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The county of Ziegenhain had been a fief of Hesse since 1437, so Hesse declared that it was a completed fief and occupied the county militarily.
The county of Ziegenhain had been a fief of Hesse since 1437, so Hesse declared that it was a completed fief and occupied the county militarily.
She died on 25 May 1475 and was buried in the Gnadental monastery in Michelfeld. John II, the last Count of Ziegenhain, died in 1450 without a male heir. Using this argument, the Hoholohe family convinced Emperor Frederick III to enfeoff them with the County of Ziegenhain as an imperial fief, thereby raising them to the status of imperial counts.
This led to a lengthy dispute, which lasted until 1495.
Nevertheless, Albert I and his descendants retained the title of count and the status of imperial count and added the six-pointed star of Ziegenhain to their coat of arms. Elisabeth"s daughter, also named Elisabeth, married Louis V of Lichtenberg.
Their daughter Anna (1442-1474) married Count Philip "the Elder", the first Count of Hanau-Babenhausen. In 1480, James of Lichtenberg, the last Lord of Lichtenberg, died without a male heir.
His inheritance was divided between Philip the Elder and Count Simon Wecker of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, who was married to Anna"s sister, who was also named Elisabeth.
This inheritance brought Hanau-Babenhausen a considerable amount of territory, most of it in the Alsace and it became almost as large as Hanau-Münzenberg. Hanau-Babenhausen then changed its name to Hanau-Lichtenberg.