page_title: History of Poland
section_title: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
hierarchical_section_title: History of Poland / Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
caption_attribution_description: English: Truce of Deulino 1618-1619
context_page_description: The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars, communism, and the restoration of democracy.
  The roots of Polish history can be traced to the Iron Age, when the territory of present-day Poland was settled by various tribes including Celts, Scythians, Germanic clans, Sarmatians, Slavs and Balts. However, it was the West Slavic Lechites, the closest ancestors of ethnic Poles, who established permanent settlements in the Polish lands during the Early Middle Ages. The Lechitic Western Polans, a tribe whose name means "people living in open fields", dominated the region, and gave Poland - which lies in the North-Central European Plain - its name.
  The first ruling dynasty, the Piasts, emerged in the 10th century AD. Duke Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state and is widely recognized for his adoption of Western Christianity in 966 CE.
caption: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent, after the Truce of Deulino of 1619
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