Brabant Through Time: Tribes, Duchy and Provinces (57 BC – 2026)

Timeline

Layers

Nervii · their civitas (indicative) · Menapii · their civitas (indicative) · Eburones → Tungri · civitas Tungrorum (indicative) · Aduatuci (indicative) · Toxandria (Salian Franks) · Pagus of Brabant (Brabantgouw) · Pagus of Hesbaye (Haspengouw) · Pagus of Rien (Antwerp) · Pagus of Hainaut · Pagus of Lomme (Namur) · Pagus of Maasgau (Masau) · County of Flanders · County of Hainaut · County of Namur · Prince-Bishopric of Liège · Duchy of Guelders · County of Holland · County of Zeeland · Bishopric of Utrecht · Duchy of Cleves · Duchy of Jülich · Electorate of Cologne · Other lordships · France (annexed lands) · Batavian Republic → Netherlands · German lands · Kingdom of Belgium · Luxembourg · Landgraviate of Brabant (1085–1183) · Leuven · county → quarter → arrondissement · District of Tienen · Brussels · county → quarter → capital region · Halle-Vilvoorde · Walloon Brabant · Roman Pays → province · Antwerp · margraviate → quarter → province · Antwerp — held by Flanders · Antwerp — held by the Netherlands · Antwerp — held by Spain · Antwerp — held by the States · Mechelen · lordship → arrondissement · Breda & Bergen op Zoom · west Noord-Brabant · Breda & Bergen op Zoom — held by France · Breda & Bergen op Zoom — held by Spain · 's-Hertogenbosch · Meierij → Noord-Brabant · Land van Cuijk & Grave · Duchy of Limburg · Duchy of Limburg — held by France · Lands of Overmaas & Maastricht · Lands of Overmaas & Maastricht — held by France · Lands of Overmaas & Maastricht — held by Spain · Lands of Overmaas & Maastricht — held by the States · Free lordships (Ravenstein, Megen, Gemert, Boxmeer…)

Events

• 1 Jul 57 BC, Battle of the Sabis: Caesar crushes the Nervii: The Nervii under Boduognatus nearly overrun Caesar's legions on the river Sabis before being cut down almost to the last man. The site is disputed (the Sambre near Hautmont or the Selle); placed on the Sambre.
• 1 Sep 57 BC, Siege of the Aduatuci stronghold: Caesar storms the oppidum of the Aduatuci and sells 53,000 survivors into slavery. The fortress is unidentified: Namur citadel, Mont Falhize near Huy and Thuin are candidates.
• 55 BC, Silvius Brabo throws the giant's hand into the Scheldt: Legend: Brabo, a kinsman of Caesar, slays the giant Druon Antigoon who tolled the river and throws his hand (hand-werpen: Antwerpen) into the Scheldt. A 15th-century chronicle also derives the name Brabant from him; fountain by Jef Lambeaux (1887) on the Grote Markt.
• 1 Nov 54 BC, Ambiorix destroys a Roman legion: In winter 54 BC Ambiorix, king of the Eburones, lures Sabinus and Cotta out of their camp at Atuatuca and annihilates one and a half legions. Caesar answers by exterminating the Eburones. Atuatuca's site is unknown; Ambiorix's statue stands in Tongeren.
• 10 BC, Atuatuca Tungrorum (Tongeren) founded: The Romans found the capital of the civitas Tungrorum on the road from Bavay to Cologne: the oldest town of present-day Belgium.
• 1 Jun 358, Julian settles the Salian Franks in Toxandria: After defeating Franks and Saxons, Caesar Julian lets a Salian group stay in Toxandria as foederati (Ammianus, Zosimus). Placed in the Kempen, the heart of later Texandria.
• 8 Aug 870, Treaty of Meerssen: first mention of Brabant: Charles the Bald and Louis the German divide Lotharingia; the list of counties contains 'in Bracbanto comitatus IIII', the first record of the name Brabant (Frankish brāk-bant, 'fallow district').
• 1 Sep 891, Battle of the Dyle: Arnulf beats the Vikings at Leuven: In September 891 King Arnulf storms the Viking camp between the Dyle and a marsh at Leuven; the leaders Sigfried and Gotfried fall.
