The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, in France, The territory became a duchy in the peerage of France in 1539 under the dukes of Nevers.
The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy. The counts also held the County of Auxerre in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the county was held by the count of Flanders and then the duke of Burgundy again in the 14th century.
In 1539, it became a duchy in the peerage of France. For a time, it was held by a cadet branch of the House of Gonzaga. This branch inherited the Duchy of Mantua from the senior Gonzaga line (when it became extinct in 1627) and ruled Mantua until 1708, when the branch died out in the male line.
Charles IV Gonzaga sold the duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to Cardinal Mazarin. His family held the duchy of Nevers until the French Revolution.
In 1539 the county of Nevers was raised to a duchy.[1]
