Westphalia, German Westfalen, historic region of northwestern Germany, comprising (with the former state of Lippe) the present federal Land (state) of North Rhine–Westphalia and parts of the Länder (states) of Lower Saxony and Hesse. The ancient Saxons were divided into three main groups: theWestphalians, the Angrians (German: Engern), and the Eastphalians (Ostfalen). The Westphalians, who had settled in the area of the Ems and Hunte rivers about ad 700, spread south almost as far as Cologne and in 775 resisted the advance of the Franks under Charlemagne. For about three centuries, this region retained its separate identity in spite of the rise of the more powerful aggregated Saxon stem duchy. In the 12th century the old distinction between Westphalians and Angrians fell into disuse, and all Saxony west of the Weser River came to be called Westphalia.