History.— The earliest inhabitants of what is now known as Bavaria were a Celtic tribe who were conquered by the Romans about 15 B.C. The district became part of the Roman provinces of Noricum and Vindelicia, later in corporated with Raetia. After the fall of the Western empire in the 5th century the territory was overrun by various Germanic tribes; prob ably descendants of the Marcomanni and Quadi; who were called Boiarii, because they came from Bojerland or Bohemia. These Boiarii soon were made tributary by the Franks, and were ruled over by dukes of the Agilolfing family, probably of Franldsh descent, as early as the 6th century. In the 8th century the bishoprics of Salzburg, Freising, Regensburg and Passau were founded or restored. Charle magne made Bavaria a part of his kingdom, and on the death of the monarch the kings of the Franks and Germans governed it by their lieutenants. In 1070 Bavaria passed into the possession of the family of Guelphs, and in 1180 it was transferred by imperial grant to Otho, Count of Wittelsbach. In 1214 the family came into possession of the Rhenish Palatinate, but this was separated from Bavaria in the following century. In 1623 Duke Maximilian of Bavaria received the title of Imperial Elector, and five years later ac quired the upper Palatinate. In 1777, on the extinction of the direct Bavarian line of the Wittelsbach, the succession passed to the Elector Palatin, Charles Theodore, and thus the Pala tine, to which were added the duchies of Juliers and Berg, was reunited to Bavaria. In 1799 the Duke Maximilian Joseph of Zweibriicken came into possession of all the Bavarian territories. The Peace of Luneville (9 Feb. 1801) essen tially affected Bavaria. While it lost the Palat inate and the duchies of Zweibriicken and Julich, it obtained, on the other hand, by an imperial edict of 1803 an indenmification by which it gained, in addition to the amount lost, a surplus of 2,109 square miles and 216,000 inhabitants.
In 1805 Bavaria, having espoused the side of Napoleon, was raised, by the Treaty of Press burg, to the rank of a kingdom, with some further accessions of territory, most of which were confirmed by the treaties of 1814 and 1815, by which also a great part of the lands of the Palatinate was restored. In 1818 Bavaria entered on a period of constitutional reform and on 26 May of that year the Constitution was proclaimed. In 1848 the conduct of King Louis I, in maintaining an open liaison with Lola Montez, who became supreme in the state had thoroughly alienated the hearts of his sub jects, and quickened that desire of political change which had previously existed. The people, early in March 1848, demanded immedi ate convocation of the chambers, liberty of the press, public judicial trials; also that electoral reform should be granted, and that the army should take an oath to observe the Constitution.
The King having refused to grant these de mand.s, tumults occurred, and King Louis an nounced his resignation of the sceptre to his son, Maximilian II, under whom the reforms and modifications of the Constitution were carried out. Maximilian died in 1864 and was succeeded by Louis II. In the war of 1866 Ba varia sided with Austria, in consequence of which it was obliged, by the treaty of 22 August in the same year, to cede a small portion of its territory to Prussia, and to pay a war indemnity of $12,150,000. Soon after Bavaria entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with Prus sia, and in 1867 joined the Zollverein under Prussian regulationS. In the Franco-Gennan War of 1870-71 Bavaria took a prominent part, and since 1871 it has been one of the constit uent states of the German empire, represented in the Bundesrath by 6, in the Reichstag by 48 members. In 1886 King Ludwig II committed suicide through alienation of mind. His brother Otto succeeded, but he being also insane, his uncle, Luitpold, became regent. On 12 Dec. 1912 he was succeeded as regent by his son Louis, who, yielding to popular demand, was proclaimed king as Ludwig III, 5 Nov. 1913. After 40 years' confinement as a lunatic King Otto died in 1916.
Bibliography.—(Beitrage zur Statistik des Konigreichs Bayern) (published by the Statis tiches Bureau) ; Denk und Weiss, (Unser Bayernland; Vaterlandische Geschichte Volk stiimlich Dargestellt (Munich 1906) ; Doe berl, M., (Entwickelungsgeschichte Bayern's) (Munich 1912) ; Gotz, (Geographisch-his torisches Handbuch von Bayern' (Munich 1895, 98) ; Giimbel, W., (Geologie von Bayern) (Cas sel 1884-94) ; Heigel, K. T., Die Wittelsbachee (Munich 18A5) ; Haushofen, M., (Oberbayern Munchen and bayerisches Hochland) in (Larsd und Leute) (Vol. VI; Bielefield 1910) ; Huret, J., (En Allemagne, la Baviire et la Saxe' (Paris 1911) ; Kinzel, K., (Das bayerische Hochland mit seinen Korngs-Schlossern und Seen) (Leipsiz 1914) ; Koestler, C., (Handbuch zur Gebiets und Ortskunde des Konigreichs Bayern) (Munich 1895) ; Norman, G., 'A. Brief History of Bavaria) (Munich 1906) ; Piloty, R., (Verfassungs-lcunde des Kiinigreichs Bayern' (Gotha 1878-99); Pohl, C., 'Handbuch des Staats und Verwaltungsrecht fiir das Konig reich Bayern) (Munich 1900); Poole, A. L., 'Henry the Lion> (Oxford 1912); Reizler, S., (Geschichte Bayerns) (Gotha 1878-1914); Rheinhardstottner, K., editor, 'Forschungen zur Geschichte Bayerns> (Berlin 1893-1908).