in the holy roman empire, landeshoheit or superioritas territorialis (translated as territorial superiority, territorial supremacy or territorial sovereignty) was the authority possessed by the immediate lords within their own territories. it was possessed by all imperial estates and imperial knights. it has often been conflated with sovereignty, but while it "carried with it nearly all the ingredients or attributes of true sovereignty, [it] was legally distinct from it, and was everywhere in germany admitted to be so."