All people and nations have origin stories. The 10 semi legendary kingdoms of modern national groups weave together myth, legend, and fragments of history, offering a colourful tapestry of how societies view their past.

10 Semi Legendary Kingdoms Overview

10 Van Lang

The semi‑legendary kingdom that would later become modern Vietnam was known as Van Lang. It was ruled by the Hung dynasty, who sat atop a hierarchical society of marquises and under‑kings. These nobles lorded over the Lac, the peasant class whose name meant “ditch” or “canal.” (This word was actually the earliest name used for the Vietnamese people.) It’s said this culture was based on rice‑paddy agriculture and the diverting of rivers, but there is little material evidence to support its existence.

Van Lang was said to have been conquered by the kingdom of Thuc, a civilization located in the modern‑day Sichuan region of southwestern China. The Thuc king was the legendary An Duong Vuong, a man who supposedly used a magical crossbow to defeat the Hung kings and defend his empire.

In reality, the power of the Thuc kingdom may have been bolstered by Yueh refugees fleeing the expansion of the Chinese state, which was expanding into what is now southern China. Either way, the conflicting interests between Thuc and Van Lang were immortalized in Vietnamese mythology in the fabled battle between the powerful Mountain Spirit and the aggressive Water Spirit.

Eventually, Thuc and Van Lang were combined into the kingdom of Au Lac. The name is believed to be derived from the goddess Au Co and a kind of bird called a lac. This composite kingdom would form the nucleus of the later kingdom of Nam Viet. This society would be increasingly influenced by both Indian and Chinese culture, but while it left some historical records behind, the history of Au Lac is wrapped in stories of myth and legend.

9 The Piasts

The founding date of the Polish state is usually given as AD 966, but this was actually the year that the Polish king, Mieszko I, converted to Catholicism. Under this Christian king, the Polish people were introduced to their first royal dynasty: the Piasts. But where did the Piasts originally come from? Well, their origin story is shrouded in legend.

Initially, Polish culture was organized into fortified settlements ruled by military leaders called knedz. This changed when power started coalescing around the Gniezno region, eventually leading to unification. This land of pagan agriculturalists became known in Latin texts as Polonia. The people were referred to as the Polonie, and this became the basis for the modern‑day name of Poland. However, the Polish tribesmen referred to themselves as the Lech, a name inspired by an older, legendary founding figure.

The rise of the Piast dynasty probably occurred as an existential response to the rise of the neighboring Saxon kingdom. This saw the princely court of early Poland replaced by a hereditary dynasty, one founded by a man named Piast. Rumored to have been of a peasant background, Piast was supposedly in his garden one day, celebrating his son’s coming‑of‑age, when two strangers prophesied that he would lead his people. (The previous king, Popiel, was wicked, and he allegedly met his demise when he was eaten by mice in a dungeon.)

However, there is another legend regarding the Piast dynasty, one involving the immigration of Jews into the region. After the death of their ruling prince in the ninth century, the remaining Polish princes gathered in the city of Krushewitz to choose a new leader. Unable to come to a satisfactory agreement, they decided that the first man to enter the city in the morning would become the next prince. This turned out to be a Jewish trader named Abraham Porkhovnik (meaning “gunpowder trader,” although gunpowder was unknown in Poland at the time). The trader then wisely relinquished the princedom to the wise Piast, who then went on to form his eponymous dynasty.

8 The Pishdadian And Kayanian Dynasties

Much of the prehistory of the Persians, or Aryans, must be derived from ancient texts like poems or Zoroastrian and Hindu scriptures. The founder of the Persian people (or, according to some beliefs, the human race) was a man named Gaya Maretan, a name which meant “life mortal.” He’s said to have reigned in the period when animal domestication first developed and people worshiped a single god named Mazda.

Toward the end of his life, Maretan vied against deva worshippers who wanted to steal his throne. These wars claimed the life of his son. However, his grandchild Hushang became a great general and founded the Pishdadian dynasty, the first dynasty of the Persian people. Each Pishdadian king was said to rule for thousands of years, which makes their historical veracity somewhat dubious.

Hushang dominated over an age which saw the development of agriculture, fire‑making, metal use, and the calendar. He was succeeded by his son Tahmuras (pictured above, battling devas), a man whose wise leadership brought advances in areas such as domestication, art, and law. However, his son Jamshid was said to have fallen from grace, despite being wise and just. He may have become so arrogant that he considered himself a god, or perhaps he took to worshiping devas. Either way, his lords withdrew support, and 10 years later, the dynasty was extinguished by a wicked foreign king named Zahak.

The next legendary Persian dynasty was the Kayanian dynasty. The Kayanids were said to rule over the Persians in a period where the archaeological evidence suggests the Persians were actually under the yoke of the kingdom of Elam, with the Assyrians and Medians rising to power toward the end of the era. Much of what is known about the Kayanids comes from Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), a work of epic poetry.

At the end of this period, Median dominance over the Persians was destroyed by Achaemenes, said to be the founder of the Persian dynasty. However, he may have been a fictional character invented by the later king, Darius, as propaganda to legitimatize his succession from Cyrus.