• 979, A castle on the Senne: Brussels: Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine, builds a castle on the Saint-Géry island in the Senne (traditionally 979, Brussels' official birth year); through his daughter Gerberga it passes to the house of Leuven.
• 1047, Saint Gudula's relics come to Brussels: Count Lambert II moves the relics of Gudula (d. c. 712), a Carolingian noblewoman from the Brabant pagus, to St Michael's church on the Treurenberg, which becomes the church of St Michael and St Gudula, patrons of Brussels.
• 15 Aug 1096, Godfrey of Bouillon sets out on crusade: Godfrey, duke of Lower Lorraine and lord of Genappe and Baisy, sells and pledges his lands and leads the First Crusade; he takes Jerusalem in 1099. Birthplace contested: Baisy (tradition) or Boulogne.
• 13 May 1106, Godfrey I of Leuven becomes duke of Lower Lorraine: Henry V grants Godfrey I the ducal title and the mark of Antwerp (13 May 1106): the 'birth of Brabant' celebrated in 2006.
• 1142, Grimbergen war: the cradle at Ransbeek: The Berthouts of Grimbergen defy the infant count Godfrey III; at Ransbeek (1142) his cradle is said to have hung in a tree to rally his troops. The war ends with the burning of Grimbergen in 1159.
• 1196, Henry I, first duke of Brabant: Henry I (r. 1183/90–1235) takes the title duke of Brabant and founds 's-Hertogenbosch, 'the duke's forest', as a new town on the Dommel and Aa (c. 1196), the anchor of his northward expansion.
• 13 Oct 1213, Battle of Steps: Liège defeats Henry I: On 13 October 1213 the militia of Liège with Loon and Limburg rout Duke Henry I on the Steps plain near Montenaken, ending his raids into Hesbaye.
• 1240, Hadewijch, mystic poet: A beguine of the mid-13th century, probably from Antwerp or Brussels, whose visions, letters and poems are among the first great literature in Dutch. Place uncertain.
• 5 Jun 1288, Battle of Woeringen: On 5 June 1288 John I of Brabant and the burghers of Cologne defeat Archbishop Siegfried, Guelders and Luxembourg; Brabant gains Limburg and controls the road from Bruges to Cologne. 5 June is now proposed as a Brabant day.
• 1 Jul 1288, John I the Victorious, duke and minnesinger: John I (1253–1294), victor of Woeringen and patron of tournaments, wrote love songs preserved in the Codex Manesse, where he is shown with a dragon-crested helmet.
• 1291, Jan van Heelu's rhymed chronicle of Woeringen: Brabant's 'national epic' (c. 1290s), written in Middle Dutch to glorify John I's victory. Placed at Leuven.
• 27 Sep 1312, Charter of Kortenberg: On 27 September 1312 the dying John II grants a council of nobles and towns the right to watch over the duke's government, one of Europe's earliest constitutional charters.
• 1343, Jan van Ruusbroec at Groenendaal: The mystic 'the Admirable' (1293–1381) retires to the Sonian Forest in 1343, founding the priory of Groenendaal where he writes in Dutch.
• 3 Jan 1356, Joyous Entry of Joanna and Wenceslas: At Leuven on 3 January 1356 the new duchess and her husband swear to the charter of the Joyous Entry, binding them to the estates: Brabant's constitution until 1794.
• 17 Aug 1356, Battle of Scheut: On 17 August 1356 Louis of Male's Flemish army defeats the Brabanters near Anderlecht and occupies Brussels, Leuven, Mechelen and Antwerp.
• 24 Oct 1356, Everard 't Serclaes retakes Brussels: In the night of 24 October 1356 't Serclaes scales the walls, raises the Brabant banner and drives out the Flemish garrison; within days the other towns follow. Rubbing his memorial on the Grand-Place brings luck.
• 4 Jun 1357, Peace of Ath: 4 June 1357: Louis of Male recognises Joanna but gains Antwerp with its polder villages and Mechelen, and keeps the title duke of Brabant.
