principality · France and the Low Countries
Principality of Orange
Origins
Orange was a Roman colony and later a county within the Kingdom of Arles; the troubadour Raimbaut d'Orange ruled part of it in the 12th century. In 1163 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa raised it to a principality, and it passed in 1173 to Bertrand of Baux, whose family ruled it for over two centuries.
Rule and society
The principality was a small enclave inside Provence and the Comtat Venaissin, with Roman monuments, a university founded in 1365 and its own courts. It passed to the Chalon family in 1393. René of Chalon left it to his cousin William of Nassau in 1544, and under William the Silent Orange became a refuge for Protestants.
Decline and legacy
Louis XIV occupied Orange several times and destroyed its fortifications. After the death of William III of England in 1702, France took it, and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 recognised its annexation. The princes of Orange-Nassau kept the title, which the Dutch royal house still bears.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Principality of Orange was a vassal of Holy Roman Empire1163 CE – 1713 CE
- Principality of Orange in personal union with Dutch Republic1581 CE – 1702 CE
More states of France and the Low Countries →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Orange. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-orange
- MLA
- “Principality of Orange.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-orange. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Orange.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-orange.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Orange’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-orange (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