The Baltic Sea areas of what is now called Latvia were first settled in 3000 BC, and over centuries of time trade routes developed across parts of Europe, and beyond.. During Medieval times this land (including southern Estonia) was called Livonia.In 1201, at the request of Pope Innocent III, German crusaders (knights) conquered large parts of it and founded Riga.

: https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/lv.htm