• 22 Aug 1371, Battle of Baesweiler: On 22 August 1371 Jülich and Guelders defeat Duke Wenceslas, who is captured and held at Nideggen.
• 1 Dec 1406, Joanna dies; Antoine of Burgundy duke: Duchess Joanna (1322–1406) dies on 1 December 1406, ending the house of Leuven; her great-nephew Antoine founds the Burgundian cadet line and reunites Antwerp with Brabant. He falls at Agincourt (1415).
• 5 Oct 1430, Joyous Entry of Philip the Good: Philip the Good swears to the Joyous Entry charter in Leuven on 5 October 1430 and becomes Duke of Brabant and Limburg, joining Brabant to the Burgundian lands.
• 1474, Jheronimus Bosch in 's-Hertogenbosch: The painter of The Garden of Earthly Delights lived and worked all his life in 's-Hertogenbosch and took his name from the town.
• 1536, Mercator in Leuven: Gerard Mercator, born in Rupelmonde (Flanders) and trained at Leuven University, made his first globes and maps in Leuven before moving to Duisburg in 1552.
• 1 Jun 1543, Vesalius publishes the Fabrica: Andreas Vesalius, born in Brussels in 1514 and trained at Leuven, founds modern anatomy with De humani corporis fabrica (1543).
• 15 Jul 1544, William of Orange, lord of Breda: William inherits Breda and its castle in 1544; Breda remains the Brabant home of the House of Orange-Nassau.
• 25 Oct 1555, Abdication of Charles V: In the great hall of the Coudenberg palace in Brussels Charles V hands the Netherlands to his son Philip II (25 October 1555).
• 25 Jul 1563, Pieter Bruegel the Elder in Brussels: Bruegel moved from Antwerp to Brussels in 1563 and is buried in the Kapellekerk; his birthplace (Breda or Bree?) is disputed.
• 5 Jun 1568, Egmont and Horne beheaded: The counts of Egmont and Horne are executed on the Grand-Place of Brussels on 5 June 1568 - martyrs of the Revolt.
• 20 May 1570, Ortelius: the first modern atlas: Abraham Ortelius publishes the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in Antwerp (1570), including a map of Brabant bounded by Meuse, Scheldt, Sambre and Dender.
• 4 Nov 1576, Spanish Fury at Antwerp: Mutinous Spanish troops sack Antwerp on 4-5 November 1576, killing thousands and pushing the provinces into the Pacification of Ghent.
• 31 Jan 1578, Battle of Gembloux: Don John and Parma rout the States army on 31 January 1578; Leuven, Walloon Brabant and Limburg return to the king.
• 12 Mar 1579, Siege of Maastricht: Parma besieges Maastricht from March and storms it on 29 June 1579, massacring much of the population.
• 17 Aug 1585, Fall of Antwerp: After a year-long siege with a bridge of ships across the Scheldt, Antwerp surrenders to Parma on 17 August 1585; Protestants emigrate north.
• 4 Mar 1590, Peat Boat of Breda: Seventy soldiers hidden under peat in a barge surprise the Spanish garrison on 4 March 1590; Breda is States again.
• 9 Apr 1609, Twelve Years' Truce signed in Antwerp: Spain and the United Provinces sign a truce in the Antwerp town hall on 9 April 1609, each keeping what it holds.
• 1 Nov 1610, Rubens in Antwerp: Peter Paul Rubens builds his house and studio in Antwerp (from 1610), the baroque heart of Spanish Brabant.
• 5 Jun 1625, Surrender of Breda: Spinola takes Breda after a nine-month siege (June 1625), the scene of Velázquez's Las Lanzas.
• 30 Apr 1629, Frederick Henry takes 's-Hertogenbosch: The 'stedendwinger' drains the marshes around the city with dikes and mills and forces its surrender on 14 September 1629.
• 10 Jun 1632, Siege of Maastricht (1632): Frederick Henry's Meuse campaign ends with the capture of Maastricht on 22 August 1632.
• 30 Jan 1648, Baarle: enclaves of two Brabants: Münster leaves the Baarle parishes split: Baarle-Nassau (Breda barony) goes to the States, Baarle-Hertog stays with the duke - a patchwork that survives today.
