The early modern era of Polish history follows the late Middle Ages. Historians use the term early modern to refer to the period beginning in approximately 1500 AD and lasting until around 1800. The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish diet in 1505 transferred legislative power from the king to the diet. This event marked the beginning of the period known as the "Nobles' Democracy" (Polish: Demokracja szlachecka) or "Nobles' Commonwealth" (Polish: Rzeczpospolita szlachecka). The state was ruled by the "free and equal" Polish nobility or szlachta, albeit in intense, and at times destabilizing, competition with the Jagiellon and then elective kings.