The Kingdom of Prussia was formally founded in 1701 by Elector Frederick III of the Hohenzollern dynasty. He called himself Frederick I, calling himself the "King of Prussia" rather than the "King of Prussia" because as subjects of the Holy Roman Empire, only the emperor and his heir could have royal titles. It extends over 750 miles across the European continent. from the Duchy of Prussia which bordered the Baltic Sea to the stronghold of the Hohenzollern dynasty in Brandenburg. The Kingdom of Prussia also included three smaller areas of the Rhineland. These enclaves were known as Ravensberg, Cleves and Mark. In 1713, Frederick I died and his son Frederick William I of Prussia rose to reign. Known to many as "The Soldier King", Frederick William is perhaps best remembered for having done much to centralize the Prussian state by introducing taxes on the middle classes and establishing primary schools. Frederick also focused heavily on rebuilding East Prussia, which to its detriment had lost nearly a third of its population in 1708 to the bubonic plague. Although he had inherited a large amount of land from his father, Frederick William I found himself living in a geopolitically vulnerable kingdom. With the Russian Empire to the east, the Swedish Empire to the north, the French to the west, and the powerful Austrian Habsburg Empire to the south, he knew that for Prussia to survive he would have to create a strong, organized army. together the tallest men from all over Europe to fight in the Potsdam Giants. One of Prussia's most famous infantry units, known by locals as "Lange Kerls". Made up of over 40,000 mercenaries from across Europe, they were left under the tutelage...... middle of paper......Hedderick William I and his son Frederick the Great dramatically changed the way the rest of the world worldviews Prussia. In 1701, Prussia was anything but a nation state, but when old Fritz died resting in his chair in 1785, Prussia alongside him was on its way to becoming a great world power from the Giants of Potsdam, to Voltaire and on the flute, they may have played a role in the development of a great Kingdom.The Kingdom of Prussia.BibliographyCaiside, Tomás Ó An Caisideach Bán:The Songs and Adventures of Tomás Ó Caiside 1993.Clark, Christopher Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Fall of Prussia, ndFontane, Theadorungen durch die Mark Brandenburg "The Irish giant". 2009.