of Lorraine under Duke Charles III, who had the suzerainty of Bitsch. In July 1572 troops of Lorraine occupied the county. Because Philip V could not match Lorraine's military might, he sought legal redress. During the subsequent trial before the Reichskammergericht, Lorraine was able to point both to the exchange agreement of 1302 as well as the fact that, in 1573, it had purchased the hereditary rights of the counts of Leiningen. In 1604 there was a contractual agreement between Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine. This saw the Amt of Lemberg going to the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg and the Amt of Bitsch to the Duchy of Lorraine. List of the counts of Zweibrücken-Bitsch 13 May 1297 – 1321: Eberhard I his grandparents were Count Henry I and his wife, Hedwig of Lorraine, a daughter of Frederick of Bitsch. 1321–1355: Simon I m Agnes of Lichtenberg 1355–1400: John (Hanemann) I 1400–1418: John (Hanemann) II initially ruled jointly with his brother, Simon III Wecker (d 1407) 1418–1474: Frederick his brother, Henry I, married Cunigunde of Ochsenstein and founded the side line of Zweibrücken-Bitsch-Ochsenstein 1474–1499: Simon IV Wecker m Elisabeth of Lichtenberg: b 1444, d 1495, daughter-heir 1499–1532: Reinhard, Lord of Lichtenberg and Bitsch, Count of Zweibrücken m Anna of Dhaun, daughter of John VI, Wild-Rhine Count of Dhaun and Kirburg (b 1470; d 25 December 1499) and Joanna of Salm; they had four children: William (b 8 December 1507) Elizabeth m John Louis I of Sulz James (b 19 July 1510) m Catharine of Honstein-Klettenberg Joanna (b 10 June 1517) m Conrad V of Tübingen-Lichteneck 1532–1540: Simon V Wecker only had a daughter, Amalia (b 1537; d 1577, m 1551 Philip I of Leiningen-Westerburg); as a result followed by his brother 1540–1570: James (b 19 July 1510, d 24 March 1570 in Stürzelbronn) also had only a daughter, Ludovica Margareta of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (b 1540; d 1569), m Count Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg Coat of arms Blazon: Or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure. References Literature Hans-Walter Herrmann: Die Grafschaft Zweibrücken-Bitsch. In: Kurt Hoppstädter, Hans-Walter Herrmann (ed.): Geschichtliche Landeskunde des Saarlandes. Vol. 2: Von der fränkischen Landnahme bis zum Ausbruch der französischen Revolution. Saarbrücken, 1977, pp. 323–332. Johann Georg Lehmann: Urkundliche Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg. Mannheim, 1862. Detlev Schwennicke: Europäische Stammtafeln, Vol. XVII – Zwischen Maas und Rhein. Frankfurt, 1998, pp. 148–149. Lists of counts Counties of the Holy Roman Empire History of