Spanish Netherlands (historically in Spanish: "Flandes", the name 'Flanders' was used as a pars pro toto) was the name for the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1648. They were a collection of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries held in personal union by the Spanish Crown (also called Habsburg Spain). This region comprised most of the modern states of Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France, the southern Netherlands, and western Germany with the capital being Brussels. The Army of Flandres was tasked with the defence of the territory.