Prussia
Overview
 
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...

 ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history of Germany
History of Germany
The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul , which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the...

, with its capital in Berlin
History of Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany. Berlin is a young city by European standards, founded in the 12th century.-Early history:*98 AD: Tacitus described the territory of Germania. What is now Berlin, in ancient times was well outside the frontiers of the Roman Empire...

 after 1451. After 1871, Prussia was increasingly merged into Germany, losing its distinctive identity. It was effectively abolished in 1932, and officially abolished in 1947.

The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians
Old Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...

.
Timeline

1456    The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia)

1701    Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.

1740    Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.

1741    War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.

1757    Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years' War.

1758    Seven Years' War: Austria defeats Prussia at the Battle of Hochkirk

1762    Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.

1762    Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.

1793    Second Partition of Poland: Russia and Prussia partition Poland for the second time.

1793    Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.

 
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