 It formed during the 14th century, from a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, expanding to include the cities of Zürich and Berne by the middle of the century.This formed a rare union of rural and urban communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire.This confederation of eight cantons () was politically and militarily successful for more than a century, culminating in the Burgundy Wars of the 1470s which established it as a power in the complicated political landscape dominated by France and the Habsburgs.