House_of_Ascania

House of Ascania
House of Ascania
Country	Duchy of Saxony (804–1036); Duchy of Saxony (1036–1296); Russian Empire
Founded	1036
Founder	Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt
Current head	Eduard, Prince of Anhalt
Final ruler	Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt
Titles	Count/Prince/Duke of Anhalt; Duke of Saxony; Margrave of Brandenburg; Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg; Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg; Elector of Saxony; Prince of Lüneburg; Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias; Empress consort of All the Russias;
Deposition	1918 (Duchy of Anhalt)

House of Ascania

Dynasty of German rulers

The House of Ascania (German: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.^[1]

Quick Facts Country, Founded ...

The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as Schloss Askanien in German, which was located near and named after Aschersleben.^[2]^[3] The castle was the seat of the County of Ascania, a title that was later subsumed into the titles of the princes of Anhalt.

History

Ballenstedt Castle
First coat of arms of the family
Map of Anhalt (1747–1793)

The earliest known member of the house, Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt, first appears in a document of 1036. He is assumed to have been a grandson (through his mother) of Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark. From Odo, the Ascanians inherited large properties in the Saxon Eastern March.

Esiko's grandson was Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, who died in 1123. By Otto's marriage to Eilika, daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony, the Ascanians became heirs to half of the property of the House of Billung, former dukes of Saxony.

Otto's son, Albert the Bear, became, with the help of his mother's inheritance, the first Ascanian duke of Saxony in 1139. However, he soon lost control of Saxony to the rival House of Guelph.

Albert inherited the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157 from its last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, and he became the first Ascanian margrave. Albert, and his descendants of the House of Ascania, then made considerable progress in Christianizing and Germanizing the lands. As a borderland between German and Slavic cultures, the country was known as a march.

In 1237 and 1244, two towns, Cölln and Berlin, were founded during the rule of Otto and Johann, grandsons of Margrave Albert the Bear. Later, they were united into one city, Berlin. The emblem of the House of Ascania, a red eagle and bear, became the heraldic emblems of Berlin. In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end.

After the Emperor had deposed the Guelph rulers of Saxony in 1180, Ascanians returned to rule the Duchy of Saxony, which had been reduced to its eastern half by the Emperor. However, even in eastern Saxony, the Ascanians could establish control only in limited areas, mostly near the River Elbe.

In the 13th century, the Principality of Anhalt was split off from the Duchy of Saxony. Later, the remaining state was split into Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. The Ascanian dynasties in the two Saxon states became extinct in 1689 and in 1422, respectively, but Ascanians continued to rule in the smaller state of Anhalt and its various subdivisions until the monarchy was abolished in 1918.

Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, was a member of the House of Ascania, herself the daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst.

Armorial

The original arms of the house of Ascania, from their ancestors the Saxon counts of Ballenstedt, were "Barry of ten sable and or".

The Ascanian margrave Albert the Bear was invested with the Saxon ducal title in 1138; when he succeeded the Welf's Henry the Lion, who was deposed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. In 1180, Albert's son Bernhard, Count of Anhalt received the remaining Saxon territories around Wittenberg and Lauenburg, and the ducal title. Legend, so unlikely to be true, goes that when he rode in front of the emperor, at the occasion of his investiture, he carried a shield with his escutcheon of the Ballenstedt coat of arms (barry sable and or). Barbarossa took the rue wreath he wore against the heat of the sun from his head, hanging it over Bernhard's shield and thus creating the Saxonian crancelin vert ("Barry of ten sable and or, a crancelin vert"). A more likely explanation is that it probably symbolized the waiver of the Lauenburg lands.^[18]

From about 1260, the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg emerged under the Ascanian duke Albert II, who adopted the tradition of the Saxon stem duchy and was granted the Saxon electoral dignity, against the fierce protest of his Ascanian Saxe-Lauenburg cousins. This was confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356. As the Ascanian Electors of Saxony also held the High office of an Arch-Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire, they added the ensign Per fess sable and argent two swords in saltire gules (the swords later featuring as the trademark of the Meissen china factory) to their coat of arms. When the line became extinct in 1422, the arms and electoral dignity were adopted by the Wettin by margrave Frederick IV of Meissen as it had become synonymous with the Saxon ducal title.

