Bavaria, ruled by the House of Wittelsbach from 1180, became a kingdom in 1805. In November 1918, in the face of growing unrest in Germany, the last prime minister of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Otto Ritter von Dandl, attempted to persuade the Bavarian King Ludwig III to relinquish the Bavarian throne. Ludwig was unwilling to do so but instead published the Anif Declaration on 12 November in which he absolved all government employees, officers, and soldiers of the Bavarian Army of their oath of loyalty to him. The following day, Kurt Eisner proclaimed himself prime minister of Bavaria, and falsely informed the public that the King had abdicated, despite that declaration having made no reference to an abdication.