The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by several different cultures on different sides, the Provençals maintained a unity which was reinforced when the region was made a separate kingdom during the Carolingian decline of the later ninth century. When Boso of Provence acquired the region in 879, it was known as Lower Burgundy until it was merged with Upper Burgundy in 933 to form the Kingdom of Arles.^[1] The counts of Arles began calling themselves "count of Provence"; although in name vassals, they were de facto autonomous princes.^[1] After 1032, the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire.

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In the eleventh century, Provence became disputed between the traditional line and the counts of Toulouse, who claimed the title of "Margrave of Provence". In the High Middle Ages, the title of Count of Provence belonged to local families of Frankish origin, from 1112 to 1245^[1] to the House of Barcelona (a cadet branch of the House of Aragón^[1]), from 1245 to 1382 to the House of Anjou,^[1] and from 1382 to 1481 to a cadet branch of the House of Valois.^[1] It was inherited by King Louis XI of France in 1481,^[1] and definitively incorporated into the French royal domain by his son Charles VIII in 1487.

During the period of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul, Provence was a province ruled by duces (dukes), military leaders and district commanders who served as defenders of the frontiers of the kingdom and ruled over vast territories as opposed to the comites (counts), who ruled the cities and their environs. Provence was usually a part of the division of the Frankish realm known as the Kingdom of Burgundy, which was treated as its own kingdom. Their title sometimes appears as rector Provinciae.

This is an incomplete list of the known Merovingian-appointed dukes of Provence.

• Liberius (until 534), Ostrogothic appointee
• Namatius (bef. 552), Frankish appointee
• Bodegisel (fl. c. 566)
• Adovarius (561–569)
• Lupus (569–570)
• Jovin (570–573)
• Albin (573–575)
• Dinamius (from 575)
• Gondulf (fl. c. 581)
• Leudegisel (fl. c. 585), of Burgundian Provence
• Nicetas (from 587)
• Babo (fl. c. 600)
• Aegyla (fl. c. 602)
• Bado (634–641)
• Willibad (641–643), of Burgundian Provence
• Hector (fl. c. 679)
• Nemfidius (fl. c. 700)
• Antenor (fl. c. 697)
• Metrannus (fl. c. 700)
• Maurontus (c. 720 – 739)
• Abbo (fl. c. 739)

Provence was ruled by a poorly known series of dukes during the period of general Carolingian unity until the Treaty of Verdun (843).

• Leibulf (until c. 829)
• Guerin (c. 829 – 845)
• Fulcrad (845 – c. 860)

After the division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the first of the fraternal rulers of the three kingdoms to die was Lothair I, who divided his middle kingdom in accordance with the custom of the Franks among his three sons. Out of this division came the Kingdom of Provence, given to Lothair's youngest son, Charles. A heritage of royal rule was thus inaugurated in Provence which, though it was often subsumed into one of its larger neighbouring kingdoms, was just as often proclaiming its own sovereigns.

The kingdom of Provence was also known as Lower Burgundy (or Cisjurane Burgundy). Its capital was first Vienne then Arles.

• Charles of Provence (855–863)
  On his death, Provence was divided between his surviving brothers, Lothair II and the Emperor Louis II. The bulk went to Louis.
• Louis II (863–875), also Holy Roman Emperor from 855
  On his death, as with his Kingdom of Italy, Louis's Provence went to his uncle Charles the Bald .
• Charles the Bald (875–877), also Holy Roman Emperor from 875
• Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
  With the death of Louis the Stammerer, Provence refused to elect his two sons and instead elected one of their own as king. Boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his son's claim.
• Boso (879–887)
• Louis the Blind (887–928), also Holy Roman Emperor from 901 to 905
  Louis's kingdom did not pass to his heirs, but instead to his brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, Hugh, who had acted as his regent since 905. Hugh never used the royal title in Provence.
• Hugh (911–933)
  In 933, Provence ceased to be a separate kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the Iron Crown of Lombardy, that is, rule of Italy.

In the aftermath of the death of Louis the Blind, Provence began to be ruled by local counts placed under the authority of a margrave. Firstly, Hugh of Arles served as duke and regent during Louis' long blindness. Secondly, Hugh gave the march of Vienne and duchy of Provence to Rudolf II of Burgundy in a treaty of 933. Rudolf was never recognised by the nobles of the country and appointed Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, as its first margrave.

At the time, the premier counts in the region were the counts of Arles and those of Avignon. Those who would first bear the title comes Provinciae or "count of Provence" descended from one Rotbold of Arles. William I and Rotbold I did not divide their father's domains and this indivisibility was maintained by their respective descendants. It is thus impossible to ascertain who succeeded whom in the county as various reigns overlap.

By his marriage to Emma of Provence, daughter of Rotbold II, William III, Count of Toulouse inherited lands and castles in Provence. Emma inherited the title Margrave of Provence upon her elder brother's death in 1037. Her son Pons by William III did not survive her, but her grandson did and claimed her title in opposition to the younger line of counts of Provence.

• List of consorts of Provence

• Harding, Robert (1978). Anatomy of a Power Elite: the Provincial Governors in Early Modern France. Yale University Press.
• Jouanna, Arlette (1998). Histoire et Dictionnaire des Guerres de Religion. Bouquins.