The County of Sponheim went through roughly three main phases during the course of the centuries. The first one lasted from the beginnings in the 11th century until the first divisions of the county between two Sponheimish lines around 1234. In this first period the region was ruled by a single count.
In the second phase the county was managed by two counts. The “Further” County (Vordere Grafschaft) of Sponheim was ruled by the line Sponheim-Kreuznach with residence at Castle Kauzenburg near Kreuznach. The "Hinder" County (Hintere Grafschaft) of Sponheim was ruled by the Sponheim-Starkenburg line, with residence at first at Castle Starkenburg near Enkirch and after 1350 at Castle Grevenburg near Trarbach. This phase lasted nearly to the extinction of both lines in 1437.
Finally in the third phase both parts of the county were managed by joint rulers as a condominium. The management of the “Hinder” County of Sponheim was divided between a collateral palatine line (House of Palatinate-Simmern, later House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, later still House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld) and Baden, the management of the “Further” County of Sponheim roughly between Baden and the Electoral Palatinate. The ruling houses of the Sponheimish condominium were matrilineal descendants of the House of Sponheim and took on the title of Count at Sponheim (Graf zu Sponheim).
| Ruler | Born | Reign | Death | Ruling part | Consort | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eberhard I | ? | c.1030?-1044 | 1044 | Unknown | First known count of the family. | ||
| Siegfried I | c.1010 | 1044-1065 | 7 February 1065 | Unknown | Also Count in the Puster Valley and Margrave of the Hungarian March | ||
| Stephen I | ? | 1065-1080 | 1080 | ? of Stromberg at least one child | Cousin or brother of Siegfried. | ||
| Stephen II | ? | 1080-1118 | 1118 | Sophia of Formbach c.1092 five children | |||
| Meginhard I | c.1085 | 1118-1136 | 1136 | Sponheim | Matilda of Mörsberg-Nellenburg one child | Also Count of Winterthur. | |
| Godfrey I | c.1115 | 1136-1159 | 1159 | Matilda of Lorraine? two children | |||
| Godfrey II | ? | 1159-1183 | 1183 | ? of Veldenz one child | |||
| Godfrey III | c.1175 | 1183-1218 | c.1218 | Adelaide of Sayn 1202 five children | Died during the Fifth Crusade. After his death, his children split the Sponheim domains. | ||
| John I | c.1205 | 1218-1266 | 1266 | Upper Sponheim | ? of Altena Isenberg five children | Son of Godfrey III, inherited the Upper part of the county, with residence in Starkenburg. | |
| Simon I | c.1210 | 1218-1264 | 8 April 1264 | Margaret of Hengebach c.1240 six children | Son of Godfrey III, inherited the Lower part of the county, with residence in Kreuznach. | ||
| John I the Lame | c.1245 | 1264-1290 | 28 January 1290 | Adelaide of Leiningen-Landeck c.1265 seven children | |||
| Henry I | c.1235 | 1266-1289 | 1 August 1289 | Upper Sponheim | Blancheflor of Julich three/four children | ||
| John II the Lame | c.1265 | 1289-1324 | 22 February/29 March 1324 | Upper Sponheim | Catherine of Ochsenstein three children | His heir predeceased him, being succeeded by his minor grandchild. | |
| Henry II the Younger | c.1295 | c.1310-1323 | October 1323 | Upper Sponheim | Loretta of Salm January 1315 one child | Co-ruler of his father, died five months before him. | |
| Simon II | c.1270 | 1290-1336 | 1336 | Elisabeth of Falkenburg c.1293 nine children | Sons of John I, shared rule in the county: John ruled from Kreuznach; Simon ruled from Kastellaun. | ||
| John II | c.1270 | 1290-1340 | 11 March 1340 | Unknown/Unmarried | |||
| Regency of Loretta of Salm (1324-1331) | Loretta was regent in name of her child, John III. In spite of being engaged in a trial of strength with one of the most powerful and influential princes of her time, the Elector of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg, she devoted herself to putting Sponheim on a firm political and economic footing. | ||||||
| John III The Elder | c.1315 | 1324-1398 | 30 December 1398 | Upper Sponheim | Matilda of the Palatinate 1331 three children | ||
| Waleran | 1305 | 1336/40-1380 | 1380 | Elisabeth of Katzenelnbogen 9 August 1330 six children | Inherited the domains of his father (Kastellaun) and uncle (Kreuznach). | ||
| Simon III | c.1330 | 1380-1414 | 30 August 1414 | Maria of Vianden c.1345 three children | |||
| John IV | c.1335 | 1398-1413/14 | 16 October 1413/12 April 1414 | Upper Sponheim | Elisabeth of Sponheim-Kreuznach 1346 one child | ||
| Elisabeth | c.1360 | 1414-1417 | 31 July 1417 | Engelbert III of the Mark c.1381 no children Rupert Pepin of the Palatinate c.1390 no children | Eldest surviving daughter of Simon III. After her death, her estates were reunited with those of the Starkenberg line. | ||
| John V & III | 1359 | 1413/14-1417 | 24 October 1437 | Upper Sponheim | Walpurga of Leiningen c.1415 five children | In 1417, after the death of Elisabeth, Count of Sponheim-Kreuznach, he reunited Sponheim once more, but died with no descendants. The family became extinct. | |
| 1417-1437 | Sponheim | ||||||