7 Gojoseon

The first Korean kingdom was allegedly founded by the legendary King Dangun of the Bear Clan in 2333 BC (pictured above). Originally known as Joseon, this empire first appeared in the Samguk Yusa (Supplementary Tales of the Three Kingdoms), a book of ancient writings compiled by the late 13th‑century monk Iryeon. According to Iryeon, Dangun’s rise to power involved gods, wild animals, and one really unusual relationship.

The legend holds that Hwan‑in, the king of Heaven, was asked by his son Hwan‑ung if he could rule his own kingdom on Earth. After a survey to determine the best spot, Hwan‑ung was sent down to Earth with 3,000 followers and three heavenly treasures. He arrived at a sandalwood tree on Mt. Taebaek‑san, where he built his capital of Shinshi. He appointed the spirits of Wind, Rain, and Cloud as ministers of a government that developed the first laws.

Shortly afterward, a bear and a tiger came to Lord Hwan‑ung, asking to be made into humans. Hwan‑ung told them to stay in a cave for 100 days, eating only a bundle of mugwort and 20 bulbs of garlic. The tiger gave up halfway through, but the bear completed the task and became a woman. The bear‑woman, Ungnyeo, gave offerings of gratitude to Hwan‑ung, but then he noticed she had no husband. Hwan‑ung transformed into a man so he could sleep with her, and she gave birth to Dangun, founder of Joseon, the first Korean kingdom.

Dangun ruled for 1,500 years before retiring to the mountains and transforming into an immortal mountain god. Naturally, this is all pure myth, and the founding date of 2333 BC listed in medieval documents isn’t supported by the archaeological record. The legendary kingdom is sometimes linked with the early Mumun culture, which emerged in 1500 BC and was characterised by a novel pottery style. The name Dangun may have derived from an early leadership title meaning “altar king,” and the date 2333 BC probably came from cross‑referencing Chinese historical dates that are equally fictional.

But the legend of Joseon was popular, and when King Taejo founded a Confucian dynasty in 1392, he adopted the legendary name for his new empire. The original Joseon then became known as Gojoseon (old Joseon). Today, many South Korean textbooks still include the legends of Dangun and the founding of Joseon as if they were fact, and North Korea still calls itself by the name Joseon.

6 Pagan and Tagaung

The earliest histories of Burma combined fact and oral legends, making them unreliable but entertaining. The kings of Burma traced their legitimacy back to the medieval kingdom of Pagan, which had a legendary king named Pyusawhti (pictured above). Pyusawhti was born of the union of a sun god and a Naga dragon princess. Later, when the kingdom was being terrorised by enemies known as the Gourd, the Tiger, the Bird, the Boar, and the Squirrel, Pyusawhti defeated them one by one. In later chronicles, the Bird was depicted as the most fearsome enemy, devouring a tribute of seven maidens every week.

However, in the early 19th century, this historical tradition was changed, perhaps to support the legitimacy of the ruling Konbaung dynasty. The members of the Pagan royal house were said to have been mere scions of the older kingdom of Tagaung, founded by a man named Abhiraza. Allegedly a member of the same Sakya clan as the Gautama Buddha, Abhiraza left his Indian homeland and established a new kingdom in Burma.

Royal historiographers then traced the lineage back into even murkier mythological periods. They even claimed that Konbaung rulers could ultimately trace their origins all the way back to the very first “king of the world,” Maha Thammada, a man who supposedly descended from the Sun itself. Thus, Burmese kings referred to themselves as members of the “solar race.”

5 Xia Dynasty Of China

China’s first dynasty, the Xia kingdom, has quite a controversial history. Evidently, Xia historical records are so mixed with mythical ideas that the reality is still hotly debated by Chinese historians. However, archaeological evidence actually supports some mundane elements of the legends.

The Chinese emperor who founded the Xi dynasty was Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor (pictured above), who supposedly ruled for a century. He allegedly expanded China’s borders and personally invented bureaucracy, writing, silk harvesting, medicine, boats, and wheeled devices.

The Yellow Emperor was followed by three “sage kings” named Yao, Shun, and Yu, each one known for his wisdom. Yao is said to have skipped over his own sons to pass the throne to Shun, a man he considered the most righteous candidate for the throne. Shun was famous for his strict filial piety, despite the fact that his family was wicked and tried to kill him. Yu was most notable for developing a system for controlling flooding on the Yellow River and establishing the system of dynasty rule. Yu’s descendants would go on to rule the Xia for generations.

The final king of the dynasty was known as Jie or Di Gui. However, he was considered a wicked ruler. Some sources explain his wickedness as a basic lack of virtue, but others emphasise his sexual immorality. Heaven expressed its unhappiness with Jie through astrological events, such as planets crossing paths in the sky. The height of such divine power was the appearance of two Suns in the sky, heralding the arrival of the new Shang dynasty. This was the legendary basis for the Mandate of Heaven concept which defined the ebb and flow of dynasties through Chinese history.

