Prussia was a German state that grew from the Duchy of Prussia, created in 1525 when Albert of Brandenburg, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, converted the order's lands into a secular duchy under Polish overlordship, and adopted Lutheranism. It was united with the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1618, and became a kingdom in 1701 under Frederick I. Under Frederick the Great, it became a major European power with a strong army, and in the 19th century, led by Otto von Bismarck, Prussia unified Germany under its leadership in 1871. It remained the largest German state until it was reduced to a Free State after 1918. Prussia was abolished by the Allied Control Council in February 1947, after the Second World War.
Before and after
- 6 September 1522Magellan's expedition completes the first circumnavigation
- from 1524 to 1525German Peasants' War
- 24 December 1524Death of Vasco da Gama
- 1525Birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- 1525Birth of Pieter Brueghel the Elder
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- from 1526 to 1568Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary
- from 1526 to 1791Ottoman–Habsburg Wars
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid dynasty
- from 1520 to 1600Mannerism
- from 11 June 1569 to 24 October 1795Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- from 1603 to 1868Edo period
- from 1613 to 1762House of Romanov
- from 18 January 1701 to 9 November 1918Kingdom of Prussia
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.