and not the more usual title of count,
owing to the connexion of his family with the margraviate of Verona. His
son and grandson, both named Hermann, added to their territories, which
about 1200 were divided, and the lines of Baden-Baden and Baden-Hochberg
were founded, the latter of which was divided about a century later into
the branches of Baden-Hochberg and Baden-Sausenberg. The family of
Baden-Baden was very successful in increasing the area of its possessions,
which after several divisions were united by the margrave Bernard I. in
1391. Bernard, a soldier of some renown, continued the work of his
predecessors, and obtained other districts, including Baden-Hochberg, the
ruling family of which died out in 1418.
During the 15th century a war with the count palatine of the Rhine deprived
Margrave Charles I. (d. 1475) of a part of his territories, but these
losses were more than repaired by his son and successor, Christopher I. In
1503 the family of [v.03 p.0186] Baden-Sausenberg became extinct, and the
whole of Baden was united by Christopher, who divided it, however, before
his death in 1527 among his three sons. One of these died childless in
1533, and in 1535 his remaining sons, Bernard and Ernest, having shared
their brother's territories, made a fresh division and founded the lines of
Baden-Baden and Baden-Pforzheim, called after 1565 Baden-Durlach. Further
divisions followed, and the weakness caused by these partitions was
accentuated by a rivalry between the two main branches of the family. This
culminated in open warfare, and from 1584 to 1622 Baden-Baden was in the
possession of one of the princes of Baden-Durlach. Religious differences
added to this rivalry. During the period of the Reformation some of the
rulers of Baden adhered to the older and some adopted the newer faith, and
the house was similarly divided during the Thirty Years' War. Baden
suffered severely during this struggle, and both branches of the family
were exiled in turn. The treaty of Westphalia in 1648 restored the _status
quo_, and the family rivalry gradually died out. During the wars of the
reign of Louis XIV. the margraviate was ravaged by the French troops, and
the margrave of Baden-Baden, Louis William (d. 1707), was prominent among
the soldiers who resisted the aggressions of France. In 1771 Augustus
George of Baden-Baden died without sons, and his territories passed to
Charles Frederick of Baden-Durlach, who thus became ruler of the
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