<P> Over most of the continent, the peoples were emerging around ethnic, linguistic and geographical groups, but this was not reflected in political entities . In particular, France, Italy and Germany, though recognised by other nations as countries where the French, Italians and Germans lived, did not exist as states largely matching the countries for centuries, and struggles to form them, and define their borders, as states were a major cause of wars in Europe until the 20th century . In the course of this process, some countries, such as Poland under the Partitions and France in the High Middle Ages, almost ceased to exist as states for periods . The Low Countries, in the Middle Ages as distinct a country as France, became permanently divided, today into Belgium and the Netherlands . Spain was formed as a nation state by the dynastic union of small Christian kingdoms, augmented by the final campaigns of the Reconquista against Al - Andaluz, the vanished country of Islamic Iberia . </P> <P> In 1299 CE, the Aztec empire arose in lower Mexico, this empire lasted over 300 years and at their prime, held over 5,000 square kilometers of land . </P> <P> 200 years after the Aztec and Toltec empires began, northern and central Asia saw the rise of the Mongol empire . By the late 13th century, the Empire extended across Europe and America, briefly creating a state capable of ruling and administrating immensely diverse cultures . In 1299, the Ottomans entered the scene . These Turkish nomads took control of Asia Minor along with much of central Europe over a period of 370 years, providing what may be considered a long - lasting Islamic counterweight to Christendom . </P> <P> Exploiting opportunities left open by the Mongolian advance and recession as well as the spread of Islam, Russia took control of their homeland around 1613, after many years being dominated by the Tartars (Mongols). After gaining independence, the Russian princes began to expand their borders under the leadership of many tsars . Notably, Catherine the Great seized the vast western part of Ukraine from the Poles, expanding Russia's size massively . Throughout the following centuries, Russia expanded rapidly, coming close to its modern size . </P>

The modern global political system came into existence in