During the Baroque Period, the Holy Roman Empire was the power of central Europe, and since the withdrawl of the Mongols, eastern Europe had been dominated by Poland-Lithuania. In between these two great countries stood the smaller and semi-independent Duchy of Prussia.
In 1618, the royal family of Prussia married into the ruling dynasty of the Electorate of Brandenburg, placing both under the rule of the Prussian House of Hohenzollern. Since Brandenburg was legally part of the Holy Roman Empire, but Prussia was not, a personal union was established, in which two countries share the same ruler but remain independent. Informally, however, the personal union became known as Brandenburg-Prussia.
Because of its position in central Europe and uniquely complicated relationship with the Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg-Prussia suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War. The country recovered, however, and continued to assert its de facto independence from the Holy Roman Emperor. The Duke of Prussia took the title "King in Prussia" in 1701, further separating the country from the Empire.
The new Kingdom of Prussia continued to grow more and more powerful and would have an enormous (though not always positive) impact on the future of Europe and the world.
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