4 Dynasty Zero

The first dynasty of Egypt was supposedly founded by the legendary King Meni, otherwise known as Min or Menes in Greek sources. According to Herodotus, Egyptian priests claimed that Meni unified Upper and Lower Egypt, in addition to establishing the capital city of Memphis. An Egyptian historian named Manetho claimed that Meni was the first human king of Egypt (having inherited the throne from the god Horus) and had embarked on a foreign expedition of conquest before he was ignominiously eaten by a hippopotamus.

Other historians say Meni died after being stung by a wasp or hornet. Another curious legend involves Meni being chased by his own dogs, falling into a lake, and being rescued by a helpful crocodile.

However, the tradition of a king named Meni doesn’t seem to have emerged until the 18th dynasty. It’s possible that he might actually be the same man as an early king named Narmer, a man who ruled in the south and warred against the north.

Traditionally, Narmer was the founder of the first Egyptian dynasty, but some believe he was a member of an even earlier kingdom dubbed Dynasty Zero by modern scholars. However, the leaders of Dynasty Zero might not have been true pharaohs as they hadn’t unified the country. Regardless, a ceremonial palette found in the ruins of a temple to Horus in Hierakonpolis shows Narmer taking the form of a bull to attack enemies outside the city wall.

3 Kirat Kings

The first major kingdom of Nepal was the Kirat dynasty. The Kirat people are believed to have migrated into the Kathmandu Valley in the ninth or eighth centuries BC. Twenty‑nine Kirat kings were said to have ruled over a period of 1,225 years, although little is known about their historical reality, except for the fact they were shepherds who liked to carry long knives.

Their dynasty was supposedly founded by Yalambar, a king who defeated the region’s Abhir rulers. Yalambar is said to have met with Indra, lord of Heaven, and to have participated in the battles described in the Mahabharata. During these conflicts, humans and gods fought side by side. According to the legend, Yalambar intended to join the losing side, the Kauravas, but Lord Krishna realised his intention. To avoid a prolonged and bloody war, Krishna neutralised the Kirat forces by cutting off Yalambar’s head.

The story goes that during the reign of the seventh Kirat king, Jitedasti, the kingdom was visited by the Gautama Buddha. He was allowed to preach, but he found few converts. Jitedasti is also said to have participated in the battle of the Mahabharata, but this doesn’t make much chronological sense. The kingdom is said to have finally fallen during the reign of the weak king Gasti, who was overthrown by Nimisha, ruler of the aggressive neighboring Sombanshi people.

2 Magna Hungaria

The nomadic ancestors of the Hungarian people are believed to have originated in western Siberia. They were a Ugric people, distantly related to the Finns, who became isolated and influenced by the Iranian language of their neighbours. They later migrated westward across the Urals near to modern Bashkiria, but the reasons for the move are largely lost to history. By the time they settled in the Carpathian Basin, their geographical point of origin was unknown.

In the 13th century, the Hungarian king, Bela IV, sent a pair of Dominican monks to the east. They were to search for a homeland they referred to as Magna Hungaria. After initially engaging in a failed search north of the Caucasus (where ancient encampments from the migration period remained), one of the monks died. The survivor, Julianus, moved north to explore the Volga area. There he found distant relatives of the Hungarians, which was apparently enough to satisfy him.

Many Hungarian legends link their origins with the mighty empire of Attila the Hun. One prominent legend speaks of two brothers, Hunor and Magor, who were sons of a great hunter named Nimrod or Menrot. One day, they were hunting with their men when they saw a beautiful white stag. The brothers chased after the animal until they lost it in a swamp. Frustrated, they decided to make camp, but in the morning, they awoke to find themselves on a beautiful, fertile island.

Hoping to settle there, the brothers rode home to secure their father’s blessing. But when they returned home, they spotted a group of dancing women. The brothers seized two of the girls and rode off, inspiring their men to follow suit. (However, in some versions of the story, the women turn into fairies and fly away just in time.) Magor then went on to become the father of the Hungarian Magyar people, while Hunor became the father of the Huns.

1 Western Europe’s Trojan Founders

Roman legends occasionally asserted a Trojan origin for their civilisation. Such a concept was later adopted in the medieval period. This allowed royal dynasties to assert the legitimacy of their claims to parts of the former Roman Empire. Tales of Trojan founders can be seen in the legends of the Goths, Venetians, Scandinavians, Byzantines, Normans, and Turks. And that’s not mentioning two of the most powerful countries in Western Europe: France and England.

In the seventh century, a monk named Fredegar developed the Trojan origin myth of the French, claiming that exiles from the Trojan War had split into two groups following the death of their king, Priam. One group settled in Macedonia, becoming the ancestors of Alexander the Great, while others settled in Phrygia under a king named Friga. Afterward, this second group migrated to the area between the Rhine and the Danube, all while serving under a second king named Francio or Francus. There, they were said to have begun construction on a replica of the city of Troy, but the project was never completed.

Variations of the Trojan origin myth were repeated over the years, depending on how politically useful it was to have a common origin with the Italians. At one point, a writer even suggested that the Trojans themselves had descended from the Gauls, thus transforming the story into a myth of homecoming.

