Less a geographic territory than the name of a family, the Albret dynasts were a Gascon clan of old Hispanic origin, who settled at an early date in Aquitaine. The name by which they became known derives from one of their earliest French possessions, the ville of Labrit, a stop on the road from Bourdeaux to Bayonne. Local barons of the district for centuries, they quietly amassed increasing amounts of territory, wealth, and influence, largely by advantageous marriages and canny service to successful overlords in the Middle Eastern and Albigensian Crusades. By the 15th and early 16th centuries they were at the summit of their power, holding numerous feudal lordships. The dynasty became extinct in the 16th century, but not before intermarriage brought them the pocket Franco-Hispanic Kingdom of Navarre. When this Kingdom became a French possession, the name of Albret was established as a ducal title until the 19th century.