Mielnik Land (Polish: ''ziemia mielnicka''), also known as

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

of Mielnik, was an administrative unit (

ziemia Land is a historical unit of administration in Poland and Ruthenia. In the Polish language, the term is not capitalized (''ziemia chełmińska'', Chelmno Land; not ''Ziemia Chełmińska''). All ''ziemias'' are named after main urban centers (o ...

) of both the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. With its seat in the town (now a village) of

Mielnik Mielnik is a village in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielnik. It lies approximately south-east of Siemiatycze ...

, it belonged to Podlasie Voivodeship. The history of Mielnik Land as a separate unit begins in the 1530s, when it was carved out of

Drohiczyn Land Drohiczyn Land (, also '), named after the town of Drohiczyn, was an administrative unit (ziemia) of both the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of Podlasie Voivodeship. The history of Drohiczyn Land as a sep ...

. Until the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

, the province of

Podlasie Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...

was part of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

; in 1569 it was transferred to the Kingdom of Poland. Local

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; ) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland (before ...

s for Mielnik Land took place at

Drohiczyn Drohiczyn () (, ) is a town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town has a population of 2,110 and is situated on the bank of the Bug River. Drohiczyn has a long and rich history, as in the past it was one of the most impo ...

, where two envoys were selected to the

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. Mielnik Land was not divided into counties. It had two royal towns, Mielnik and

Łosice Łosice (; ''Loshitz'', ''Lositze'') is a town in eastern Poland, seat of the Łosice County and Gmina Łosice (commune) in the Masovian Voivodeship. History Łosice was first mentioned in 1264, as a medieval settlement from around the 11th– ...

, both were residences of the

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

s. Other towns of the province were

Siemiatycze Siemiatycze ( ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 14,391 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Siemiatycze County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. History The history of Siemiatycze dates back to the mid-16th century, when the vil ...

, Niemirów Horodyszcze and Rossosz. The town of Mielnik had a royal castle, in which on October 23, 1501, the Union of Mielnik was signed. The Land of Mielnik ceased to exist after the

third partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

in 1795.

Sources

Mielnik Land and its history
Ziemias 1530s establishments in Europe 16th-century establishments in Poland {{Poland-hist-stub