Meanwhile, in 12th‑century England, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the Historia Regnum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain), a book which detailed how a Trojan prince named Brutus founded Britain around the 13th century BC. Before his birth in Italy, it was foretold how Brutus would kill his parents, be exiled, and then discover “the highest pitch of glory.” According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the prophecy came true.

After killing his mother in childbirth and his father in a hunting accident, Brutus was exiled at age 15. After travelling to Greece, he freed 7,000 Trojans who’d been enslaved by the Greeks. Guided by the goddess Diana, Brutus led his people to Albion, an island which had no inhabitants except a few giants. He then named his kingdom Britain and was followed by 99 more kings, but it all came to an end when the country was finally invaded by Saxons in the ninth century AD.

Although most people know of massive empires like Rome or the Ottoman Empire, there are dozens of smaller realms that slipped through the cracks of mainstream history. These 10 forgotten kingdoms played pivotal roles in their eras, yet today they linger only in the footnotes of textbooks.

10 720

The Visigoths, a wandering Germanic tribe, rose to prominence across Europe during the twilight of Roman authority. Renowned for their martial prowess, they also harbored ambitions beyond mere plunder, eventually establishing a kingdom—often called the Visigoth Kingdom of Toulouse—that stretched from southern Spain into parts of modern‑day France.

After the infamous sack of Rome in 410, the Romans, wary of provoking further barbarian aggression, granted the Visigoths permission to settle and create a polity of their own. The fledgling kingdom quickly expanded, pushing back the Alans and the Vandals as it consolidated its hold on the Iberian Peninsula.

The settlement agreement stipulated that the Visigoths would render military assistance to Rome whenever called upon. While the Visigoths were the founding force, a coalition of other tribes soon joined, forging a formidable alliance that bolstered the kingdom’s strength.

However, the Visigoths soon clashed with the neighboring Frankish peoples, who drove them out of France and assassinated their ruler in 507. Internal divisions grew as factions pledged allegiance to the papacy, weakening cohesion and leaving the kingdom vulnerable to the Muslim incursions that finally toppled it in 711.

Even though the Visigoth Kingdom has faded from popular memory, its existence was instrumental in the collapse of Roman power and it smoothed the path for the subsequent Muslim conquest of Spain.

9 1093

When Roman authority evaporated from the British Isles, a power vacuum erupted, giving rise to new polities. In southern Scotland, the Kingdom of Strathclyde emerged as a dominant force, shaping the early medieval landscape of the British archipelago.

Historical evidence shows Strathclyde controlled the southern Scottish lowlands, and its monarchs prioritized preserving a stable civilization. Consequently, life during the early Dark Ages in Strathclyde was comparatively prosperous when contrasted with the turmoil elsewhere in Europe.

Unfortunately, the Viking age brought a formidable threat. In the late 800s, Norse raiders laid siege to the kingdom’s stronghold at Dumbarton, and after a grueling four‑month blockade, the Vikings captured the Strathclyde king.

Over the next century, Strathclyde oscillated between periods of independence and subjugation by neighboring Scottish realms, steadfastly refusing to merge with England. Ultimately, William the Conqueror annexed the territory in 1092, folding Strathclyde into English dominion, yet its legacy of regional stability endured long after Rome’s fall.

8 651

Before Islam reshaped the Middle East, the region was a chessboard of competing empires, each vying for supremacy. Among them, the Sasanian Empire stands out as a largely overlooked powerhouse, distinguished by its Zoroastrian faith and status as the final great pre‑Islamic empire in what is now Iran.

The Sasanians rose to fill the void left by the Parthian collapse, forging an unmistakably Iranian state. Central to their identity was the adoption of Zoroastrianism as the official religion, a monotheistic tradition rooted in the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, which they guarded zealously to preserve Iranian cultural purity.

During their brief but impactful existence, the Sasanians commanded the majority of the Middle East and even portions of Egypt, compelling diverse religious communities to coexist under their rule. Their reign marked the apex of Zoroastrian statecraft.

The empire pursued aggressive territorial expansion, pushing northward into Armenia and beyond. However, relentless wars with the Byzantine Empire and overextension strained their resources, precipitating a gradual decline.

When the rapidly expanding Muslim forces surged, the Sasanian Empire crumbled within five years, its lands absorbed into the nascent Islamic caliphate. Over subsequent centuries, the once‑Zoroastrian populace largely converted to Islam, sealing the empire’s disappearance from the historical stage.

7 1716

Aragon stood as a resilient kingdom that eventually commanded vast swaths of the Mediterranean. Unlike many contemporary realms, it functioned as a composite monarchy—a confederation of territories under a single sovereign.

In 1137, the union of Catalonia with the dynastic Kingdom of Aragon birthed a new political entity. The kingdom swiftly expanded, annexing large portions of Spain and later extending its influence into southern Italy and numerous Mediterranean islands.

At its zenith, Aragon’s dominion encompassed its original Spanish heartland, a substantial segment of southern Italy, and key islands across the sea. This expansive reach laid the groundwork for the modern Spanish state, with Aragon playing a central role through the 13th and 14th centuries before gradually losing momentum.

