defeated the natives and in 1256, founded a city he named Královec in Czech
4.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
5.
Silesian Piasts
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The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesławs testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his hereditary province, the history of the Silesian Piasts began with the feudal fragmentation of Poland in 1138 following the death of the Polish duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. Władysław soon entered into conflicts with his brothers and the Polish nobility. When in 1146 he attempted to control of the whole of Poland, he was excomunicated by Archbishop Jakub ze Żnina of Gniezno. He was received by King Conrad III of Germany, his brother-in-law by Władysławs consort Agnes of Babenberg, Silesia and the Seniorate Province came under the control of second-born Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia. In the same year King Conrad III attempted to power for Władysław. He died in 1159 without returning to Poland, the Duchy of Silesia remained within the Polish seniorate constitution, but Władysławs sons were obliged to pay a yearly tribute to the Holy Roman Emperor. Mieszko Tanglefoot the smaller Duchy of Racibórz around Racibórz and Cieszyn and their minor brother Konrad Spindleshanks received Żagań, Głogów and Krosno from the hands of Bolesław the Tall. In the same year, Poland abolished the seniorate and the Silesian duchies became independent entities, Henry I the Bearded actively took part in the inner-Polish conflicts and expanded his dominion with determination. Henry, before securing in 1229 the sovereignty in Kraków, had no less persevering efforts to bring Greater Poland also under his dominion. From the beginning of the century he had not ceased to intervene in the disputes which were carried on between the descendants of Mieszko the Old. At last in 1234, a half of that province was formally ceded to him. As a guardian of minor dukes, Henry moreover ruled over Opole and this Silesian prince not only intended to enlarge his possessions, he proposed to make them the nucleus of a restored Kingdom of Poland. He became duke of Kraków in 1232, which gave him the title of the Senior Duke of Poland, Henry expanded his realm also outside Poland ruling over Barnim, Teltow as well as parts of Lower Lusatia. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he never gained the Polish crown, the royal crown, almost forgotten since the fall of Bolesław II, was destined by him for his eldest son, whom he associated in his rule towards the end of his life. This Henry II the Pious, who succeeded his father in 1238, was, in fact, pursuing the very able policy of Henry the Bearded, his son was moreover able to obtain the support of the clergy, with whom his father had had frequent disagreements. Following an old tradition of his dynasty, he placed himself under the protection of the Holy See, in 1241, he died as a Christian hero in the Battle of Legnica, in which he was attempting to arrest the Mongolian invasion. His death left the Silesian Piast dynasty deeply shaken, after Henrys death in 1241 his brother Bolesław II ruled on behalf of his underage brothers
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