Frisia: Map & History
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" may include the island of Rømø and the other Danish Wadden Sea Islands. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Germanic ethnic group.
Modern Countries Once Part of Frisia
At its mapped extent, Frisia covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Frisia's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Frisia in Depth
History
The people later to be known as Frisii began settling in Frisia in the 6th century BC. According to Pliny the Elder, in Roman times, the Frisians (or rather their close neighbours, the Chauci) lived on terps, man-made hills. According to other sources, the Frisians lived along a broader expanse of the North Sea (or "Frisian Sea") coast. At this time, Frisia comprised the present-day provinces of Friesland, Groningen, North Holland and parts of South Holland.
Frisian presence during the Early Middle Ages has been documented from North-Western Flanders up to the Weser River Estuary. According to archaeological evidence, these Frisians were not the Frisians of Roman times, but the descendants of Anglo-Saxon immigrants from the German Bight, arriving during the Great Migration.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Frisia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Frisia Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 12,911 km² in 785 CE.
Frisia: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Frisia exist?
Frisia is dated to 783 CE – 787 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
How large was Frisia at its peak?
At its peak in 785 AD Frisia covered about 12,911 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
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