When upon German reunification the Free State of Saxony was re-established, the coat of arms was formally confirmed in 1991. ^[19]

Original Arms of counts of Ballenstedt
Arms of Ascania impaled with the Mark of Brandenburg
Arms of Ascania impaled with the Mark of Brandenburg

Arms of the Arch-Marshal/prince elector of the Saxons of the Holy Roman Empire
Arms of the Elector/Duke of Saxony (Saxe-Wittenburg)

Principality of Anhalt in the 15th century
Principalities of Anhalt in the 17th century
Principality of Anhalt-Köthen in the 18th century
Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst in the 19th century
Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Anhalt
Achievement of the Duchy of Anhalt

The chivalric order was the House Order of Albert the Bear (German: Hausorden Albrechts des Bären or Der Herzoglich Anhaltische Hausorden Albrechts des Bären) which was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the family: Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, and Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.

The namesake of the order, Albert the Bear, was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from the House of Ascania. The origin of his nickname "the Bear" is unknown.

Collar of the Order of Albert the Bear
Star of the Order of Albert the Bear
House Order of Albert the Bear

References

Askanien, Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888 Archived 2007-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
Trillmich, Werner, Kaiser Konrad II. und seine Zeit, Bonn, 1991

[1]
Hiebl, Manfred (2006). "Das Haus Askanien-Anhalt, dessen Zweige und ihre Bedeutung". www.manfred-hiebl.de. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
[2]
"Ascania 1". genealogy.euweb.cz. 2003-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
[3]
hrsg. von Werner Paravicini. Bearb. von Jan Hirschbiegel. "Askanier". Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich Bd. 1. Ein dynastisch-topographisches Handbuch Teilbd. 2. Residenzen. Ostfildern. ISBN 978-3-7995-4515-0. OCLC 723003848.
[4]
From Stendal split off:
- Krossen (1266–1308)
- Neumark (1266–1318)
[5]
Stargard split off from Salzwedel (1267-1316) and was then annexed to the Duchy of Mecklenburg.
[6]
The color chosen for Dessau was the same as the Principality of Anhalt as a whole, because, when united, the principality had this town as capital.
[7]
Even his name is uncertain; sources name him Adalbert assuming that his grandson, Count Adalbert (II) (d.1080) was named after him.
[8]
Numbered Bernard III as Duke of Saxony, but, as an ancestor of the Anhalt branch, he is not counted in Anhalt, as the next prince Bernard, reigning in Bernburg, is usually styled Bernard I. This is probably derived of a different status between this Bernard, a count in Anhalt, and the following Bernards, who were already princes.
[9]
Otto VII is listed before Otto V and VI here, as his rule, as it was never independent (unlike his brother John IV, who survived their father), is considered within the rule of his father, which began in 1267.
[10]
Herman V was possibly younger than his cousin Herman IV, but he ascended two years earlier then him.
[11]
Otto VI was possibly younger than his cousin Otto V, but he ascended one year earlier then him.
[12]
The numberings here lead to some confusion, as not all genealogists of the House of Ascania count John IV in the list of Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg, numbering John V (John IV's nephew) as John IV.
[13]
Numbered after Bernard, Count of Anhalt, who was also Duke of Saxony.
[14]
Sometimes numbered John IV. He is sometimes confused with his uncle, John IV (Eric V and Bernard IV's brother) and a son of his own (John IV, Bishop of Hildesheim).
[15]
Sometimes numbered Rudolph IV.
[16]
Despite being the fourth ruler in Dessau/Zerbst named John, sources count John, canon of Merseburg (d.1455), a brother of George I of Dessau who never ruled, as John IV. This compromises the countings of John V and John VI, the fourth and fifth rulers of Anhalt of this name.
[17]
Actually the fifth ruler named John. See note for John V of Zerbst.
[18]
Freistaat Sachsen official website Archived 2013-01-22 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Accessed 2009-05-19.
[19]
Flag Legislation (Saxony, Germany) Archived 2008-11-22 at the Wayback Machine :
The Landtag of Saxony state parliament has passed on 25 October 1991 the following law: § 1 (1) The lesser coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony shows an escutcheon bendy of nine pieces black and gold, a green rue-crown bendwise. (2) A greater coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony can be determined by a special law. § 2 For the rendering of the coat-of-arms the patterns, which are attached to this law as appendix, are authoritative. The coloured patterns are deposited in the Main Public Record Office of Saxony. § 3 The regulations necessary for the implementation of this law are issued by the State Government. It can pass on this authority. § 4 This law comes into force the day after its proclamation. The preceding law is executed herewith and is to be proclaimed.
— Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf (Minister President), Steffen Heitmann (State Minister of Justice), Law relating to the coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony of 18 November 1991, (Saxon Law and Official Gazette 1991, p. 383-385), Dresden, 18 November 1991.

