The History of Germany begins with the establishment of the nation from Ancient Roman times to the 8th century[citation neeed], and then continues into the Holy Roman Empire dating all the way from the 9th century until 1806. At its largest, the territory of this empire included what today is Germany, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, western Poland, the Low Countries, eastern France, Switzerland and most of northern Italy. After the mid 16th century, when it had lost many former territories, it was known as the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation".