Administrative division of Kingdom of Poland

Administrative division

An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...

of the Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland (disambiguation)

Kingdom of Poland was the name of Poland from 1000/1025 to 1795:* Kingdom of Poland from the early Piast dynasty* Kingdom of Poland under the Jagiellon dynasty...

evolved over the several centuries.

The 11th century Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty split the early Kingdom of Poland into several provinces (prowincja

Prowincja

A prowincja , or Region, was the largest territorial subdivision in medieval and Renaissance-era Poland, and later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...

). The 14th century Wiślica Statutes and Statutes of Casimir the Great

Statutes of Casimir the Great

Statutes of Casimir the Great or Piotrków-Wiślica Statutes - a collection of laws issued by Casimir III the Great, the king of Poland, in the years 1346-1362 during congresses in Piotrków and Wiślica...

also used the term province. Eventually, during the unification of Poland after the fragmentation, the provinces - some of them for a period known as duchies (ex. Duchy of Masovia

Duchy of Masovia

The Duchy of Masovia with its capital at Płock was a medieval duchy formed when the Polish Kingdom of the Piasts fragmented in 1138. It was located in the historic Masovian region of northeastern Poland...

) - became known as lands (ziemia

Ziemia

Ziemia is a historical unit of administration in Poland. In Polish the term is not capitalized ....

).

According to the 15th century Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae ("Annals or chronicles of the famous Kingdom of Poland" of Jan Długosz, the Kingdom of Poland was divided into following lands:

ziemia krakowska (latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

Terra Cracoviensis)
ziemia poznańska (lat. Terra Posnaniensis)
ziemia sandomierska (lat. Terra Sandomiriensis)
ziemia kaliska (lat. Terra Calisiensis)
ziemia lwowska (lat. Terra Leopoliensis)
ziemia sieradzka (lat. Terra Siradiensis)
ziemia lubelska (lat. Terra Lubliniensis)
ziemia łęczycka (lat. Terra Lanciciensis)
ziemia przemyska (lat. Terra Premisliensis)
ziemia bełska (lat. Terra Belzensis)
ziemia kujawska (lat. Terra Cuyaviensis)
ziemia chełmska (lat. Terra Chelmensis)
ziemia pomorska (lat. Terra Pomoranie)
ziemia chełmińska (lat. Terra Culmensis)
ziemia michałowska (lat. Terra Michaloviensis)
ziemia halicka (lat. Terra Halicensis)
ziemia dobrzyńska (lat. Terra Dobriensis)
ziemia podolska (lat. Podolia)
ziemia wieluńska (lat. Terra Wyelunensis)

Most of the ziemias in turn were transformed into voivodeship

Voivodeship

Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....

s (województwo) around the 14th and 15th centuries (see voivodeships of Poland

Voivodeships of Poland

The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo , has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century....

).

The administrative division became more clear in the Crown of the Polish Kingdom

Crown of the Polish Kingdom

The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , or simply the Crown , is the name for the unit of administrative division, the territories under direct administration of Polish nobility from middle-ages to late 18th century...

(see also Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth).

See also