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[1] [1]
Hiebl, Manfred (2006). "Das Haus Askanien-Anhalt, dessen Zweige und ihre Bedeutung". www.manfred-hiebl.de. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

[2] [2]
"Ascania 1". genealogy.euweb.cz. 2003-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

[3] [3]
hrsg. von Werner Paravicini. Bearb. von Jan Hirschbiegel. "Askanier". Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich Bd. 1. Ein dynastisch-topographisches Handbuch Teilbd. 2. Residenzen. Ostfildern. ISBN 978-3-7995-4515-0. OCLC 723003848.

[4] [4]
From Stendal split off:
Krossen (1266–1308)

Neumark (1266–1318)

[5] Krossen (1266–1308)

[6] Neumark (1266–1318)

[5] [5]
Stargard split off from Salzwedel (1267-1316) and was then annexed to the Duchy of Mecklenburg.

[6] [6]
The color chosen for Dessau was the same as the Principality of Anhalt as a whole, because, when united, the principality had this town as capital.

[7] [7]
Even his name is uncertain; sources name him Adalbert assuming that his grandson, Count Adalbert (II) (d.1080) was named after him.

[8] [8]
Numbered Bernard III as Duke of Saxony, but, as an ancestor of the Anhalt branch, he is not counted in Anhalt, as the next prince Bernard, reigning in Bernburg, is usually styled Bernard I. This is probably derived of a different status between this Bernard, a count in Anhalt, and the following Bernards, who were already princes.

[9] [9]
Otto VII is listed before Otto V and VI here, as his rule, as it was never independent (unlike his brother John IV, who survived their father), is considered within the rule of his father, which began in 1267.

[RefNumb1-10] [10]
Herman V was possibly younger than his cousin Herman IV, but he ascended two years earlier then him.

[RefNumb2-11] [11]
Otto VI was possibly younger than his cousin Otto V, but he ascended one year earlier then him.

[12] [12]
The numberings here lead to some confusion, as not all genealogists of the House of Ascania count John IV in the list of Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg, numbering John V (John IV's nephew) as John IV.

[13] [13]
Numbered after Bernard, Count of Anhalt, who was also Duke of Saxony.

[14] [14]
Sometimes numbered John IV. He is sometimes confused with his uncle, John IV (Eric V and Bernard IV's brother) and a son of his own (John IV, Bishop of Hildesheim).

[15] [15]
Sometimes numbered Rudolph IV.

[16] [16]
Despite being the fourth ruler in Dessau/Zerbst named John, sources count John, canon of Merseburg (d.1455), a brother of George I of Dessau who never ruled, as John IV. This compromises the countings of John V and John VI, the fourth and fifth rulers of Anhalt of this name.

[17] [17]
Actually the fifth ruler named John. See note for John V of Zerbst.

[freistaatsachsen-18] [18]
Freistaat Sachsen official website Archived 2013-01-22 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Accessed 2009-05-19.

[19] [19]
Flag Legislation (Saxony, Germany) Archived 2008-11-22 at the Wayback Machine :
The Landtag of Saxony state parliament has passed on 25 October 1991 the following law: § 1 (1) The lesser coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony shows an escutcheon bendy of nine pieces black and gold, a green rue-crown bendwise. (2) A greater coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony can be determined by a special law. § 2 For the rendering of the coat-of-arms the patterns, which are attached to this law as appendix, are authoritative. The coloured patterns are deposited in the Main Public Record Office of Saxony. § 3 The regulations necessary for the implementation of this law are issued by the State Government. It can pass on this authority. § 4 This law comes into force the day after its proclamation. The preceding law is executed herewith and is to be proclaimed.
— Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf (Minister President), Steffen Heitmann (State Minister of Justice), Law relating to the coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony of 18 November 1991, (Saxon Law and Official Gazette 1991, p. 383-385), Dresden, 18 November 1991.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