The War of the Spanish Succession in the early 1700s ushered in centralized Spanish rule, curtailing Aragon’s autonomy. Although it lingered as a semi‑autonomous region for another century, the kingdom was fully integrated into Spain during the early 19th century, ending its independent saga.

6 AD 1279

The Chola dynasty, one of the longest‑lasting lineages on the Indian subcontinent, governed large swathes of southern India for roughly fifteen centuries. Their prominence truly blossomed in the ninth century when they re‑emerged as a dominant maritime and military power.

Under the reign of King Rajaraja I, the Cholas expanded to their greatest territorial extent, earning widespread prestige among rival Indian kingdoms. Their naval strength enabled them to project influence far beyond the Indian Ocean.

At the height of their power, Chola sway stretched from the Indian mainland to the Maldives, with numerous South Asian islands falling under direct rule or tributary status. Their merchants also ventured to distant markets in China and the Middle East, establishing a vibrant trade network.

Nevertheless, the dynasty’s military prowess waned over time. Repeated assaults from neighboring Indian states eroded their holdings, prompting the Cholas to retreat and focus on consolidating the east‑coastal region.

In the 13th century, the Hoysala kingdom made significant incursions, and internal fragmentation allowed the Pandyan forces to seize control, ultimately ending the Chola dynasty’s remarkable run.

5 1461

When the Byzantine Empire fractured, a mosaic of successor states emerged, and the Empire of Trebizond proved the longest‑lasting yet most overlooked of these offshoots. Its strategic position on the Black Sea reshaped regional trade and military dynamics throughout its existence.

Although modest in size, Trebizond boasted direct access to Black Sea routes. Founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, its rulers were members of the former Byzantine aristocracy, granting them control over established trade infrastructures.

Even after the Byzantine restoration, Trebizond maintained independence, dominating Black Sea commerce and acting as a vital conduit between East and Europe.

As Muslim forces expanded across the Middle East, Trebizond allied with other Asian powers to challenge the rising Ottoman Empire. The conflict proved disastrous; the Ottomans retaliated fiercely, and Trebizond was finally annexed in 1461.

4 1783

The colossal Mongol Golden Horde eventually splintered, giving rise to smaller polities, one of which was the Crimean Khanate. Settling in Crimea, the Tatars broke away from the Horde and forged an independent realm.

Early on, the fledgling khanate recognized the formidable Ottoman Empire as a looming adversary. Within a few years, the Ottomans launched a campaign, defeated the Crimeans, yet allowed them to persist as a semi‑independent vassal.

Throughout most of its history, the Crimean Khanate waged frequent wars against Muscovite Russia, at times seizing Russian territories and orchestrating a large‑scale slave trade that supplied the Ottoman market.

Eventually, Muscovy grew stronger, declared independence from Tatar domination, and gradually challenged Crimean authority.

In the late 18th century, Russian forces finally conquered the khanate, annexing Crimea and ending its centuries‑long autonomy—a legacy that still echoes in today’s geopolitical disputes over the peninsula.

3 1540, 1555–1857

In the 16th century, the Turkic prince Babur, having lost his Central Asian stronghold, turned his sights toward India. Gathering forces in Kabul, he launched a successful invasion of northern India in 1526, establishing the Mughal Empire.

Babur’s son Humayun succeeded him but soon lost the empire to Afghan invaders, resulting in a fifteen‑year interregnum where the Mughals were displaced.

Humayun managed to reclaim his throne amid Indian civil unrest, but his reign was cut short when he tragically fell down a flight of stone stairs, passing the mantle to his teenage son Akbar.

Akbar, despite his youth, revitalized the empire, expanding its territories and ushering in an era of cultural flourishing, epitomized by architectural marvels like the Taj Mahal.

However, by the 18th century, the Mughal Empire’s power waned due to fiscal strain and internal religious strife. The British East India Company capitalized on this weakness, eventually assuming control, and the British Crown’s direct rule marked the end of the Mughal dynasty.

2 750

The Merovingian dynasty comprised a succession of Frankish kings who, during their reign, dominated large portions of Europe and are often regarded as the first monarchs of what would become France.

Under the founder Merovech, the Franks vanquished rival Germanic tribes, incorporating their lands into a burgeoning Frankish realm. Over time, the dynasty evolved into a “kingdom of kingdoms,” where each sub‑kingdom retained its own ruler but remained answerable to the Merovingian head.

While this structure promised unity, it also sparked incessant civil wars among the various branches, leading to a culture where conflict became routine and governance was shaped by perpetual warfare.

In 613, King Chlothar II managed to reunite the fragmented territories, reinforcing the Merovingian presence as a major European power. Yet continuous strife eroded royal authority, ushering in a period of decline.

Chlothar II’s successor, Dagobert I, wielded the Merovingian army against Slavic pagans to the east and pressed into Spain, achieving the dynasty’s greatest territorial extent. Eventually, the dynasty’s power waned, with real authority shifting to the mayors of the palace, culminating in Pepin the Middle’s ascension and the eventual end of Merovingian rule.