• 26 Dec 1661, Partition of Overmaas: The Partition Treaty of 26 December 1661 divides Valkenburg, Dalhem and 's-Hertogenrade village by village between the States and Spain.
• 13 Jun 1673, Siege of Maastricht (1673): Louis XIV and Vauban take Maastricht on 30 June 1673; d'Artagnan of the musketeers is killed in the assault.
• 13 Aug 1695, Bombardment of Brussels: French artillery sets the centre of Brussels on fire (13-15 August 1695); the Grand-Place is rebuilt within five years.
• 23 May 1706, Battle of Ramillies: Marlborough defeats the French on 23 May 1706; Brussels, Leuven and Antwerp open their gates to the Allies.
• 30 Jan 1746, Siege of Brussels (1746): Maurice de Saxe takes Brussels in a winter siege (capitulation 20 February 1746).
• 16 Sep 1747, Storming of Bergen op Zoom: Löwendal's troops storm the 'maiden' fortress of Bergen op Zoom on 16 September 1747.
• 24 Oct 1789, Van der Noot's manifesto at Hoogstraten: Hendrik van der Noot's patriot army crosses from Breda and reads the Manifesto of the People of Brabant at Hoogstraten (24 October 1789).
• 27 Oct 1789, Battle of Turnhout (1789): Van der Mersch's patriots beat an Austrian column in the streets of Turnhout on 27 October 1789, starting the Brabant Revolution.
• 11 Jan 1790, Jan Frans Vonck: The Brussels lawyer leads the democratic wing of the revolution; in 1790 Van der Noot's conservatives drive the Vonckists into exile.
• 18 Mar 1793, Battle of Neerwinden: Coburg defeats Dumouriez near Landen on 18 March 1793; the French leave Brabant for a year.
• 26 Jun 1794, Battle of Fleurus: Jourdan's victory on 26 June 1794 (with an observation balloon) decides the fate of the Austrian Netherlands.
• 1 Oct 1795, Annexation: departments Dyle and Deux-Nèthes: The Convention annexes the Southern Netherlands on 1 October 1795. Brussels becomes the prefecture of the Dyle, Antwerp that of the Deux-Nèthes.
• 1 Mar 1796, Batavian Brabant, an equal province: On 1 March 1796 the former Generality Land enters the Batavian Republic as an equal province; Catholics in 's-Hertogenbosch and the Meierij gain full civil rights.
• 12 Oct 1798, Peasants' War (Boerenkrijg) in the Kempen: From 12 October 1798 Flemish and Brabant peasants rise against French conscription and anti-Church laws; the Kempen around Herentals, Mol and Geel and Klein-Brabant are the heartlands.
• 5 Jan 1800, Ravenstein, Megen, Gemert and Boxmeer sold to the Batavian Republic: By a treaty of 5 January 1800 France sells the Catholic free lordships inside Brabant to the Batavians; they join the department of Batavian Brabant on 26 September 1805.
• 27 Oct 1809, Peerke Donders: Born in Tilburg in 1809, the weaver's son became a priest among the lepers of Batavia in Suriname (from 1842) and is Noord-Brabant's folk saint.
• 24 Apr 1810, 's-Hertogenbosch, prefecture of the Bouches-du-Rhin: From 24 April 1810 Den Bosch is the capital of a French department that reaches from Tilburg to Nijmegen.
• 18 Jun 1815, Battle of Waterloo: On 18 June 1815 Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon on the fields of South Brabant; the Lion's Mound (1826) marks the spot where the Prince of Orange was wounded.
• 25 Aug 1830, La Muette de Portici sparks the revolution: On 25 August 1830 the duet 'Amour sacré de la patrie' at the Théâtre de la Monnaie sends the audience into the streets: the Belgian Revolution begins.
• 1 Sep 1830, La Brabançonne: Written in September 1830 by the actor Jenneval to music by François Van Campenhout, the 'song of Brabant' becomes Belgium's national anthem.
• 15 Nov 1832, Siege of the Antwerp citadel: A French army besieges the Dutch garrison under Chassé, who had bombarded Antwerp in 1830; the citadel surrenders on 23 December 1832.
