Figure 2. Piast Poland, 966 to 1370

Fortress of Malbork, seat of grand masters of the Teutonic Knights in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Courtesy Jean R. Tartter

Part of the old city wall of Kraków, established in the fourteenth century.
Courtesy Ronald D. Bachman

Figure 3. Jagiellon Poland-Lithuania, Fifteenth Century

Figure 4. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the Union of Lublin, 1569 to 1667

The next major period was dominated by the union of Poland with Lithuania under a dynasty founded by the Lithuanian grand duke Jagiello. The partnership proved profitable for the Poles, who played a dominant role in one of the most powerful empires in Europe for the next three centuries.

Data as of October 1992