The history of human activity on Polish soil spans almost , years. Throughout the Iron Age it became extensively diverse, with various cultures and tribes settling in what was then East Germania. However, it was the Western Polans who dominated the region and gave Poland its name. The establishment of the first Polish state can be traced to AD , when Mieszko I , [14] ruler of the realm coextensive with the territory of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity.
The Kingdom of Poland was founded in , and in it cemented its longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. With the passing of prominence and prosperity , the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century, and regained its independence in with the Treaty of Versailles. After a series of territorial conflicts , the new multi-ethnic Poland restored its position as a key player in European politics.
Poland has a developed market and is a regional power in Central Europe, with the largest stock exchange in the East-Central European zone. The origin of the name "Poland" derives from the West Slavic tribe of Polans Polanie , who inhabited the Warta river basin of present-day Greater Poland region starting in the mid-6th century.
The origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the Proto-Slavic word pole field. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement now reconstructed as an open-air museum , dating from the Lusatian culture of the late Bronze Age, around BC. Throughout the Antiquity period, many distinct ancient ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland in an era that dates from about BC to AD.
Also, recent archeological findings in the Kuyavia region, confirmed the presence of the Roman Legions on the territory of Poland. The exact time and routes of the original migration and settlement of Slavic peoples lacks written records and can only be defined as fragmented. Up until the creation of Mieszko's state and his subsequent conversion to Christianity in AD, the main religion of West Slavic tribes that inhabited the geographical area of present-day Poland was Slavic paganism.
