Hesse-Homburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and a sovereign member of the German Confederation, which consisted of the lordship of Homburg at the foot of the Taunus, which was then known as Die Höhe ("the Heights").

In 1815, it became a sovereign principality, expanded with the addition of Oberamt Meisenheim in the Rhineland to give a total area of 221 km².

The law of the time did not clearly distinguish between princely authority and a simple transfer of territory for economic purposes.

It is notable that five landgraves (Frederick VI, Louis, Philip, Gustave, and Ferdinand) were members of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

Frederick V lost his lands in the German mediatisation of 1806, when Hesse-Homburg was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt).

But in 1815, the Congress of Vienna forced Hesse-Darmstadt to recognize the independence of Hesse-Homburg, which was increased by the addition of Meisenheim (176 km²), part of the former French département of Sarre, located on the left side of the Rhine some 80 km southwest of Homburg.

In 1848, the landgraviate had a population of 22,800 and a total land area of 430 km², thus making it one of the smallest states in the German Confederation.

[4] Hesse-Homburg joined the Central German Commercial Union in 1828, but Meisenheim became part of the Prussian customs area in 1830 and the Prussian-led Zollverein in 1834.

On 8 December 1837, Hesse-Homburg joined the South German monetary convention, which had been formed in Munich on 25 August 1837.

With the death of Landgrave Ferdinand on 24 March 1866, the Hesse-Homburg dynasty's male line came to an end.

In the peace treaty which concluded the Austro-Prussian War later that same year, Prussia took the other territories of Hesse-Homburg from Hesse-Darmstadt again.

The former landgraviate was combined with the Electorate of Hesse, Duchy of Nassau, the Free City of Frankfurt and some former parts of the Kingdom of Bavaria to form the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau.

They were responsible for preparation and passage of matters reserved to the central government, as well as countersigning laws and ordinances.