The
State of the Teutonic Order (; ), also called or in German, was a
crusader state formed by the
Teutonic Knights or Teutonic Order during the 13th century
Northern Crusades along the
Baltic Sea. The state was based in
Prussia after the
Order's conquest of the Pagan
Old Prussians which began in 1230, but also expanded to include the historic regions of
Courland,
Gotland,
Livonia,
Neumark,
Pomerelia and
Samogitia. Its territory was in the modern countries of
Estonia,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Poland, and
Russia. Most of the territory was conquered by
military orders, after which
German colonization occurred to varying effect.