Duchy of Jülich

The Duchy of Jülich (German: Herzogtum Jülich; Dutch: Hertogdom Gulik; French: Duché de Juliers) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital Jülich – the former Roman Iuliacum – in the lower Rhineland. The duchy amalgamated with the County of Berg beyond the Rhine in 1423, and from then on also became known as Jülich-Berg. Later it became part of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

Its territory lies in present-day Germany (part of North Rhine-Westphalia) and in the present-day Netherlands (part of the Limburg province), its population sharing the same Limburgish dialect.

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.

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.