Baltic
Antiquity
During Antiquity, the Baltic region remained outside the influence of the Roman Empire but maintained contact through trade routes. Amber was a key export, with Baltic amber artifacts found in Roman territories. The region's tribes developed distinct languages and cultures, forming the basis of the later Baltic peoples.
The first organized political entities that exited in the Baltics were established by the Goths and by the Huns.
Barbarian kingdoms
Polities created by Germanic people (and a few other like the Alans) during the early Middle Ages.
Early Barbarian Invasions
Barbarian Invasions
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages marked the emergence of the Baltic tribes as distinct cultural and political entities. Tribes such as the Prussians, Latgalians, and Lithuanians lived in decentralized societies based on kinship and subsistence farming. The Baltic Sea became increasingly important as a trade route, connecting the region to Viking and Slavic traders.
This period saw the establishment of the Kievan Rus', the first Russian state, by Scandinavian Vikings. However, the Kievan Rus' fragmented into a multitude of successor states in the XII Century.
Frankish Partitions
The Frankish Kingdom was partitioned and reuinited several times as the Frankish rulers used to divide their territories equally among their heirs. This lead also to a number of wars and revolts.
Norse/Viking Polities
Polities created by the Norsemen in Europe and North America during the Middle Ages.
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Hungarian invasions
Early Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages brought significant change to the Baltic region with the arrival of Christian missionaries and military orders. The Northern Crusades, led by German and Scandinavian powers, sought to convert the pagan Baltic peoples. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the Teutonic Knights established control over much of Latvia and Estonia, founding fortified cities such as Riga.
Lithuania, however, resisted conquest and began consolidating into a unified state under pagan rulers. The Lithuanian Grand Duchy emerged as a powerful regional player, expanding its territory into modern Belarus and Ukraine.
This period also saw the Mongol Invasions in Eastern Europe.
Ancient Estonian Counties
Ancient Counties attested by sources in Estonia in the first centuries of the Common Era, lasting until the Northern Crusades in the thirteenth century.
High Middle Ages
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Latgalian Elderships
Native Latgalian polities during the Middle Ages.
Russian Principalities
Polities that emerged from the fragmentation of the Kievan Rus' from around 1240 AD.
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The Kievan Rus'
Danish invasion of northern Germany (1201)
Was the invasion of northern Germany by king Canute VI of Denmark caused by disagreement with Adolf III, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein, over the possession of the island of Rügen.
Crusader States
Feudal polities founded by Europeans in the Near East during the First Crusade (1096-1099).
States emerged from the Northern Crusades
States founded during the Northern Crusades (12th and 13th century).
Holy Roman Empire
Polities that at some point were part of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806).
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Mongol invasions and conquests
Were a series of military campaigny by the Mongols that created the largest contiguous Empire in history, the Mongol Empire, which controlled most of Eurasia.
High Middle Ages
Prussian uprisings
Were a series of uprisings by the Old Prussians, a Baltic tribe, against the rule of the Teutonic Knighsts that had conquered Prussia and its nearby regions.
Successors of the Mongol Empire
Polities emerged after the fall of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368).
Mongol Civil Wars
Were a series of wars between the successor states of the Mongol Empire.
Late Middle Ages
Lithuania, under rulers like Gediminas and Vytautas the Great, reached the height of its power, forming a personal union with Poland in 1385 through the Union of Krewo. This union brought Catholic Christianity to Lithuania and established the Polish-Lithuanian alliance as a major force in Eastern Europe.
The small Russian Principalities that had emerged from the fragmentation of the Kievan Rus' were slowly absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and by the Duchy of Moscow, triggering the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars.
Meanwhile, the Teutonic Order faced challenges from rising local powers. The Battle of Grunwald (1410) marked a decisive defeat for the Order by a combined Polish-Lithuanian force, signaling the decline of its influence in the region. Trade through the Hanseatic League flourished, with Baltic ports becoming key centers of commerce.
Polish-Teutonic Wars
Were a series of Wars between the Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Poland. .
Late Middle Ages
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Galicia-Volhynia Wars
Were several wars fought in the years 1340-1392 over the succession in the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia.
Late Middle Ages
Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars
Were a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow (later the Tsardom of Russia).
