The history of Germany is full of conflict and turmoil. It was a Roman province until the 500s when it was taken over by the native peoples of the area. With the coming of the Middle Ages, Germany was constituted of hundreds of small kingdoms. It wasn't until the 1880's that Germany assumed some form of unification. It rose as an empire, acquiring lands in the east and south. World War I was the end of German imperial pursuits and unification. It lost the war to the Allies, and fell into civil war. The ever-present Communist party quickly took control, and has maintained control ever since. Communist Germany tried to help the Russian Communists assume power there, but it failed miserably. The popularity of and loyalty to the Tsar helped to quelch Communists in eastern Europe.