accept or reject national legislation. In the 16th century they were tasked with preparing drafts of legislation to be discussed at Sejms. Around the 17th century general sejmiks were mostly abandoned (with the exceptions of those in Royal Prussia, see Prussian estates); instead, provincial deputies would meet in special sessions during the Sejm proper. Provincial, Territorial, Voivodeship or County (Polish: ziemski, Latin conventiones particulares, conventiones terrestrae). The names of these sejmiks varied depending on their administrative level and local traditions; Płaza lists powiat sejmiks (county sejmiks; sejmiki powiatowe), ziemia sejmiks (territorial sejmiks; sejmiki ziemskie), voivodeship sejmiks (sejmiki wojewódzkie) and provincial sejmiks (sejmiki prowincjonalne). A theoretical hierarchy that almost never existed in practice could be drawn starting from the powiat sejmiks, and moving upwards to ziemia, voivodeship, general (of several voivodeships) and provincial sejmiks ending with the final, national sejm. Almost all ziemias had their own sejmiks, but the importance of the sejmik varied based on whether the given ziemia was autonomous (that is, whether it was part of a voivodeship). Powiat sejms were common in Lithuania, but were rare in the Crown of Poland, where instead voivodeship sejms were much more common. Some voivodeships could hold a single voivodeship sejmik, and others might be covered by more than one sejmik. The importance of the local sejmiks began to diminish with the formation of the national sejm. Thereafter the local sejmiks were relegated to dealing with local matters and electing deputies to the General Sejms. They rose in importance again in the second half of the 17th century, as the central Sejm grew weaker. Kriegseisen, quoting Adam Lityński, argues that there was only one type of sejmik and that the only difference between various sejmiks was the purpose for which they were convened. Nonetheless other scholars often distinguish between different types of sejmiks. Juliusz Bardach and Jędruch, for example, divide sejmiks based on their purpose as follows: Pre-sejm (Polish: przedsejmowe) sejmiks were convened by the king who sent a writ (legacja królewska) to each sejmik, outlining the reasons the next Sejm would be held. Such sejmiks elected one to six deputies (poslowie), depending on the size and importance of the sejmik's territory, to the ordinary General Sejm (Polish: Sejm Walny) that was held every two years, and to any extraordinary General Sejm that might be called at any time in an emergency. Sometimes pre-sejm sejmiks were referred to as electoral. In