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Although geographically smaller and less populated than other European kingdoms, the Kingdom of Hungary played an extremely important role in the development of European history and geopolitics. During the Medieval Period, Hungary served as an important conduit between the Western and the Eastern/Orthodox European civilizations. Although the Hungarians joined the Roman Catholic Church after they converted to Christianity in the mid-tenth century and were therefore directly tied to the Western world, they maintained close ties to the Russians, Bulgarians, and Greeks of the Orthodox world. The Hungarians played a major role in the organization of the failed Fifth Crusade, and the Kingdom of Hungary served as a buffer zone for Western Europe from the Mongol and Ottoman invasions. The Kingdom of Hungary was also important in modern European geo-politics, comprising part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later being one of the Axis Powers in World War II.