1 795

When most hear “Lithuania,” they picture a modest Baltic nation, yet between the 13th and 18th centuries the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stood as one of Europe’s most formidable powers. Initially a loose collection of tribes, the realm coalesced under King Mindaugas into a unified state.

From there, Lithuanian forces spread eastward, conquering territories from the Baltic coast down to the Black Sea, encompassing large swaths of present‑day Ukraine and Russia.

A pivotal moment arrived with the Union of Krewo, wherein the Grand Duke converted to Catholicism, allowing a dynastic marriage with Poland and forging a powerful alliance that amplified Lithuania’s influence.

Nevertheless, a succession of weak Grand Dukes eventually ceded real power to Polish monarchs, and the two states later separated, leaving Lithuania to contend with Muscovite and Tatar pressures on multiple fronts.

These sustained wars stretched Lithuanian resources thin, prompting gradual territorial loss. Though Poland later attempted to reunite with Lithuania to safeguard independence, the eventual Russian annexation erased Lithuanian sovereignty, yet the duchy’s legacy as a medieval superpower endures.

Zachery Brasier likes to write.

While Europe today has 12 monarchies out of a total of 44 countries, the continent has been home to countless kingdoms—some thriving for centuries, others vanishing in a blink. Here are 10 nearly forgotten European kingdoms that most people have all but misplaced from memory.

10 Nearly Forgotten Kingdoms Overview

This quick tour will whisk you through empires that rose, fell, and often slipped through the cracks of mainstream history. From Thracian powerhouses to fleeting Napoleonic experiments, each kingdom left its own curious imprint on the European tapestry.

10 30 BC)

In the aftermath of their failed invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the mighty Persian Empire under Xerxes I was forced out of Europe. Taking advantage of the power vacuum left behind, the Thracians under King Teres I would go on to found the Odrysian Kingdom. Together with his son, Sitalces, Teres I created the largest independent political entity in the Eastern Balkans up until that point. At its greatest extent, the Odrysian Kingdom encompassed present‑day Bulgaria, parts of northern Greece, most of European Turkey, and southeastern Romania.

In their early history, the Odrysians were able to stop the Scythian advance south of the Danube River. They were also allies of Athens, taking part in the Peloponnesian War on their side. Although probably exaggerated, the Odrysian Kingdom mustered an impressive force of around 150,000 men to attack and easily conquer Macedonia, which was a Spartan ally at the time. Their golden age would come to an end with the assassination of King Kotys in 359 BC. The plot was masterminded by none other than their long‑time allies, the Athenians, who rightfully feared the Thracians would soon conquer the Greek colony cities dotting the southern Thracian coast.

Over the following years and centuries, the Odrysian Kingdom would split into three smaller kingdoms, be conquered by the Macedonians under Philip II, and reemerge as a smaller Odrysian state under King Seuthes III. They would later become vassalized and eventually absorbed by the Romans during the second half of the 1st century BC.

9 C. 527 AD)

The present‑day Strait of Kerch between the Black and Azov Seas was known in Antiquity as the Cimmerian Bosporus. The kingdom that existed in this area for nearly 1,000 years would also bear the name. It was centered around several Greek colonies established on both sides of the strait during the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Located on the outskirts of the present‑day city of Kerch, Panticapaeum was the largest and would become the kingdom’s capital.

Likely pressured by the Scythian unification and expansion in the area, these Greek colonies came together under the Archaeanactidae dynasty, which ruled until 438 BC. They were usurped by a mercenary of probable Thracian origin named Spartocus (not Spartacus – also a Thracian) who would go on to found the Spartocid dynasty that lasted until 110 BC. Under this new dynasty, the Kingdom of Bosporus would see a rapid economic expansion, quickly becoming the main trade center on the Black Sea.

During the 1st century BC, the Cimmerian Bosporus Kingdom came under the control of Mithradates the Great, King of Pontus, and was ruled over by his son King Machares. After his defeat against the Romans under Pompey in 66 BC, Mithradates retreated to Bosporus to raise another army but Machares refused to help and Mithradates likely had him killed. In 63 BC, his other son, Pharnaces II led a successful rebellion against his father who ended up committing suicide at Panticapaeum.

Aside from several brief interruptions, the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus remained a client state under Roman protection from that point onwards. In fact, it was the longest‑lived Roman vassal kingdom without ever being annexed. Its downfall, however, came after the fall of Rome. During a somewhat long period of instability, the kingdom fell under the hands of both the Goths and the Huns and was eventually taken over by the Byzantine Empire, which instituted complete imperial control.

8 The Dacian Kingdom (c. 80‑44 BC and c. 87‑106 AD)

The Dacians were a group living north of the Lower Danube River and around the Carpathian Mountains in present‑day Romania. For much of their existence, they lived as culturally‑similar independent tribes but came together on two occasions to form the Dacian Kingdom. The first time was under King Burebistas around the year 80 BC. This growing threat also drew the attention of Rome, particularly Julius Caesar who was also eyeing the rich gold and silver mines in Dacian territory. In the end, Caesar went into Gaul and was later assassinated in 44 BC. That was the same year King Burebistas was killed and the Dacian Kingdom disintegrated into smaller factions.

