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Curated category

Former countries in Europe

  • SicilyThe year 750 BC marks the beginning of a profound transformation on Sicily, as twelve Greek colonies began to rise along its coasts.
  • East GermanyOn the 7th of October 1949, the German Democratic Republic officially came into existence within the Soviet occupation zone.
  • Russian Provisional GovernmentOn the 2nd of March, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his throne. This event occurred two days before the official announcement of a new government.
  • Crown of AragonIn 1137, the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged through a single dynastic union. Petronilla of Aragon married Raymond Berenguer IV of…
  • NorthumbriaIn 651, the last independent king of Deira, Oswine, was murdered by his cousin Oswiu. This violent act ended decades of conflict between two separate…
  • Socialist Republic of RomaniaOn the 6th of March 1945, a new pro-Soviet government took power in Bucharest after mass demonstrations by communist sympathizers and intense political…
  • Crown of CastileIn 1230, Ferdinand III stepped onto the vacant throne of León to claim a crown that had been his father's. He inherited Castile from his mother Queen…
  • Vandal KingdomIn 429 AD, an estimated 80,000 Vandals and Alans crossed the strait from Hispania to North Africa. They used boats to make this dangerous journey across the…
  • Kingdom of Great BritainOn the 1st of May 1707, the separate Parliaments of England and Scotland ceased to exist. They were replaced by a single Parliament of Great Britain sitting…
  • Roman RepublicIn 509 BC, the Roman Senate expelled Tarquin the Proud after his son Sextus raped Lucretia. This event marked the end of seven kings who had ruled Rome for…
  • Kievan Rus'In 862, various East Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangians and drove them back beyond the sea. They refused to pay further tribute and decided to…
  • Helvetic RepublicOn the 5th of March 1798, French troops completely overran Switzerland and the Old Swiss Confederation collapsed. The invasion proceeded largely peacefully…
  • Byzantine EmpireThe citizens of the Eastern Roman Empire called themselves Romans, not Byzantines. They viewed their state as the direct continuation of ancient Rome…
  • Nazi GermanyThe stock market crash of 1929 sent shockwaves through Germany that shattered the fragile Weimar Republic. Millions of Germans found themselves unemployed…
  • ColchisThe eastern coast of the Black Sea held a land known to Greek writers as Colchis. This region stretched from the river Corax in the west to the Greater…
  • Ligurian RepublicNapoleon announced the founding of the Ligurian Republic on the 6th of June 1797. This new state replaced the old Republic of Genoa in Northwest Italy.
  • Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet RepublicThe Russian Empire dissolved in 1918, leaving the Caucasus provinces to form their own Transcaucasian Federation. This new state lasted only two months…
  • Principality of TverIn 1246, Yaroslav Yaroslavich became the first prince of Tver. This event marked the detachment of the city from the Pereyaslavl-Zalessky principality.
  • Soviet UnionIn November 1917, Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks to seize power from the Provisional Government in Petrograd. Workers and soldiers had formed councils…
  • Roman EmpireIn 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian overarching military power and bestowed upon him a new title. This single act marked his accession as the first…
  • PrussiaIn 1211, King Andrew II of Hungary granted Burzenland in Transylvania as a fiefdom to the Teutonic Knights. This German military order of crusading knights…
  • Grand Duchy of FinlandOn the 29th of March 1809, four Estates of occupied Finland gathered at the Diet of Porvoo. They pledged allegiance to Tsar Alexander I of Russia in a solemn…
  • Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthOn the 1st of July 1569, deputies from the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania signed a document in Lublin that erased two separate states…