This is a list of states in the Holy Roman Empire beginning with the letter Z:
Name | Type | Imperial circle | Imperial diet | History |
---|---|---|---|---|
Zähringen | Duchy | n/a | n/a | 962: First mentioned; Gau Counts in the Breisgau 1092: Claimed the Duchy of Swabia 1098: Renounced Swabia; assumed the title Duke of Zähringen 1112: Side line Baden founded 1152: Partitioned into itself and Teck 1218: Extinct; dispersed between numerous families and free cities |
Zeeland | County | Burg | n/a | 1012: Given to Flanders 1167: West Zeeland in condomonium between Flanders and Holland 1256: West Zeeland to Holland 1303: West Zeeland to Hainaut; rest to Namur 1323: All to Hainaut 1432: To Burgundy 1477: To the Burgundian Netherlands 1556: To the Spanish Netherlands 1581: Joined the Netherlands 1648: Left the Empire as part of the Netherlands |
Zell am Harmersbach | Imperial City | Swab | SW | 1139: First mentioned; to Zähringen 1218: To Swabia 1256: To Hohengeroldseck and Strasbourg 1333: To Baden 14th Century: Free Imperial City 1718: Harmersbach made Free Imperial Valley 1803: To Baden |
Ziegenhain | County | n/a | n/a | 1148: First mentioned 1258: Partitioned into itself and Nidda 1333: Acquired Nidda 1450: Extinct; succession dispute between Hesse and Hohenlohe-Weikersheim. Ziegenhain was occupied by Hesse despite the legal succession of Hohenlohe 1495: Confirmed to Hesse with compensation paid to Hohenlohe-Weikersheim |
Zimmern | Lordship 1538: County | Swab | SC | 1080: First mentioned 1354: Acquired Meßkirch 1415: Acquired Wildenstein 1445: Partitioned into itself and Zimmern-Herrenzimmern 1462: Acquired Oberndorf 1488: To Werdenberg-Sigmaringen 1503: Restored 1508: Partitioned into Zimmern-Meßkirch and Zimmern-Wildenstein 1575: Reunited by Zimmern-Meßkirch 1594: Extinct; Oberndorf to Austria, Wald to Rottweil, rest to Helfenstein-Gundelfingen |
Zimmern-Herrenzimmern | Lordship 1538: County | Swab | SC | 1445: Partitioned from Zimmern 1512: To William Werner of Zimmern 1538: HRE Count 1575: Extinct; to Zimmern-Meßkirch |
Zimmern-Meßkirch | Lordship 1538: County | Swab | SC | 1508: Partitioned from Zimmern 1538: HRE Count 1575: Renamed to Zimmern |
Zimmern-Wildenstein | Lordship 1538: County | Swab | SC | 1508: Partitioned from Zimmern; originally at Oberndorf 1514: Acquired sole rule of Wildenstein 1538: HRE Count 1554: Extinct; to Zimmern-Meßkirch |
Zollern | Lordship 1111: County | n/a | n/a | 1061: First mentioned 1111: HRE Count c. 1144: Partitioned into itself and Hohenberg 1192: Acquired Nuremberg 1218: Partitioned into itself and Nuremberg 1262: Acquired Schalksburg 1288: Partitioned into Hohenzollern and Zollern-Schalksburg |
Zollern-Schalksburg | County | n/a | n/a | 1288: Partitioned from Zollern 1403: Sold to Württemberg 1408: Extinct |
Zug | Imperial Valley | n/a | n/a | 1264: All to Habsburg 1352: Joined the Swiss Confederation 1415: Free Imperial Valley 1648: Left the Empire as part of Switzerland |
Zürich | Imperial City | n/a | n/a | 853: To Fraumünster Abbey 1063: Under advocacy of Lenzburg 1173: Under advocacy of Zähringen 1218: Free Imperial City 1351: Joined the Swiss Confederation 1440: Expelled from the Swiss Confederacy 1450: Re-admitted 1648: Left the Empire as part of Switzerland |
Zutphen | County | Burg | n/a | Lordship 1101: County 1025: Mentioned; fief of Lower Lotharingia 1046: Made fief of the Bishopric of Utrecht 1101: HRE Count 1118: Extinct in male line 1138: To Guelders 1371: To Jülich-Guelders 1423: To Guelders 1538: To Jülich-Cleves-Berg 1543: To the Spanish Netherlands 1579: Joined the Netherlands 1648: Left the Empire as part of the Netherlands |
Zweibrücken | County | n/a | n/a | c. 1182: Partitioned from Saarbrücken 1263: Side line Zweibrücken-Eberstein created 1286: Partitioned into Zweibrücken-Zweibrücken and Zweibrücken-Bitsch |
Zweibrücken-Bitsch | County | n/a | n/a | 1286: Partitioned from Zweibrücken; originally at Lemberg 1297: Acquired Bitsch 1485: Side line Zweibrücken-Bitsch-Ochsenstein established 1559: Acquired Ochsenstein 1570: Extinct; to Hanau-Lichtenberg in succession dispute with Leiningen-Westerburg-Leiningen 1572: To Lorraine 1573: Leiningen claim sold to Lorraine 1604: Lemberg given to Hanau-Lichtenberg |
Zweibrücken-Bitsch-Ochsenstein | County | n/a | n/a | 1485: Created when Henry I of Zweibrücken-Bitsch acquired Ochsenstein by marriage 1559: Extinct; to Zweibrücken-Bitsch |
Zweibrücken-Eberstein | County | n/a | n/a | 1263: Created when Simon I of Zweibrücken acquired half of Eberstein Elder Line 1314: Extinct; to the Bishopric of Speyer |
