Czech history dates back to the early medieval period when the Czech lands were part of the Great Moravian Empire. In the 14th century, Charles IV, a Czech king, became Holy Roman Emperor and established Prague as a cultural and political center. The Hussite Wars in the 15th century marked a significant religious conflict, leading to the rise of Protestantism in the region. In the 20th century, the Czechoslovak Republic was formed after World War I, but it faced challenges during World War II and the subsequent Communist regime. The Velvet Revolution in 1989 peacefully ended Communist rule, leading to the split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.