Much of present-day Austria was once the Roman territory of Noricum
?. Under the
Franks, parts of modern-day Austria were considered first part of
Bavaria and later the Eastern Frankish Kingdom and the Ostmark, or Eastern March. The Marches were overseen by a
comes or
dux as appointed by the king. The most normal translation of these offices is count or duke, but these titles coveyed very different meanings in the Early Middle Ages, and the Latin terminology is preferable to any modern translation. In German-speaking countries, the title was eventually regularized to Margrave (Ger.
Markgraf).
The first record showing Austria is appr. 955 where it is written down as Ostaricci .