Saxe-Eisenach

Saxe-Eisenach (German Sachsen-Eisenach) was the name of three different duchies that existed at different times in Thuringia. The chief town and capital of all three duchies was Eisenach.

In the 15th century much of what is now Thuringia, including the area around Eisenach, was in the hands of the Wettin dynasty, the Electors of Saxony. In 1485 the Wettin lands were divided, with the lands in Thuringia going to the Ernestine branch of the family. The Ernestines also retained the title of Elector. When John Frederick the Magnanimous was defeated and captured by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1547 and deprived of the electorate, he was allowed to retain the lands in Thuringia. The Ernestine lands were divided by his sons in 1572 into the duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha-Eisenach.

The territory of Saxe-Eisenach in Thuringia in the 18th Century

For the next three centuries the lands were divided when dukes had more than one son to provide for, and re-combined when dukes died without direct heirs, but all of the lands stayed in the Ernestine branch of the Wettin family. All of the descendants of John Frederick the Magnanimous in the male line bore the title "Duke of Saxony", whether or not they actually ruled in any territory. Brothers sometimes ruled jointly, but usually there was a division of territory if there was more than one son to inherit. As a result, the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach was separated from and subsumed into other Ernestine duchies several times. The actual territoies included in the duchy changed with each creation, but always with the town of Eisenach as the core.

The first Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach was created on the death of John Frederick II of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach in 1596 for his younger son, John Ernest of Saxe-Eisenach. In 1633, the Wettin line in Saxe-Coburg died out, and John Ernest II inherited it. John Ernest II died in 1638 without an heir, and the territories of Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Eisenach were split between Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Altenburg (which had itself been separated from Saxe-Weimar in 1603). In 1640 Saxe-Eisenach was again separated off from Saxe-Weimar for Albert of Saxe-Eisenach. He died without an heir in 1644, and Saxe-Eisenach was then divided between Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Weimar, ruled by his brothers.

In 1672, Saxe-Eisenach was created for the third time for John George I of Saxe-Eisenach, son of William of Saxe-Weimar. This line of the Wettins ruled Saxe-Eisenach for sixty-nine years, until William Henry of Saxe-Eisenach died without an heir in 1741. Duke Ernest Augustus I of Saxe-Weimar inherited Saxe-Eisenach; he and his successors ruled Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach in a personal union until 1809, when the duchies were formally merged into the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

See also

Ernestine duchies

References

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language wikipedia article (retrieved November 10 2005) and the equivalent Spanish-language wikipedia article (retrieved November 10 2005)

External links

* genealogies