Confederation of the Rhine - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Confederation of the Rhine
Rheinbund (German) États confédérés du Rhin (French)
1806–1813
Commemorative Medal of Confederation of the Rhine
Commemorative Medal
Location of Confederation of the Rhine
StatusClient state of First French Empire
CapitalFrankfurt
Government
• Protector
Napoleon I of France
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Holy Roman Empire
German Confederation

The Confederation of the Rhine was a client state of First French Empire. It existed from 1806 through 1813. Its ruler was Napoleon I of France, called "Protector of the Federation". It included most of the German states but not the two biggest, Prussia and Austria. The Confederation of the Rhine was one of the successors of Holy Roman Empire and one of the predecessors of the German Confederation. The confederation only lived a few years but it was a precedent for the later unification of Germany. It temporarily unified many of the diverse German states east of the Rhine River.