The Emsigerland was a historic region, situated on the western edge of East Frisia

East Frisia

East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....

 by the Wadden Sea

Wadden Sea

The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity...

, which covered a wide area around the town of Emden

Emden

Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...

. The Emsigerland borders in the north on the Federgau

Federgo

The Federgo, also Federitga, was an historic region, situated on the northwestern edge of East Frisia, by the Wadden Sea, which roughly covered the present-day parish of Krummhörn. Before the breach of the Leybucht bay the parish of Norden also belonged to Federgo...

, in the northeast on the Brokmerland

Brokmerland

The Brokmerland is a landscape and an historic territory, located in western East Frisia, which covers the area in and around the present-day communities of Brookmerland and Südbrookmerland. The Brokmerland borders in the east on the Harlingerland and in the north on the Norderland. The historic...

 in the east on the Moormerland

Moormerland

Moormerland is a municipality in the Leer District, in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany....

 and in the south on the Rheiderland

Rheiderland

The Rheiderland is a region of Germany and the Netherlands between the River Ems and the Bay of Dollart. The German part of the Rheiderland lies in East Frisia, west of the Ems. The Dutch part lies in the Dutch province of Groningen and is mostly part of Oldambt...

.

The Emsigerland was based on a historic territorial parish (Landesgemeinde), the Emsgau, and formed its economic centre. Unlike the rest of East Frisia, no system of chieftains was established here; the lands of the Emsgo including the Emsigerland remained autonomous. This changed in 1379 when the region passed into the possession of the tom Brok

Tom Brok

The tom Brok family were a powerful East Frisian line of chieftains, originally from the Norderland on the North Sea coast of Germany. From the second half of the 14th century, the tom Broks tried to gain control of East Frisia over the other chieftain families...

s, whose inheritance then passed to the Cirksena

Cirksena

The Cirksena are noble East Frisian family descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel.- The Cirksena in East Frisia :In 1439 in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first placed by Hamburg under direct rule and then, in 1453, finally...

.