History of Bavaria

The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empire to its status as an independent kingdom and finally as a large Bundesland (state) of the modern Federal Republic of Germany.

There have been numerous palaeolithic discoveries in Bavaria.

The earliest known inhabitants that are mentioned in written sources were the Celts, participating in the widespread La Tène culture, whom the Romans subdued just before the commencement of the Christian era; founding colonies among them and including their land in the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. The Roman centre of administration for this area was Castra Regina (modern-day Regensburg).

During the 5th century, the Romans in Noricum and Raetia - south of the Danube, came under increasing pressure from people north of the Danube, which had become inhabited by Suebian groups from the north and had come to be considered a part of Germania. The etymological origins of the name "Bavarian" (Latin Baiovarii) are from the north of the Danube, outside the empire, coming from the Celtic Boii, who lived there earlier. Their name was already used to refer to part of this region in the time of Maroboduus who formed the Germanic Marcomannic kingdom with its capital in this forested area. Boi became Bai according to typical Germanic linguistic changes happening at that time and a Germanic word similar to English "home" or modern German "Heim" was added. Strabo therefore reports Boihaemum (Greek Βουίαιμον). Tacitus similarly reports that Boihaemi is the name given to the area where the Boii had lived. These forms lead to modern Bohemia which lies to the east of modern Bavaria and completely to the north of the Danube. At some later stage the ending "varii" was used in order to give a new name to specific people living in this geographical area who were then living on both sides of the Danube (similar Germanic ethnic names were created based on other regions: Angrivarii and Ampsivarii in northern Germany, Anglo-Saxon Cantware, Ripuarian Franks and so on). Claudius Ptolemy named both the "Baenochaemae", living on the Upper Elbe river and a "large people" known as the "'Baimoi", living near the Danube.

...
Wikipedia