Origins of the German State
Roman Empire
The first time in history the term Germany appeared was in 56 BC when Julius Caesar described the area from the Rhine, the extent of the Roman conquest, to the Urals as Germania. The Romans fought up and down the Rhine throughout the reign of the Empire until its collapse.
Middle Ages
During the Dark Ages and into the beginning of the middle ages the area known as Germany was ruled but the Franks, and a line of kings known as the Merovingian’s. After a period of partition, wars and expansionism under the Franks, the lineage changed to the Holy Roman Empire. This area was consolidated and expanded by Charlemagne. The Holy Roman Empire continued for the next few hundred years ruled by the heirs of Charlemagne. In 1356, the Emperorship changed
from that of hereditary to elected, being appointed by four secular and three religious leaders.
1600 – 1800
In the 1600’s the Holy Roman Empire was ravaged by the 30 years war, a dispute between the Catholics and the Protestants. By 1648, the Holy Roman Empire slowly broke up into city-states. Prussia emerged as the new great European power on the block. As per the status quo, there was wars and stuff all the time.
1800 – 1871
In 1812 the Holy Roman Empire was formally dissolved. After a conference in 1814, the German Confederation was convened with Austria taking a leading role. However, nationalist feeling was growing and many people were not happy with the current solution. In 1862, Bismarck was appointed as Chancellor and managed to fuse together the new German State in 1871.
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