In 1284, Robert was invested with the duchy of Dauphiné by Rudolf of Habsburg.[2] This was followed by two years of warfare which was ended when King Philip IV of France paid Robert 20,000 livres tournois to renounce his claim to the Dauphiné.[2]
Robert ended the practice of giving away parts of the Burgundian estate to younger sons and as dowries to the daughters. From then on, the whole duchy, however already diminished by earlier dowries, passed unfragmented to the eldest son.