Countries That Temporarily Didn't Exist (But Then Came Back)

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Some countries exist today, however if you check a map from 200 years ago, they didn't
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But if you go back 900 years or something like that, then they did again
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In this video, we're going to cover some of those countries that temporarily didn't exist, but then came back
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First, Iceland. The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State
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existed as a sovereign entity from 930 to 1262. It was a unique form of governance characterized by
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a lack of centralized executive authority, instead relying on a system of chieftains
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and the Alting, one of the oldest parliaments in the world. The Commonwealth came to an end when internal issues and growing pressure and influence from the Norwegian crown
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led to the signing of the Old Covenant in 1262 or 1264
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which brought Iceland under Norwegian and later Danish rule. For centuries following the end of the Commonwealth
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Iceland therefore existed without a sovereign state of its own. The move towards re-establishing Icelandic sovereignty began in the 19th century
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fueled by a growing sense of national identity and a wider wave of European nationalism
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but they weren't very successful. However, Iceland gained limited home rule in 1904 and was recognized as a fully sovereign
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national state in personal union with Denmark in 1918. But full independence only came in 1944, after World War II, when the Republic of Iceland
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was established around 700 years after the end of the first entity. And incidentally, Norway is a
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great example too. The old kingdom of Norway first existed as a sovereign state from the unification
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of various petty kingdoms by Harald Ferher around 872 until the Calmer Union of 1397. The early
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kingdom experienced significant growth and consolidation during the Viking Age and the
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Middle Ages, establishing a centralized monarchy that wielded considerable influence in Scandinavia
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and beyond. During this interregnum period, from 1397 to 1814, Norway was not an independent
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sovereign state. Instead, it was ruled first as part of that Kalmer Union, and then as a part of
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the Danish-Norwegian Union, from 1536 onwards, I think. Then, from 1814 to 1905, it was ruled by
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Sweden after the Napoleonic Wars, as a personal union, but where Sweden was the ruling power
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despite the fact that Norway had autonomy and de facto sovereignty with its own constitution
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This lasted until the peaceful dissolution of that union in 1905, when Norway became a full
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independent country over 600 years after the end of the Old Kingdom. Modern Norway
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although distinct from that Old Kingdom in its constitutional framework and governance
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regards itself as the continuation of its historical predecessors, preserving cultural and historical ties even to that medieval Norwegian state
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And now, let's get back to the video. Then Armenia. The Kingdom of Armenia was established in 321 BC
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It reached its zenith under the Artaxia and Arstasi dynasties. It spanned a large territory, including parts of modern Armenia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
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Armenia, Armenian culture was influenced by Hellenistic and Persian traditions and in 301
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AD it became the first state in the world to officially adopt Christianity as an official religion
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But the kingdom came to an end, in 428 being divided between the Byzantine and Sassanian
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empires due to internal instability and external pressures from those empires. For nearly 1500 years, Armenia existed without a unified sovereign state, under various foreign
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rulers including the Byzantines, the Arab Caliphates, Seljuk, Turks, Mongols, and Ottomans
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Despite this, Armenian principalities and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia temporarily preserved
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Armenian culture, language, and traditions. Sovereignty was then reestablished with the First Republic of Armenia in 1918 following the collapse of the Russian Empire, though it only
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lasted until 1920 due to Soviet and Turkish invasions. Modern Armenia was established in 1991
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after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It occupies a smaller territory, but maintains strong
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cultural and religious connections to that ancient kingdom, with Christianity remaining central to its identity
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And arguably our best example on this list is next with Poland Polish sovereignty has seen several significant periods throughout history They have been independent then losing that independence at least twice
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It began with Poland's first emergence as a state in the early medieval period under Miesko I around 966 AD
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This period lasted until the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 through the Union of Lublin
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The Commonwealth itself endured until 1795, when Poland was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria
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In the war, Poland experienced a brief resurgence of sovereignty from 1918 to 1939, following World War I
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only to be invaded and once again partitioned by Germany and the Soviet Union, marking the start of World War II
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Post-World War II, Poland was restored with different borders. I even made a video about all of these border changes throughout their history
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I can link it in the description if you're interested. But although they had independence, they were in strong connection and under strong influence of the USSR, only recovering their full sovereignty in 1989 with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe
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Then Georgia, where the story is very similar to Armenia. The medieval kingdom of Georgia was established in the 11th century by King Baghdad III, spanning a vast territory in the Caucasus region, including present-day Georgia, but also reaching into parts of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey
