 From 1308 to 1311, and again from 1458, the landgraviate was divided into Upper Hesse and Lower Hesse.Hesse was re-unified under Landgrave William II in 1500.The Landgraviate rose to primary importance under his son Philip I, also called Philip the Magnanimous, who embraced Protestantism following the 1526 Synod of Homberg and then took steps to create a protective alliance of Protestant princes and powers against the Catholic emperor Charles V. When Philip I died in 1567, Hesse was divided between his sons from his first marriage, which decisively enfeebled its importance.