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[19]


County of Weimar-Orlamunde (1113–1247)				County of Ballenstedt (1030–1170)
				Duchy of Saxony (1180–1296)				Margraviate of Brandenburg (1157-1266/67)		County of Anhalt (1123–1212) Raised to: Principality of Anhalt (1212–1252)
Weimar (1247–1372)			Orlamunde (from 1354 in Schauenforst and Droyssig) (1247–1420)							Zerbst (1st creation) (1252–1396)				Bernburg (1st creation) (1252–1468)	Aschersleben (1252–1315)
								Stendal^[4] (1266–1318)	Salzwedel^[5] (1267–1317)
	Plassenburg (1285–1340)			Wittenberg (1296–1356) Raised to: Electorate of Saxe-Wittenberg (1356–1422)	Lauenburg (1296–1303)
		Lauenstein (1319–1460)			Mölln (1303–1401)		Ratzeburg (1303–15)	Margraviate of Brandenburg (Stendal line) (1318–20)
						Bergdorf (1303–15) Renamed as Ratzeburg (1315–1401)		Annexed to the House of Wittelsbach							Annexed to Bishopric of Halberstadt
Annexed to the House of Wettin
					Lauenburg (Ratzeburg* line*) (1401–1689)					Köthen (1st creation) (1396–1562)
		Annexed to the House of Wettin
													Dessau^[6] (1st creation) (1396–1561)	Zerbst (2nd creation) (1544–62)


										Principality of Anhalt (Zerbst* line)* (1562–1603)
										Plötzkau (1603–1665)	Köthen (2nd creation) (1603–1847)	Dessau (2nd creation) (1603–1863)	Zerbst (3rd creation) (1603–1793)	Bernburg (2nd creation) (1603–1863)
					Annexed to the House of Welf


										Duchy of Anhalt (Dessau* line)* (1863–1918)

House_of_Ascania

House of Ascania

History

Rulers of the House of Ascania

House of Ascania

Partitions of the House of Ascania

Table of rulers

Heads of the House of Ascania since 1918

Family trees

Armorial

List of states ruled by the House of Ascania

References

External links

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House of Ascania

Country	Duchy of Saxony (804–1036) Duchy of Saxony (1036–1296) Russian Empire
Founded	1036
Founder	Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt
Current head	Eduard, Prince of Anhalt
Final ruler	Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt
Titles	Count/Prince/Duke of Anhalt Duke of Saxony Margrave of Brandenburg Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg Elector of Saxony Prince of Lüneburg Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias Empress consort of All the Russias
Deposition	1918 (Duchy of Anhalt)