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It reached its zenith under Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries
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However, external invasions notably by the Mongols in the 13th century and later by the
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Ottoman Empire weakened Georgia leading to its fragmentation and eventual collapse in 1490
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During the following centuries no unified Georgian authority existed and it wasn't
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until the 18th century that they began to see efforts towards regaining their sovereignty
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initially as a part of the Russian Empire, after the Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783
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Following the collapse of the Russian Empire, Georgia also declared independence in 1918
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but its sovereignty was short-lived, just like Armenia's, being invaded by Soviet forces in 1921
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and forcibly incorporated into the USSR. With the dissolution of the Soviets in 1991
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modern Georgia emerged as an independent state, restoring its sovereignty and establishing itself
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as a democratic republic. Greece is also an interesting example, although not exactly the
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same. There wasn't a single Greek country in ancient or medieval times that was destroyed
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then returning later on, even if in a different form. Throughout history, local Greek sovereignty
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has been a fluctuating concept. Ancient and classical Greek political entities, such as the
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city-states, emerged independently, each with its own government and system of governance. Eventually
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Eventually the city-states fell under Macedonian hegemony following conquests of Alexander the Great, with the Romans coming after and subjugating Greece in the 2nd century BC
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Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Greece experienced an interregnum period
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characterized by political instability and invasions by various barbarian tribes. Eventually the Byzantine Empire, successor to the Eastern Roman Empire, exerted control
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over Greece until the Ottomans took over in the 15th century. Greece remained under Ottoman rule for centuries until the Greek War of Independence in the 19th century It disappeared and then came back later on And since we in the Balkans Bulgaria is another case like this
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Following migrations from old Bulgaria, the first Bulgarian empire emerged in the late 7th century
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under the leadership of Khan Asparu, establishing its capital at Pliska in 681 AD
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after defeating the Byzantine Empire. Spanning from the Carpathian Mountains to the Aegean Sea
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the empire flourished due to its military conquest protests, cultural achievements, and significant territorial expansions
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Despite its zenith during the 9th and 10th centuries, invasions by the Byzantines, Magyars
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Peshnegs, and the devastating Mongol incursions in the 13th centuries, their gradual decline came
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Over the next centuries Bulgaria fell back under Byzantine and then Ottoman rule until
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the late 19th century when it regained limited sovereignty as a modern state following the
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Russo-Turkish War of 1877. However, full independence only came later, in 1908
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We can also go deeper and into somewhat questionable connections, such as the case of Ceylon or
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Sri Lanka, which existed as the Kingdom of Anuradapura in the 4th century. This kingdom
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situated in the north-central region of the island, but influencing the entirety of it
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emerged as a significant power in the center of the Indian subcontinent. The kingdom flourished
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for centuries but various factors led to its decline by the 11th century
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Following the collapse of the kingdom, Sri Lanka was fragmented into multiple regional
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kingdoms until the arrival of European colonial powers in the 16th century
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One example is the Kingdom of Jaffna between 1215 and 1619 but their reach never extended
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past the northern half of the island. The Portuguese, Dutch and finally the British arrived and exerted political, economic and
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military control over different parts of the island until Sri Lanka gained independence
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in 1948. Or to wrap things up for this video, even Tunisia could be an example
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One could argue it existed first as the sovereign Carthaginian Empire in the 9th century BC
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The Carthaginian Empire was a powerful ancient city-state founded by Phoenician settlers
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in what is now Tunisia around 814 BC. It flourished as a major maritime power in the western Mediterranean who came to control
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vast territories. After the Third Punic War, Carthage was destroyed and the region came
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under Roman and then Byzantine control, followed by conquest by various Islamic empires and
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then being colonized by the French. Foreign rule therefore remained, from the collapse
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of Carthage until the independence from France in 1956 and the establishment of the modern
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state of Tunisia. But then again, are we simply listing a state that was sovereign in its
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territory and attempting to link it with a future one that happened to also exist in the same area
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with that connection being non-existent? To some extent, I would say yes. While this is the case a
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little bit with all examples on our list, but others do have cultural connections and stronger
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hereditary ones in addition to those territorial factors. So, those are some countries that
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temporarily didn't exist but then came back. Are there any other interesting cases that you know of
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or do you disagree with the ones that I mentioned? Let me know in the comments
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Thanks for watching this video, subscribe if you want to catch future ones, and I will see you next time for more general knowledge

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