Europe c. 1000 AD

In around 1000 AD, Europe was a fragmented territory. In the West, the Carolingian Empire had crumbled, but a new entity sought to take its place: the Holy Roman Empire, which managed to conquer northern Italy in 996. In the East, the Byzantine Empire was fighting the Bulgarian Empire for the control of the Balkans; in 1018 the Byzantines finally won the war. In North East, the Kievan Rus prince Vladimir the Great (980-1015) converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. At around the same time, the Great Prince of the Hungarians, Stephen, converted to Catholic Christianity and became the first King of Hungary (c. 1000-1038).