• 1838, Hendrik Conscience, The Lion of Flanders: The Antwerp writer (1812-1883) publishes De Leeuw van Vlaenderen in 1838 - 'the man who taught his people to read'.
• 19 Apr 1839, Treaty of London: On 19 April 1839 the Netherlands recognises Belgium; Limburg is split and Maastricht and Venlo stay Dutch.
• 5 Nov 1843, Boundary Treaty of Maastricht: the Baarle enclaves: The treaty of 5 November 1843 fixes the Dutch-Belgian border parcel by parcel - except at Baarle, where the medieval ownership of fields is kept: today 22 Belgian enclaves (one with Dutch counter-enclaves).
• 30 Mar 1853, Vincent van Gogh born in Zundert: The world's best-known Brabander was born in the parsonage of Zundert on 30 March 1853.
• 1 Apr 1885, The Potato Eaters, Nuenen: In Nuenen (1883-85) Van Gogh paints Brabant weavers and peasants, ending with The Potato Eaters in April-May 1885.
• 15 May 1891, Philips founded in Eindhoven: Gerard and Frederik Philips start a light-bulb factory on 15 May 1891; with Anton the firm makes the village into the 'City of Light'.
• 22 May 1907, Hergé: Georges Remi was born in Etterbeek on 22 May 1907; Tintin first appeared on 10 January 1929.
• 25 Aug 1914, Burning of Leuven and its library: On 25-26 August 1914 German troops set Leuven ablaze; the university library with some 300,000 books and manuscripts is destroyed.
• 29 Apr 1922, Toots Thielemans: The harmonica legend was born in the Marolles of Brussels on 29 April 1922.
• 8 Apr 1929, Jacques Brel: Born in Schaerbeek on 8 April 1929, the Brussels singer of 'Le plat pays'.
• 17 Sep 1944, Market Garden: the bridge at Son: On 17 September 1944 US paratroopers land around Son and Veghel; the Germans blow the Wilhelmina Canal bridge at Son. Eindhoven is liberated on the 18th.
• 7 Oct 1944, Battle of the Scheldt: Woensdrecht: In October 1944 Canadians fight for the Woensdrecht ridge to cut off Zuid-Beveland and open the port of Antwerp.
• 17 Jun 1945, Eddy Merckx: 'The Cannibal', five-time Tour de France winner, was born on 17 June 1945 in Meensel-Kiezegem (Flemish Brabant).
• 1 Feb 1953, North Sea flood in West Brabant: On 1 February 1953 the storm surge breaks the dikes around Willemstad, Fijnaart and Heijningen; Noord-Brabant counts more than 200 dead.
• 17 Apr 1958, Expo 58 and the Atomium: The first post-war world's fair opens at the Heysel on 17 April 1958.
• 1 Sep 1963, Language border fixed: Halle-Vilvoorde: From 1 September 1963 Brabant is cut along the language line: the 19 Brussels communes, Dutch-speaking Halle-Vilvoorde and Leuven, French-speaking Nivelles.
• 7 Feb 1968, Leuven Vlaams: Flemish students' 'Walen buiten' protests split the Catholic University of Leuven and bring down the government on 7 February 1968; the French section moves to Louvain-la-Neuve.
• 12 Jan 1989, Brussels-Capital Region: The special law of 12 January 1989 makes the 19 communes a region with its own parliament (first elected 18 June 1989).
• 1995, Flemish Brabant: capital Leuven: On 1 January 1995 the province of Brabant is split; Leuven becomes capital of Flemish Brabant.
• 1995, Walloon Brabant: capital Wavre: Since 1 January 1995 the French-speaking south of the old duchy is the province of Walloon Brabant, governed from Wavre.
• 7 Feb 2003, Guus Meeuwis: 'Brabant': The Tilburg singer's 'Brabant' (album 2002, single 7 Feb 2003) becomes the unofficial anthem of Noord-Brabant.
• 5 Jun 2026, A Brabant feast day on 5 June?: On the Woeringen anniversary, 5 June 2026, Flemish Brabanters plead for a Brabant feast day, recalling Duke John I's victory of 1288.