Bavaria

Bavaria was a duchy in southeastern Germany, ruled by the Wittelsbachs from 1180. Divisions among their heirs produced separate duchies, including Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut.

When Duke George of Landshut died without a surviving son in 1503, his provision for his daughter Elisabeth led to war with Albert IV of Munich. Albert gained much of Landshut, bringing the main Bavarian lands together. Bavaria became an electorate in 1623 during the Thirty Years' War and a kingdom in 1806 under Napoleon.