The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles (Arelat) which fell to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

in 1032.

History

Several nobles had held the title of a Count of Geneva in Upper Burgundy (''Bourgogne transjurane'') from the 9th century. The progenitor of the Counts of Geneva was Conrad I, possible

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

of Burgundy, in Vienne. Count Cono/Conrad died about 1003 in exile, during the Hermann II's rebellion (his brother

duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...

, of

Conradines The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany. History The family is first mentioned in 832, with Count Gebhard in ...

lineage). Their son, Robert, count of Geneva, was born about 970 and died about 1020. Château d'Annecy

The county never played a major part as a feudal entity. The city of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and its environs were retained, but the approaches to the western end of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

, which had made the position strategic, were soon lost. In 1124 the Bishops of Geneva had their rule over the city acknowledged and continued to make themselves an independent force, while the

Counts of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the ...

encircled the territory and controlled the trade routes. From 1219 on, the counts' stronghold and capital was

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

. At a moment when the male line of the counts was near exhaustion, Robert of Geneva was raised to a shadow papacy by the French cardinals who seceded from the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

and wished to rescind their part in the election of the irascible

Urban VI Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...

; elected 20 September 1378, Robert took the title of

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

. Unexpectedly, with the death of his brother, he succeeded as count in 1392. As count, Robert was virtually dependent on the cooperative graces of the count of Savoy. With his death in 1394, the House of Geneva was extinguished and the title passed to the husband of the heiress, Humbert VII of Thoire and Villars who died in 1400. The year after Humbert's death, his heir Odo sold the comté to Count Amadeus VIII of Savoy. Though other members of the Genevan House protested, and the House of Chalons (and after its extinction the House of Orange-Nassau) remained the strongest claimant, Amadeus successfully completed the integration of the county with his territories, which were raised to a duchy by Emperor

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

. The title Count of Geneva passed securely into the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule o ...

, where it is maintained as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

List of counts

Legendary counts

Medieval historians connected the literary figures of Reynier and Olivier from the late-12th-century '' Girart de Vienne'' to the Genevois, but this is pure fiction. * c. 770 : Reynier * c. 770–800 : Oliver, his son

Early counts

* c. 890 : Manasses, may be count of Geneva * ... * c. 1002 : Manasses * c. 1012 : Robert, his nephew, son of count Cono/Conrad I (possible Cono count palatine of Burgundy)

Unconfirmed counts

By Samuel Guichenon, in ''Histoire généalogique de la royale maison de Savoie'' (1660) * 880 (?) : Ratbert (870/880 – † 901) * 931 (?) : Albitius (900 – † 931/932), his son * (?) : Conrad (930 – † 963), his son * c. 963–974 (?) : Robert († 974), his sonJean-Yves Mariotte « Du bon usage des faux » (p. 346), paru dans l'ouvrage de Barbara Roth-Lochner, Marc Neuenschwander et François Walter, Des archives à la mémoire : mélanges d'histoire politique, religieuse et sociale offerts à Louis Binz, Librairie Droz, 1995, p. 503 (). * 974–1001 (?) : Albert * 1004 (?) : Renaud * 1016 (?) : Aymon * c. 1060 : Robert

House of Geneva

*c. 1045–c.1061 : Gerold of Geneva *c. 1061–1080: Conrad, his son *c. 1080–1128 : Aymon I, his brother *1128–1178 : Amadeus I, his son *1178–1195 :

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

his son *1195–1220 : Humbert I, his son *1220–1252 : William II, his brother *1252–1265 : Rudolf, his son *1265–1280 : Aymon II, his son *1280–1308 : Amadeus II, his brother *1308–1320 : William III, his son *1320–1367 : Amadeus III, his son *1367–1367 : Aymon III, his son *1367–1369 : Amadeus IV, his brother *1369–1370 :

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John ...

, his brother *1370–1392 :

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

, his brother *1392–1394 : Robert, his brother as

he was

Antipope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mid ...

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

from 1378

House of Thoire

Blason ville fr Villars-les-Dombes (Ain)

* 1394–1400 : Humbert VII of Thoire and Villars (died 1400), son of Humbert VI, Lord of Thoire and Villars, and Maria of Geneva, daughter of Amadeus III * 1400–1401 : Odo of Thoire and Villars In 1401 Odo sold the County to Amadeus VIII of Savoy. His heirs however contested this and the legal processes were not completed until 1424.

House of Savoy

From 1424 the County of Geneva was joined to the House of Savoy, although at times it was granted as

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

to cadet branches of the family. * 1424–1434 : Amadeus VIII,

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the ...

* 1434–1444 : Philip of Savoy (1417–1444), his son, ''apanagiste'' Count *: 1444–1460 : Louis (1413–1465), Duke of Savoy, his brother * 1460–1482 : Louis (1436 † 1482), his son, ''apanagiste'' Count, also

King of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Ana ...

* 1482–1491 : John of Savoy (1440–1491), his brother, ''apanagiste'' Count * 1491–1496 : Charles II (1489–1496), Duke of Savoy *: 1496–1497 : Philipp II ''the Landless'' (1438–1497), Duke of Savoy, great-uncle of the previous, son of Louis I *: 1497–1504 : Philibert II ''the Handsome'' (1480–1504), Duke of Savoy, his son *: 1504–1514 :

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

(1486–1553), Duke of Savoy, his brother * 1514–1533 : Philippe, Duke of Nemours (1490 † 1533), ''apanagiste'' Count of Geneva, Duke of Nemours, his brother * 1533–1585 :

Jacques, Duke of Nemours Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was a French military commander, governor and Prince Étranger. Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II during the latter Italian Wars, seeing a ...

(1531–1585), Duke of Geneva 1564, his son * 1585–1595 : Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours (1567–1595), his son * 1595–1632 : Henri I, Duke of Nemours (1572–1632), his brother * 1632–1641 : Louis, Duke of Nemours (1615–1641), his son * 1641–1652 : Charles Amadeus of Savoy (1624–1652), his brother * 1652–1659 :

Henri II, Duke of Nemours Henri of Savoy (7 November 1625, Paris – 4 January 1659, Paris) was the seventh Duc de Nemours (1652–59), and was also Count of Geneva. Henri, as the third son of Henri de Savoie, 4th Duc de Nemours, was not expected to succeed to the duke ...

(1625–1659), his brother,

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese a ...

* 1659–1724 :

Marie Jeanne of Savoy Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours (, 11 April 1644 – 15 March 1724) was born a Princess of Savoy and became the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. First married by proxy to Charles of Lorraine in 1662, Lorraine soon refused to recognise t ...

(1644–1724), daughter of Charles Amadeus, married *:

Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel II ( it, Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia); 20 June 1634 – 12 June 1675) was Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine of France until 1648. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, M ...

(1634–1675) husband of the above Subsequently, the County of Geneva was joined to the Duchy of Savoy.