It would reemerge under King Decebalus around 87 AD who would conduct several raids into the Roman province of Moesia. This again drew the attention of the Romans who would send five legions into Dacia but were soundly defeated. Emperor Domitian was forced to agree to an unfavorable truce, giving the Dacians a yearly payment of gold and technical support. Eager to right his predecessor’s wrong and prove himself a capable general, Roman Emperor Trajan initiated two successive wars against Dacia, in 101‑102 AD and again in 105‑106 AD, finally defeating the threat and annexing much of the kingdom into the Empire.

Both historical and archaeological evidence point to the Romans making significant changes to their armor, particularly for these military campaigns against the Dacian Kingdom. They introduced the manica (segmented metal armguards) for the first time, reverted to and improved upon two types of body armor (the lorica hamata and lorica squamata), and reinforced their helmets. Historians believe these changes were made in response to the Dacian falx. This was a devastatingly powerful, inward‑pointed sword, somewhat similar to a sickle, capable of striking soldiers around or above shields or slicing their arms clean off.

7 9th century AD)

Located on the British South West Peninsula, the Kingdom of Dumnonia got its start during the Sub‑Roman Britain period between the end of Roman rule in Britain and the arrival of the Anglo‑Saxons. The kingdom’s name comes from the Dumnonii; a tribe that can draw its origins in the area at least as early as the Bronze Age (3300 BC to 1200 BC). They likely predated the Celts on the island and were known to rarely intermarry with other tribes.

Given their resilience in the face of the Roman invasion, the Dumnonii enjoyed a certain type of de facto independence, being more of a Roman vassal than an occupied people like most others. It’s no surprise that immediately after the Roman departure, they began forging their fully independent kingdom.

At its largest, the kingdom centered around present‑day Devon County (a name derived from Dumnonia), but also included Cornwall to the west and parts of Somerset to the east. The initial capital was at Isca Dumnoniorum (present‑day Exeter) but later moved to Tintagel in Cornwall. Incidentally, this is also where the legendary King Arthur was said to have been born.

The demise of the Dumnonian Kingdom was a slow one. One after the other, their settlements fell to the Saxons, particularly those of West Seaxe (Wessex). By the 750s, they are completely pushed out of Somerset and Devon. Their remaining territories in Cornwall began being known as the Kingdom of Corniu. The last of the Dumnonian kings was Dunyarth who drowned in 875, effectively putting an end to the kingdom.

6 C. 721 AD)

The Visigoths were a Romanized Germanic people of diverse backgrounds who would go on to found one of the most important, yet nearly forgotten Western European kingdoms in the early Middle Ages. Under the leadership of Alaric I, they would sack Rome in 410 AD. Over the next several decades, the Visigoths with their new capital at Toulouse would expand their territories into Gaul against the Romans, fight with the Romans against the invading Huns, and conquer large parts of Hispania.

In 466, King Euric ascended to the throne by assassinating his elder brother King Theodoric II, who himself murdered his elder brother Thorismund. By the year 500, they controlled much of present‑day southern and southwestern France and most of the Iberian Peninsula. With the arrival of the Franks, they would lose the majority of Gaul by 508 AD, including their capital, save a narrow strip of coast known as Septimania.

Up until that point, the kingdom was sometimes referred to as Regnum Tolosae (Kingdom of Toulouse). For the next two centuries, it would be mostly known as the Kingdom of Toledo, having taken complete control of Hispania. The Visigoths are accredited for building the only new cities in Western Europe throughout this period.

Their downfall began in 711 with the Moorish conquest of the region. In only five years, most of the Iberian Peninsula was under Islamic control, and in 721 they lost Septimania too. The only remnants left were in the mountainous regions of Northern Spain. Here, a certain Visigoth refugee by the name of Pelayo founded the Kingdom of Asturias, led a fierce resistance against the Moors, and spearheaded the infamous centuries‑long Reconquista (Reconquering) of the peninsula.

5 1160 AD)

When the Romans began retreating from Britain in around 383 AD, several kingdoms in Wales, such as Gwynedd, Dyfed, Powys, and Gwent, among a few others emerged as independent successor states. The Kingdom of Powys was located in what is now present‑day east‑central Wales, bordering England. Its name, Powys, is believed to derive from the Latin pagenses, which means “dwellers in the countryside.” Another possible source could be referencing paganism.

During the early Middle Ages, Powys played an important role in keeping the Anglo‑Saxons out of Wales. Although they suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Chester in 616 fighting the Northumbrians under Æthelfrith, they would defeat the English in several battles during the 7th and early 8th centuries. These successes even pushed the Mercian King Æthelbald to build Wat’s Dyke; a 40‑mile‑long earthwork separating the Britons in Powys from the Anglo‑Saxons in Mercia. The same thing happened under King Offa of Mercia who built the 169‑mile‑long Offa’s Dyke, running roughly parallel to the first.

