The Kingdom of Norway as a unified realm was initiated by King Harald I Fairhair in the 9th century. His efforts in unifying the petty kingdoms of Norway, resulted in the first known Norwegian central government. The country however fragmented soon, and was collected into one entity in the first half of the 11th century.Norway has been a monarchy since then, passing through several eras. Thus was born the medieval (or, as is sometimes said, the first independent) kingdom of Norway, the realm of the Fairhair dynasty.