County In the 9th century a certain Matfried was count of Jülich (pagus Juliacensis). The first mention of a count in the
gau of Jülich in
Lower Lorraine, is Gerhard I, in 1003; his grandson Gerhard III began to call himself Count of Jülich in 1081.
William IV, who became count in 1219, significantly enlarged the territory and in 1234 granted Jülich
town privileges. By 1240 his territorial expansion created conflict on the eastern side of his territory with the Archbishop of Cologne
Konrad von Hochstaden, whose troops devastated the city five years later. William IV's son
Walram (Count from 1278 to 1297) remained a fierce opponent of the Bishopric, supporting Duke
John I of Brabant at the 1288
Battle of Worringen against Archbishop
Siegfried II of Westerburg. Walram was succeeded by his younger brother
Count Gerhard V who had sided with German king
Adolf of Nassau against his rival
Albert I of Habsburg.Gerhard managed to retain his territories after Adolf of Nassau lost the
Battle of Göllheim in 1298, and in 1314 supported the coronation of
Louis IV of Wittelsbach at the nearby City of
Aachen, once more against the will of the Cologne bishop.
Duchy Gerhard died in 1328. His eldest son succeeded him as
Count William V. Gerhard's younger son
Walram became Archbishop of Cologne in 1332. In 1336 Count William received the title of
margrave from Emperor Louis IV, and in 1356 Emperor
Charles IV of Luxembourg raised William V to the rank of
duke. His son Duke
William II, however, became entangled in a fierce feud with the Emperor's half-brother
Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, Duke of
Brabant, whom he defeated at the
Battle of Baesweiler in 1371. Thereafter Jülich's history became closely intertwined with that of its neighbours: the Duchies of
Cleves and
Berg as well as
Guelders and the
County of Mark: Duke William II had married Mary, the daughter of Duke
Reginald II of Guelders, and duchess herself after the death of her half-brother
Reginald III of Guelders in 1371. William II settled the conflict with the Imperial
House of Luxembourg and his son William III inherited both duchies, thereby becoming
William I of Guelders and Jülich. In 1402, Duke William I Guelders and Jülich died without any legitimate offspring. He was succeeded by his younger brother
Reinald IV, Duke of Guelders and Jülich, who also died without heirs in 1423. The Gelderland estates chose
Arnold of Egmond as duke, while Jülich amalgamated with Berg and passed to
Adolf, Duke of Jülich-Berg, who belonged to a younger branch, and who had obtained Berg by virtue of the marriage of one of his ancestors. When the last duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg died without direct heirs in 1609, the
War of the Jülich Succession broke out. It ended with the 1614
Treaty of Xanten, which divided the separate duchies between
Palatinate-Neuburg and the
Margraviate of Brandenburg. Jülich and Berg fell to Count Palatine
Wolfgang William of Neuburg and after the last duke of Palatinate-Neuburg (also
Elector of the Palatinate from 1685)
Charles III Philip had died without issue in 1742, Count
Charles Theodore of Palatinate-Sulzbach (after 1777 also
Duke of Bavaria) inherited Jülich and Berg. In 1794
Revolutionary France occupied the Duchy of Jülich (Duché de Juliers), which became part of the French
département of the
Roer. The
Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 officially acknowledged the cession of Jülich to France. In 1815, following the defeat of
Napoleon, the duchy became part of the
Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (after 1822 part of the Prussian
Rhine Province), except for the cities
Sittard and
Tegelen, which became part of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. ==Rulers==