During the Norse invasions of the 9th century, King Merfyn Frych of Gwynedd married Princess Nest of Powys, joining their forces and preventing the Vikings from taking Wales. Their son, Rhodri ap Merfyn became king of both, defeating the Danes in a battle in 856 and earning the title of “Mawr” or “The Great.” Powys’ eventual downfall came with the Normans, who, by the late 11th century, already established a firm foothold in their lands.

4 1265 AD)

The Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, simply known as the Kingdom of the Isles, was a successor state of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dalriada. Its exact extent has never been clear but it centered around the island archipelago off the western coast of Scotland, known as the Hebrides, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. Throughout its roughly four‑century existence, the kingdom was either fully independent or under the influence of other kingdoms in Norway, Ireland, Scotland, England, or the Orkney Islands.

Even its beginnings are shrouded in mystery. If the region had relatively good record‑keeping between the 5th and early 9th centuries, the Norse incursions in the area effectively put a stop to it for nearly three centuries. What is certain, however, is that its early history was largely dominated by the Uí Ímair dynasty (the descendants of Ivar the Boneless).

The most noteworthy ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles was the Viking warrior Godfrey “the White Hand” Crovan, a survivor of the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. After their defeat in battle, Godfrey took the Isle of Man with an army from the Hebrides archipelago, becoming King of the Isles in 1079. His descendants would rule the kingdom for the next 200 years until it was absorbed by Scotland in 1265. Today, the title of Lord of the Isles is held by Prince William, who inherited it from his father King Charles III upon his ascension to the British throne on September 8, 2022.

3 1570)

With the death of King Louis II of Hungary after the defeat of the Hungarian Kingdom against the Ottomans at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was left without an apparent heir. Ferdinand of Austria and the future Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire claimed the throne of Hungary on account of his marriage to Louis’ sister. However, many Hungarian noblemen supported the popular voivode (governor) of Transylvania, John Zápolya, and elected him king on November 10, 1526. Ferdinand sent an army and drove John out but the latter called upon the help of the Ottomans under Suleiman the Magnificent.

With the Turks’ backing, John Zápolya controlled Transylvania and the eastern half of the Hungarian plain, while Ferdinand controlled the western half. This became known as the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, which was an Ottoman vassal. In 1538, the two sides signed a treaty formalizing the division, but making Ferdinand heir since John was childless. Nevertheless, John remarried and had a son in 1540, nine days before he died. The infant John II Sigismund Zápolya was quickly crowned king and Ferdinand sent another army to enforce his claim. The Ottomans intervened, driving out Ferdinand and taking much of central Hungary in the process.

The next several decades would see a period of strife with John II having to abdicate for several years and flee to Poland. He was reinstated as king in 1556 and in 1570 he would sign a new treaty with Ferdinand’s successor, Maximilian. John II Sigismund was made the Prince of Transylvania under Maximilian and a reunited Hungary.

2 1807)

Being one of the shortest‑lived kingdoms in European history, the Kingdom of Etruria was the first time Emperor Napoleon tried his hand at nation‑building. Located in central Italy around Tuscany, the Kingdom of Etruria was created as a means of repaying the Bourbons in Spain in return for France annexing the northern‑Italian Duchy of Parma. The Bourbons also agreed to retrocede Louisiana back to France in exchange for six warships and secure the Kingdom of Etruria as a vassal to Spain.

Forced out of his ancestral home, the former Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III, was not pleased. When the new rulers (King Louis I and Queen Maria Luisa of Etruria) moved into Pitti Palace in Florence, they discovered that the Grand Duke had taken everything with him. Strapped for cash, the new royals had to borrow furniture and even kitchen utensils from the local noblemen.

King Louis died quickly and suddenly after an epileptic fit in 1803 at the age of 30. His infant son Charles Louis became king and his mother Maria Luisa became queen regent. She managed to make some rather significant reforms in Etruria, given both her young age of 20 and the short time she had at her disposal. Nevertheless, Napoleon put an end to the kingdom in 1807 and annexed it to France.

1 860)

The name of this particular kingdom can be somewhat confusing given the fact that there are not two Sicilies. To add further confusion to the issue, some consider the start of this kingdom in 1816, while others in 1734. To put it simply, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies draws its roots in the Kingdom of Sicily (singular). This initial kingdom was founded by the Normans in the 12th century, had its capital at Palermo, and was comprised of the island of Sicily and the southern Italian Peninsula bordering the Papal States to the north.

In 1282, an uprising broke the kingdom apart in which the King of Sicily maintained control of the mainland while losing the island. The kingdom moved its capital to Naples (sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Naples) but still kept the official title of Kingdom of Sicily. The island, on the other hand, was taken over by the Spanish Crown of Aragon, which also kept the name. In 1734, the two kingdoms were taken over by the Duke of Parma and the future King of Spain, Charles III. In 1816, the two kingdoms were officially merged into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The next few decades saw a period of significant strife and political clashes. This socio‑political instability coupled with a poor economy made it relatively easy for Italian revolutionary, Giuseppe Garibaldi, to invade in May 1860, conquer the Two Sicilies within the year, and help establish the Kingdom of Italy.