Zweibrücken-Zweibrücken | County | n/a | n/a | 1286: Partitioned from Zweibrücken 1385: Zweibrücken sold to the Palatinate 1394: Extinct; remaining territory to Zweibrücken-Bitsch |
Zwiefalten | Abbacy | Swab | SP | 1089: Abbey established; to Achalm 1098: To Urach 1250: To Fürstenberg 1265: To Württemberg 1750: Imperial immediacy; joined the Swabian Prelates 1802: To Württemberg; secularised and suppressed |
The word emperor can mean the male ruler of an empire. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife, mother/grandmother, or a woman who rules in her own right and name. Emperors are generally recognized to be of the highest monarchic honour and rank, surpassing kings. In Europe, the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages, considered in those times equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe. The emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor".
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages and lasted for almost a thousand years until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
The prince-electors, pl. Kurfürsten, Czech: Kurfiřt, Latin: Princeps Elector) were the members of the electoral college that elected the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Peace of Westphalia is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.
Charles IV, also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death in 1378. He was elected King of Germany in 1346 and became King of Bohemia that same year. He was a member of the House of Luxembourg from his father's side and the Bohemian House of Přemyslid from his mother's side; he emphasized the latter due to his lifelong affinity for the Bohemian side of his inheritance, and also because his direct ancestors in the Přemyslid line included two saints.
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period, was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. The title was held in conjunction with the title of king of Italy from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of king of Germany throughout the 12th to 18th centuries.
Fürst is a German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. Fürsten were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of the Holy Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the ruling Kaiser (emperor) or König (king).
Graf is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl".
The continuation, succession, and revival of the Roman Empire is a running theme of the history of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. It reflects the lasting memories of power, prestige, and unity associated with the Roman Empire.
An Imperial Estate was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet. Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise significant rights and privileges and were "immediate", meaning the only authority above them was that of the Holy Roman Emperor. They were thus able to rule their territories with a considerable degree of autonomy.
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' (unmittelbar) to Emperor and Empire and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that status was defined as 'mediate' (mittelbar).
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor.
The Kingdom of Italy, also called Imperial Italy, was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It originally comprised large parts of northern and central Italy. Its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century.
The Reichsadler is the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors, later by the Emperors of Austria and in modern coat of arms of Austria and Germany.
The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire occurred de facto on 6 August 1806, when the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, abdicated his title and released all Imperial states and officials from their oaths and obligations to the empire. Since the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire had been recognized by Western Europeans as the legitimate continuation of the ancient Roman Empire due to its emperors having been proclaimed as Roman emperors by the papacy. Through this Roman legacy, the Holy Roman Emperors claimed to be universal monarchs whose jurisdiction extended beyond their empire's formal borders to all of Christian Europe and beyond. The decline of the Holy Roman Empire was a long and drawn-out process lasting centuries. The formation of the first modern sovereign territorial states in the 16th and 17th centuries, which brought with it the idea that jurisdiction corresponded to actual territory governed, threatened the universal nature of the Holy Roman Empire.