Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1183, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa elevated Henry I of Brabant to duke. It grew out of the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085-1183 and became one of the wealthiest and most urbanised territories of the Low Countries. Its four historic capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and 's-Hertogenbosch, while Brussels increasingly served as the ducal residence. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288 the dukes acquired Limburg and the Lands of Overmaas. In 1354 John III granted the Joyous Entry, a charter of liberties that remained a cornerstone of Brabantine identity. The duchy passed to the Burgundian inheritance in 1430 under Philip the Good and to the Habsburgs in 1477. The northern part was ceded to the Dutch Republic after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, while the southern duchy remained in Habsburg hands until French revolutionary forces conquered it in 1794 and annexed it in 1795. Its territories are now divided between Belgium and the Dutch province of North Brabant.