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Curated playlist

Former Christian states

  • Federal State of AustriaHow did a government that resisted Hitler end up handing Austria to him?
  • Austrian EmpireIn 1804, Francis II declared himself Emperor of Austria out of fear of Napoleon. He was already Holy Roman Emperor.
  • Republic of GenoaIn 1284, Genoa's fleet beat Pisa's at the Battle of Meloria. Pisa never fully recovered as a sea power.
  • Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon began with a monk who never wanted to be king. Nobles pulled Ramiro II out of his monastery in 1134.
  • Kingdom of EnglandThe Kingdom of England did not fall, it negotiated itself out of existence. Acts of Union ended it in 1707.
  • Kingdom of PrussiaFrederick III of Brandenburg crowned himself king in 1701 by finding a loophole.
  • Kingdom of RomaniaRomania's parliament crowned a German prince as its first king in 1881. The Kingdom of Romania lasted until 1947.
  • Slovak Republic (1939–1945)Slovakia's parliament voted unanimously to break from Czechoslovakia on the 14th of March 1939.
  • Kingdom of SerbiaThe Kingdom of Serbia lasted only thirty-six years, from 1882 to 1918. It fought four wars and doubled its population.
  • Kingdom of FranceThe Kingdom of France began with a treaty in 843, not a coronation. It split a dying empire into three at Verdun.
  • Confederate States of AmericaThe last Confederate warship surrendered in Liverpool in November 1865. It kept raiding, unaware the war was over.
  • Kingdom of Great BritainThe Kingdom of Great Britain began on May 1, 1707, with a signature, not a battle.
  • Kingdom of WürttembergWürttemberg sent 16,000 soldiers into Russia with Napoleon in 1812, and only a few hundred came home.
  • Spanish EmpirePortugal's navy blocked Castile from Africa, which pushed it toward Columbus. The Spanish Empire grew from that setback.
  • Austria-HungaryIn 1867, Emperor Franz Joseph signed laws creating the Dual Monarchy of Austria and Hungary. It lasted until 1918.
  • First Bulgarian EmpireAfter a defeat in 680, a Byzantine emperor had to pay tribute to people he called "unclean and newly emerged."
  • Empire of NicaeaAfter crusaders seized Constantinople in 1204, exiles built the Empire of Nicaea. It retook the city in 1261.
  • Habsburg monarchyThe Habsburg monarchy began with a single castle in present-day Switzerland. Its builder was Radbot of Klettgau.
  • Kingdom of JerusalemThe first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem refused a golden crown. Godfrey of Bouillon took a humbler title in 1099.
  • Kingdom of GreeceThe Kingdom of Greece began with three men meeting in Odesa in 1814. They plotted revolt against Ottoman rule.
  • Empire of ThessalonicaThe Empire of Thessalonica lost its army at Klokotnitsa in 1230. Its ruler was captured and later blinded by Bulgaria.
  • Succession of the Roman EmpireThe Byzantine Empire never called itself Byzantine. Until 1453, it called itself the Roman Empire.
  • Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire never called itself Byzantine. Its citizens called themselves Romans, and the name came later.
  • Ethiopian EmpireThe Ethiopian Empire lasted more than seven hundred years, until a 1974 military coup ousted Haile Selassie.
  • Hospitaller MaltaIn 1530, Emperor Charles V gave Malta to a displaced order of knights for one falcon a year.
  • SwedenSweden's southern tip is closer to Rome than to its own Arctic north.
  • Kingdom of PortugalPortugal's first king was proclaimed by his own troops in 1139. Afonso Henriques won a rival king's recognition in 1143.
  • Kingdom of SardiniaThe Kingdom of Sardinia began in 1297 as a kingdom on paper only. A pope offered it to Aragon's king as a bribe.
  • Holy Roman EmpireIn 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne and named him Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire lasted until 1806.
  • Western Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire ended in 476 with barely anyone noticing. A Germanic leader deposed a teen emperor.
  • Republic of VeniceThe Republic of Venice fell without a battle in 1797. Napoleon's ultimatum ended a state that lasted over 1,100 years.
  • Republic of FlorenceThe Republic of Florence began with one woman's death in 1115. Florence refused her successor and formed a commune.
  • Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary began with a crown placed on Stephen I at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. It lasted until 1946.
  • Duchy of MilanA single document signed in Prague in 1395 created the Duchy of Milan. It made Gian Galeazzo Visconti a duke.
  • Kingdom of NaplesThe Kingdom of Naples never officially used the name Naples. Its title meant Sicily on this side of the lighthouse.
  • Crown of the Kingdom of PolandThe Crown of the Kingdom of Poland was not a physical object but an idea. It held that Poland belonged to itself.
  • Empire of TrebizondTrebizond's emperors married their daughters to Turkish rulers to buy peace. The empire lasted until 1461.
  • Grand Principality of MoscowMoscow began as a small border town given to a prince's youngest son. It later became the seat of Russia's first tsar.
  • Novgorod RepublicNovgorod's princes lived on city money and could not own land in the republic. A written contract set their limits.
  • Russian EmpireRussia sold Alaska to the United States for 11 million rubles in 1867. Russia called its colony indefensible.
  • Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)Armenia became the first state in history to officially adopt Christianity. Its kingdom lasted nearly eight centuries.
  • Papal StatesItalian troops blasted through Rome's Aurelian Walls on 20 September 1870. The breach ended the Papal States.
  • Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthIn the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one deputy's dissent could cancel a whole parliament's laws.
  • Tsardom of RussiaIvan IV was crowned tsar in 1547 in a ceremony modeled on Byzantine emperors. It created the Tsardom of Russia.

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