Ruler	Born	Reign	Ruling part	Consort	Death	Notes
Adalbert I^[7]	c.970 ?	c.1000–1036	County of Ballenstedt	Hidda four children	1036 aged 65–66	First documented member of the family.
Esico	c.1000 Son of Adalbert I and Hidda	1036–1060	County of Ballenstedt	Matilda of Swabia 1026 three children	1060 aged 59–60
Adalbert II	c.1030 Ballenstedt Son of Esico and Matilda of Swabia	1060–1080	County of Ballenstedt	Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde c.1070 two children	c.1080 Westdorf aged c.49-50
Otto I the Rich	c.1065 First son of Adalbert II and Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde	1080 – 9 February 1123	County of Ballenstedt	Eilika of Saxony c.1095 two children	9 February 1123 aged 57–58?	Children of Adalbert II, divided their inheritance.
Siegfried I	c.1070 Second son of Adalbert II and Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde	1080 – 9 March 1113	County of Weimar-Orlamünde	Gertrude of Northeim 1026 three children	9 March 1113 aged 42–43?	Children of Adalbert II, divided their inheritance.
Regencies of Gertrude of Northeim (1113–1115) and Otto I, Count of Salm (1115–1121)						Left no descendants. The county went to his brother.
Siegfried II	1107 First son of Siegfried I and Gertrude of Northeim	9 March 1113 – 19 March 1124	County of Weimar-Orlamünde	Irmgard of Henneberg no children	19 March 1124 aged 16–17	Left no descendants. The county went to his brother.
Albert I the Bear	c.1100 Son of Otto I and Eilika of Saxony	9 February 1123 – 18 November 1170	County of Ballenstedt (with Brandenburg from 1157)	Sophie of Winzenburg 1124 thirteen children	18 November 1170 Stendal (possibly) aged 69–70	Besides count of Ballenstedt, he was also the first Margrave of Brandenburg (1157). Ruler of the Northern March from 1134, and the county of Weimar-Orlamünde since 1140.
Regency of Otto I, Count of Salm (1124-1126)						Also ascended as a minor Left no descendants. The county went to his cousin, Albert the Bear, from Ballenstedt.
William	1112 Worms Second son of Siegfried I and Gertrude of Northeim	19 March 1124 – 13 February 1140	County of Weimar-Orlamünde	Adelaide no children	13 February 1140 Cochem aged 27–28
Weimar-Orlamünde briefly annexed to Ballenstedt (1140-70)
Otto I	1128 First son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg	18 November 1170 – 8 July 1184	Margraviate of Brandenburg	Judith of Poland 1148 two children Ada of Holland 1175 one child	8 July 1184 aged 55–56	Children of Albert I, divided their inheritance. After Adalbert aand Dietrich's childless deaths, their possessions were inherited by the younger brother, Bernard.
Herman I	1130 Second son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg	18 November 1170 – 19 October 1176	County of Weimar-Orlamünde	Irmgard two children	19 October 1176 aged 45–46
Adalbert (III)	1136 Fourth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg	18 November 1170 – 1171	County of Ballenstedt (at Aschersleben)	Unmarried	1171 aged 34–35
Theodoric	1137 Fifth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg	18 November 1170 – 1183	County of Ballenstedt (at Burgwerben)	Unmarried	1183 aged 45–46
Bernard (I)^[8]	1140 Sixth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg	18 November 1170 – 2 February 1212	County of Anhalt (with Ballenstedt and Saxony)	Brigitte of Denmark one child Judith of Greater Poland c.1173 five children Sophia of Thuringia one child	2 February 1212 Bernburg aged 71–72
Aschersleben and Burgwerben annexed to Anhalt
Siegfried III	1155 Son of Herman I and Irmgard	19 October 1176 – 1206	County of Weimar-Orlamünde	Sophia of Denmark c.1180 three children	1206 aged 50–51
Otto II the Generous	c.1150 First son of Otto I and Judith of Poland	8 July 1184 – 4 July 1205	Margraviate of Brandenburg	Unmarried	4 July 1205 aged 54–55	Elder children of Otto I, both left no descendants. The patrimony was inherited by their half-brother, Albert II.
Henry	c.1150? Second son of Otto I and Judith of Poland	8 July 1184 – 1192	Margraviate of Brandenburg (at Gardelegen)	Unmarried	1192 aged 41–42?
Albert II	1177 Son of Otto I and Ada of Holland	4 July 1205 – 25 February 1220	Margraviate of Brandenburg	Matilda of Lusatia 1205 four children	25 February 1220 aged 42–43
Albert II	1182 First son of Siegfried III and Sophia of Denmark	1206 – 22 October 1245	County of Weimar-Orlamünde (at Nordhalben)	Unmarried	22 October 1245 aged 62–63	Children of Siegfried III, divided their inheritance, which was soon reunited by Herman II.
Herman II	1184 Second son of Siegfried III and Sophia of Denmark	1206 – 27 December 1247	County of Weimar-Orlamünde (at Orlamünde)	Beatrix of Andechs-Merania c.1230 six children	27 December 1247 aged 62–63