European wars of religion
Were a series of wars in Europe (and the overseas possessions of European countries) the 16th, 17th and early 18th that started after the Protestant Reformation. Although the immediate causes of the wars were religious, the motives were complex and also included territorial ambitions.
Russo-Kazan Wars
Was a series of wars fought between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Khanate of Kazan from 1439, until Kazan was finally conquered by the Tsardom of Russia under Ivan the Terrible in 1552.
Early modern period
The Early Modern Period saw the Baltic region become a battleground for European powers. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth dominated much of the region, with Lithuania maintaining its autonomy within the union. Protestantism spread to Latvia and Estonia during the Reformation, aligning these areas more closely with German and Scandinavian influences.
The Livonian War (1558-1583) brought significant upheaval as Russia, Sweden, Poland, and Denmark vied for control of the Baltic states. By the end of the conflict, Sweden emerged as a dominant regional power, incorporating Estonia and parts of Latvia into its empire.
This period saw the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. However, at the end of the modern era Poland-Lithuania was partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria.
Early modern period
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Northern Wars
A series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.
Polish-Swedish War (1600-11)
Was a war between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth mainly over the control of Livonia and Estonia.
Time of Troubles
Was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty, and ended in 1613 with the accession of Michael I of the House of Romanov.
German Confederation
Polities that at some point were part of the German Confederation (1815-1866).
War of the Polish Succession
Was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland.
Silesian Wars
Were a series of wars between the Habsburg Domains and Prussia for the control of Silesia. The war started during the War of the Austrian Succession, when Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Habsburg-held Silesia.
Seven Years' War
Was a global conflict that involved most of the European great powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. At the end of the war the main winner was Great Britain, that obtained territories in North America, the Caribbean and India, becoming the most powerful maritime and colonial of the European powers.
Partitions of Poland
Were three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period (1789-1815)
The Baltic region was affected indirectly by the Napoleonic Wars. Parts of Lithuania became part of the French-backed Duchy of Warsaw.
The French Invasion of Russia started in Kaunas.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Early modern period
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
Napoleonic Polities
Napoleonic creations. It includes also principalities created in Germany but not German polities that already existed and just changed name or form.
19th Century
The Baltic region remained under Russian rule during the 19th century, with Estonia and Latvia integrated into the Russian Empire as Baltic governorates.
After the Napoleonic Wars parts of Lithuania became part of Congress Poland.
The area of Memel (today Klaipėda) had been part of Prussia since the Middle Ages and thus become part of the German Empire in 1871.
Polish Polities after the Congress of Vienna
Polish polities created after the Congress of Vienna (1815).
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XIX Century
German Unification Wars
Were a series of wars that resulted in the creation of the German Empire under Prussian leadership in 1871.
XIX Century
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From 1900 to the End of World War II
During World War I, the collapse of the Russian Empire enabled Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to declare independence (1918-1920).
However, during World War II the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939) resulted in Soviet occupation, followed by Nazi occupation during the war.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union reoccupied the Baltic states, incorporating them into the USSR.
World War I
Was a global conflict between two coalitions, the Allies (primarily France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). It was mainly caused by the competition of the western countries over domain in Europe and in the rest of the world with their colonial empires. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war also caused the Russian Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War.
1900-1945
World War I
Bolsheviks (Russian Civil War)
Bolshevik territories during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923).
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Whites (Russian Civil War)
Conservative countries - in many cases created with the support of western europeans, japanese and U.S. - during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923).
Russian Civil War
Was a Civil War in Russia that involved varios factions but mainly the Bolsheviks and the conservative White Army in the core Russian territories, as well as a multitude of local secessionist states. At the end of war the Bolsheviks were victorious and established the Soviet Union.
Austria-Hungary Fragmentation
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Baltic States
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through the 20th and 21st centuries.
Germany after World War I
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Separatists (Russian Civil War)
Local secessionist polities during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923) that were neither communists nor whites.
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1900-1945
World War II
Was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 (it started sooner in certain regions) between the Axis Powers (mainly Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (mainly the Soviet Union, the U.S.A., the U.K., China and France). It was the war with more fatalities in history. The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The war in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The war ended with the complete defeat of the Axis powers, which were occupied by the Allies.
World War II
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Post-Cold War Period (1990-2010)
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania regained their independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
End of the Cold War
2010s and 2020s
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, marking a decisive break from their Soviet past.
