Duchy of Aquitaine

Duchy of Aquitaine Ducat d'Aquitània (Occitan) Duché d'Aquitaine (French)
507–1453
Flag Angevin coat of arms (12th century)
Map of France in 1154. The pink area in lower France under Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband Henry II of England.
Status	Part of Francia (507–602) Fief of Francia (602–late 7th century; 769–1453) Independent duchy (late 7th century–769)
Common languages	Medieval Latin Old Gallo-Romance Old Occitan Old French Occitan Middle French Poitevin–Saintongeais
Religion	Christianity
Government	Feudal monarchy
Duke of Aquitaine
• 507–511	Clovis I
• 860–866	Ranulf I of Aquitaine
• 1058–1086	William VIII of Aquitaine
• 1126–1137	William X of Aquitaine
• 1137–1204	Eleanor of Aquitaine
• 1422–1453	Henry VI of England
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Battle of Vouillé	507
• Annexed by the Kingdom of France	1453
Preceded by Succeeded by Visigothic Kingdom Duchy of Guyenne Kingdom of France
Today part of	France

The Duchy of Aquitaine (Occitan: Ducat d'Aquitània, IPA: [dyˈkad dakiˈtaɲɔ]; French: Duché d'Aquitaine, IPA: [dyʃe dakitɛn]) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. Although the full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries and at times comprised much of what is now southwestern (Gascony) and central France.

The territory originated in 507 as a constituent kingdom of the Frankish kingdom after the Salian Franks conquered Aquitaine following the Battle of Vouillé, ultimately a recreation of the Roman provinces of Aquitania Prima and Secunda. As a duchy, it broke up after the conquest of the independent Aquitanian duchy of Waiofar, going on to become a sub-kingdom within the Carolingian Empire. It was then absorbed by West Francia after the partition of Verdun in 843 and soon reappeared as a duchy under it. In 1153, an enlarged Aquitaine pledged loyalty to the Angevin kings of England. As a result, a rivalry emerged between the French monarchs and the Angevins over control of the latter's territorial possessions in France. By the mid-13th century, only an enlarged Guyenne and Gascony remained in Angevin hands. The Hundred Years' War finally saw the kingdom of France gain full control over Aquitaine in the 1450s, with much of its territory directly incorporated into the French royal domain itself.