Reign length of Prussian Kings and German Emperors 1701-1918
The Kingdom of Prussia was established in 1701, with its rulers made up of the heads of the Hohenzollern dynasty. In 1701, Friedrich I was named as the first King in Prussia of the House of Hohenzollern, as Habsburg-Austrian and Polish influence in the region prevented him from claiming the sole stewardship of Prussia. Following victory in the Silesian Wars against Austria, as well as the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Friedrich II (Friedrich the Great) consolidated his power and emerged as the King of Prussia. The dynasty was in place for over 200 years, and as German unification was largely achieved under Prussian leadership, the Kings of Prussia were named as the Kaiser of the new German Empire in 1871, until the abdication of Wilhelm II in 1918, following Germany's defeat in the First World War.