History of Germany

Rare card · No. 69826

The concept of Germany as a distinct region can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the area east of the Rhine as Germania, meaning the land where the Germani live. Germanic tribes prevented annexation by the Roman Empire, although the Roman provinces of Germania Superior and Germania Inferior were established along the Rhine. Following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic peoples. When the Frankish Empire was divided in 843, the eastern part became East Francia, and later Kingdom of Germany. In 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. During the High Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League, dominated by German ports, established itself along the Baltic and North Seas. The State of the Teutonic Order was created in what would become Prussia. In the Late Middle Ages, dukes, princes, and bishops gained power at the expense of the emperors. Martin Luther led the Reformation against the Catholic Church after 1517, as northern...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Nicolaes Visscher II, Public domain