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Prussia ((ドイツ語:Preußen), (ポーランド語:Prusy)) is a historical region stretching from Gdańsk Bay to the end of Curonian Spit on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, and extending inland as far as Masuria. The territory and inhabitants were described by Tacitus in Germania in AD 98, where Suebi, Goths and other Germanic people lived on both sides of the Vistula River, adjacent to Aesti (further east). About 800–900 years later the Aesti were named Old Prussians, who since AD 997 repeatedly successfully defended against take-over attempt by the newly created Duchy of the Polans. The territory of the Prussians and neighboring Couronians and Livonians was in the 1230s under Papal Order established as Teutonic Order State. Prussia was politically divided in the period 1466-1772, with western Prussia under protection of the crown of Poland-Lithuania and eastern Prussia a Polish fief until 1660. The unity of both parts of Prussia remained preserved by retaining its borders, citizenship and authonomy until western and eastern Prussia were also politically re-united under the Kingdom of Prussia. It is famous for many lakes, as well as forests and hills. Since the military conquest by the Soviet Army in 1945 and the expulsion of the inhabitants it divided between northern Poland (most of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship), Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, and southwestern Lithuania (Klaipėda Region). The former German state of Prussia (1701–1947) derived its name from the region. ==Prehistory and early history== The area was settled by the bearers of the Corded Ware culture in the 4th millennium BC. These were presumably the early Indo-European speakers which in the Baltic would diversify into the Satem (Balto-Slavic) branch which would ultimately give rise to the Balts as the speakers of the Baltic languages. The Balts would have become differentiated into Western and Eastern Balts in the late centuries BC. The region was inhabited by ancestors of Western Balts – Old Prussians, Sudovians/Jotvingians, Scalvians, Nadruvians, and Curonians while the eastern Balts settled in what is now Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus). The Greek explorer Pytheas (4th century BC) may have referred to the territory as ''Mentenomon'' and to the inhabitants as ''Guttones'' (neighbours of the ''Teutones''). A river to the east of the Vistula was called the ''Guttalus'', perhaps corresponding to the Nemunas, the Łyna, or the Pregola. In 98 AD Tacitus described one of the tribes living near the Baltic Sea (''Mare Svebicum'') as ''Aestiorum gentes'' and amber-gatherers. The Vikings started to penetrate the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea in the 7th and 8th centuries. The largest trade centres of the Prussians, such as Truso and Kaup, seem to have absorbed a number of Norsemen. Prussians used the Baltic Sea as a trading route, frequently travelling from Truso to Birka (present-day Sweden). At the end of the Viking Age, the sons of Danish king Harald Bluetooth and Canute the Great launched several expeditions against the Prussians. They destroyed many areas in Prussia, including Truso and Kaup, but failed to dominate the population totally. A Viking (Varangian) presence in the area was "less than dominant and very much less than imperial."〔Gwyn Jones. ''A History of the Vikings''. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-19-280134-1. Page 244.〕 According to a legend, recorded by Simon Grunau, the name "Prussia" is derived from Pruteno (or Bruteno), the chief priest of Prussia and brother of the legendary king Widewuto, who lived in the 6th century. The regions of Prussia and the corresponding tribes are said to bear the names of Widewuto's sons — for example, Sudovia is named after Widewuto's son Sudo. The territory was probably identified as ''Brus'' in the 8th-century map of the Bavarian Geographer. The name has nothing to do with the fact the region is situated between the present day countries of Poland and Russia, therefore merging the two names to create "Prussia". The Old Prussians spoke a variety of languages, with Old Prussian belonging to the Western branch of the Baltic language group. Old Prussian, or related Western Baltic dialects, may have been spoken as far southeast as Mazovia and even Belarus in the early medieval period, but these populations would probably have undergone Slavicization before the 10th century. Meanwhile, the big part of later Prussia, west of Vistula and south of Osa rivers, has been inhabited by Lechitic (Poliah and Pomeranian) tribes. Image:Adalb.jpg| Medieval depiction of Prussians killing Saint Adalbert, the missionary bishop; part of the Gniezno Doors, c. 1175. File:Prussian Hag.JPG|A ''Prussian Hag'' – Old Prussian statue, now in Gdańsk, Poland Image:Prussian clans 13th century.png|Map of Old Prussian tribes in the 13th century. The indicated cities/castles were built by the Teutonic Knights to facilitate the conquest. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prussia (region)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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