Parents Arnold I, Count of Cleves | Children Dirk I van Valkenburg | |
Grandchildren Engelbert II van Valkenburg, Dirk II van Valkenburg Grandparent Dietrich I, Count of Cleves People also search for Arnold I, Count of Cleves Great grandchildren Beatrice of Falkenburg, Walram de Rosse Great-grandparents Dietrich II, Count of Cleves, Diederik II van Kleef | ||
Arnold II was Count of Cleves from 1198 through 1201, possibly as a regent for Dietrich V.
The County of Cleves (German: Grafschaft Kleve; Dutch: Graafschap Kleef) was a comital polity of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany (part of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands (parts of Limburg, Noord-Brabant and Gelderland). Its rulers, called counts, had a special and privileged standing in the Empire. The County of Cleves was first mentioned in the 11th century. In 1417, the county became a duchy (German: Herzogtum Kleve; Dutch: Hertogdom Kleef) and its rulers were raised to the status of Dukes.
Its history is closely related to that of its neighbours: the Duchies of Jülich, Berg and Guelders and the County of Mark. In 1368, Cleves and Mark were united. In 1521 Jülich, Berg, Cleves and Mark formed the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The territory was situated on both sides of the river Rhine, around its capital Cleves and roughly covering today's districts of Cleves, Wesel and the city of Duisburg.