Otto II	c.1185 Third son of Siegfried III and Sophia of Denmark	1206–1211	County of Weimar-Orlamünde (at Weimar)	Unmarried	1211 aged 25–26
Nordhalben and Weimar rejoined Orlamünde
Henry I	c.1173 First son of Bernard (I) and Judith of Greater Poland	2 February 1212 – 1252	County of Anhalt (until 1218) Principality of Anhalt (from 1218)	Irmgard of Thuringia 1211 eleven children	1252 aged 78–79	Children of Bernard, divided their inheritance. In 1218 Henry becomes Prince of Anhalt, which after his death is divided by his sons.
Albert I	c.1175 Second son of Bernard (I) and Judith of Greater Poland	2 February 1212 – 7 October 1260	Duchy of Saxony	Agnes of Austria 1222 five children Agnes of Thuringia 1238 three children Helene of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1247 five children	7 October 1260 aged 84–85
Regencies of Henry I, Count of Anhalt (1220–1225), Albert I, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1220–1221) and Matilda of Lusatia (1221–1225)						Children of Albert II, ruled jointly, but their children divided the margraviate.
John I	1213 First son of Albert II and Matilda of Lusatia	25 February 1220 – 4 April 1266	Margraviate of Brandenburg	Sophie of Denmark 1230 six children Judith of Saxony 1255 four children	4 April 1266 Stendal aged 52–53
Otto III the Pious	1215 Second son of Albert II and Matilda of Lusatia	25 February 1220 – 9 October 1267	Margraviate of Brandenburg	Beatrice of Bohemia 1243 six children	9 October 1267 Brandenburg an der Havel aged 51–52
Herman III the Popular	c.1230 Second son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania	27 December 1247 – 1283	County of Orlamünde	Unknown four children	1283 aged 52–23	Children of Herman II, divided their inheritance.
Otto III the Magnificent	1236 Third son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania	27 December 1247 – 13 May 1285	County of Weimar	Agnes of Leiningen (c. 1230/40-13 May 1285) 1266 four children	13 May 1285 aged 48–49
Albert III	c.1240 Fourth son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania	27 December 1247 – 1283	County of Weimar	Unmarried	1283 aged 42–43
Sophia	c.1240 Daughter of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania	27 December 1247 – 1270	County of Weimar-Orlamünde (at Regnitzland)	Henry VIII Reuss, Lord of Weida 19 July 1258 three children	c.1270 aged 29–30
Henry II the Fat	1215 First son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia	1252 – 12 June 1266	Principality of Aschersleben	Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1245 two children	12 June 1266 aged 50–51	Children of Henry I, divided their inheritance.
Bernard I	1218 Second son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia	1252–1287	Principality of Bernburg	Sophia of Denmark 3 February 1258 Hamburg six children	1287 aged 68–69
Siegfried I	1230 Seventh son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia	1252 – 25 March 1298	Principality of Zerbst	Catherine of Sweden 17 October 1259 ten children	25 March 1298 Köthen aged 67–68
John I	1249 Wittenberg First son of Albert I and Helene of Brunswick-Lüneburg	7 October 1260 – 1282	Duchy of Saxony (Since 1296 in Saxe-Wittenberg)	Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Sweden 1270 eight children	30 July 1285 Wittenberg aged 35–36	Ruled jointly; and associated his nephews to the joint rulership after his brothers death. However, these three nephews divided the land with him. Albert II retained Saxe-Wittenberg, and became the head of the Elder Saxon Line; Albert III, Eric I and John II ruled together in Saxe-Lauenburg, becoming the founders of the Younger Saxon Line.
Albert II	1250 Wittenberg Second son of Albert I and Helene of Brunswick-Lüneburg	7 October 1260 – 25 August 1298	Duchy of Saxony (Since 1296 in Saxe-Wittenberg)	Agnes-Gertrude of Austria 1282 six children	25 August 1298 Aken aged 35–36
In 1296 Albert II and his nephews (Albert III, Eric I, and John II) ended their joint rule and divided Saxony into the Lauenburg line, where Albert III, Eric I, and John II continued to rule jointly until 1303, and the Wittenberg line, where Albert II continued as sole ruler until 1298. Since the Duke of Saxony was considered one of the prince-electors electing a new Holy Roman Emperor, conflict arose between the lines of Lauenburg and Wittenberg over the issue of who should cast Saxony's vote. In 1314 both lines found themselves on different sides in a double election. Eventually, the Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg succeeded in 1356 after the promulgation of the Golden Bull. To distinguish him from other rulers bearing the title Duke of Saxony, he was commonly called Elector of Saxony.