markgrafs

Markgraf (plural markgrafs) is a historical noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire for rulers of border territories called marches. The word combines Mark (march, border region) and Graf (count). In English, the term is usually rendered margrave, with plural margraves; "markgraf" or "markgrafs" appears in German-language texts and some Anglophone historiography.

A markgraf governed a march, a frontier district assigned for defense and administration. Markgrafs typically enjoyed substantial autonomy within their territory and, in many cases, held imperial immediacy, answering directly to the emperor rather than to a local sovereign. The extent of authority varied by period and family; some margraviates were powerful principalities that expanded their territory through marriage and conquest.

From the Middle Ages into the early modern era, several regions were ruled by markgrafs. Notable examples include the Margraviate of Brandenburg (whose ruling house later provided the electors and kings of Prussia), the Margraviate of Baden, and various branches of the Wettin and other noble lines in eastern and southwestern Germany. Some margraviates rose to principalities and, in the case of Brandenburg, laid foundations for a major European state.

The title declined with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the mediatization of many small states in the early 19th century. Today, markgrafs are primarily of interest to historians and genealogists, appearing in historical records and in the toponymy and cultural memory of German-speaking regions.