Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine (German: Rheinbund; French: officially États confédérés du Rhin (Confederated States of the Rhine), but in practice Confédération du Rhin) was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz. Its creation brought about the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire shortly afterward. The Confederation of the Rhine lasted from 1806 to 1813.[1]
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Confederated States of the Rhine Confederation of the Rhine | |||||||||
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| 1806–1813 | |||||||||
 Commemorative medal
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.svg) The Confederation of the Rhine in 1812 | |||||||||
| Capital | Frankfurt | ||||||||
| Common languages | German, French | ||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| Government | Confederated French client states | ||||||||
| Protector | |||||||||
• 1806–1813 | Napoleon I | ||||||||
| Prince-Primate | |||||||||
• 1806–1813 | Karl von Dalberg | ||||||||
• 1813 | E. de Beauharnais | ||||||||
| Legislature | Diet of the Confederation | ||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||
• Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine | 12 July 1806 | ||||||||
• Holy Roman Empire dissolved | 6 August 1806 | ||||||||
• Dissolved after Battle of Leipzig | 4 November 1813 | ||||||||
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The founding members of the confederation were German princes of the Holy Roman Empire. They were later joined by 19 others, altogether ruling a total of over 15 million subjects. This granted a significant strategic advantage to the French Empire on its eastern frontier by providing a separation between France and the two largest German states, Prussia and Austria (which also controlled substantial non-German lands).