{{infobox royal house
| surname = House of Ascania
| coat of arms = 75px 75px 75px
| country = Germany, Russia
| founding year =
| 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)|
}}
thumb|Coat of arms of the Duchy of Anhalt
The House of Ascania is an Old Saxon reigning family historically documented since the 11th century. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession. Their ancestral seats, Ballenstedt, Anhalt, Aschersleben, and Bernburg, are located in the present-day Anhalt region in Saxony-Anhalt. The ruins of Anhalt Castle are situated in the Harz Mountains northeast of Harzgerode. The name "Askanier" derives from the Latinization of their seat at Aschersleben. Since the late 17th century, only the Anhalt branch has survived. Albert the Bear became Duke of Saxony in 1138 and, with the control of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1150, the first Margrave in the formerly Slavic settlement area. In 1180, eastern parts of the Stem Duchy of Saxony passed to the Askanier Bernhard of Saxony. As Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, the family received hereditary electoral dignity in 1356. The family ruled Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Bernburg, Anhalt-Köthen, Anhalt-Zerbst, Anhalt-Plötzkau, and Anhalt-Aschersleben. Alexius Friedrich Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg was the first of the Anhalt princes to gain the title of Duke in April 1806. The ducal title was adopted in Anhalt-Köthen and Anhalt-Dessau in 1807. Since 1863, only the Dessau line has existed, with Aribert of Anhalt abdicating in 1918 due to the November Revolution in the Duchy of Anhalt. Since 1963, Eduard, Prince of Anhalt has been the head of the family.
History Overview
From the Beginnings to Before 1212
thumb|Ballenstedt Castle
The Askanier are documented as Counts of Ballenstedt, originating from an area now part of the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt. From the outset, the family held possessions in the present-day districts of Salzlandkreis and Anhalt-Bitterfeld. Ballenstedt, Aschersleben, and ultimately Anhalt Castle were the most significant ancestral seats, with Ballenstedt as the eponymous seat in the 11th and 12th centuries. These possessions, along with further holdings in present-day Anhalt, led to the emergence of several Anhalt principalities in the 13th century. Due to numerous land divisions, concentrated ownership in a single hand was the exception over the centuries.
The earliest known Askanier, Esico of Ballenstedt, is reported in older literature to have built Anhalt Castle.Partenheimer, Albrecht der Bär, p. 20; Assing, Die frühen Askanier, pp. 6f. The ruins of Anhalt Castle are located on a spur of the Great Hausberg on the right bank of the Selke. The origins and earlier history of the Ballenstedt family are unknown.
The family name, derived from Anhalt Castle, is still used by members of the house today. The term "Askanier" became a common designation for the Counts of Aschersleben starting in the 14th century. The Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Saxony, and all other lines are also referred to as Askanier.
thumb|upright=1.5|Schwabengau (Suavia) and Gau Serimunt. Eastern part of the Stem Duchy of Saxony in brown.
Family history often begins in literature with an Askanier whose name is unknown. Traditionally, this figure is still referred to as Adalbert, though it is agreed that the name is merely speculative based on his grandson. He was married to Hidda, a daughter of Hodo I, Margrave of the Ostmark. Their children are typically listed as Esico, Theoderich, Ludolf, Uta, and Hazecha.
Esico of Ballenstedt is the first named ancestor and exercised comital rights. He is mentioned in contemporary documents, such as a diploma issued by Emperor Conrad II on October 26, 1036, at the Pfalz Tilleda (comitatu Esiconis, translated as "in the county of Esico").Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) DD K II, Nr. 234, p. 319. His clan was based in the eastern Saxon Schwabengau, which is why they are classified in the Sachsenspiegel as part of the Swabian ancient nobility. The Schwabengau (Suavia) was a county located east of Quedlinburg.
The primary source for the genealogy of the early Askanier is the chronicle of the Annalista Saxo, written in the mid-12th century. According to it, Esico was maternally a grandson of Margrave Hodo († 993) and inherited several allodial estates in the Schwabengau and Serimuntgau after the death of his uncle Siegfried († c. 1030).Annalista Saxo, ed. by Georg Heinrich Pertz in: MGH SS 6, 1844, p. 678. The name of Esico's father is unknown; only in much later genealogies was he assigned the name Adalbert (I), as the Saxon annalist names the Count Adalbert (II), murdered around 1080, as Esico's son.Annalista Saxo, ed. by Georg Heinrich Pertz in: MGH SS 6, 1844, p. 676. On the present-day Schlossberg of Ballenstedt, Esico established the collegiate church St. Pancratius und Abundus, consecrated in 1046 in the presence of King Henry III. He was advocate of the monasteries Nienburg and Hagenrode.
thumb|Adalbert II of Ballenstedt
Adalbert II of Ballenstedt, son of Esico and his wife Matilda, was a count in the Nordthüringgau and is mentioned in connection with the Nizizi and Serimunt counties. It is presumed that his mother was the daughter of Duke Herman of Swabia. He married Adelheid, daughter and heiress presumptive of Count Otto I of Weimar-Orlamünde, Margrave of Meissen, and had two sons, Otto the Rich and Siegfried. Adalbert was killed around 1080 by Egeno II of Konradsburg. While speculations about the motive exist, the reasons remain unclear. A seal depicting Adalbert exists,List of seal images from the University of Passau representing the earliest known stylized depiction of an Askanier.
The Saxon annalist referred to Esico, Adalbert II, and Otto the Rich as "Counts of Ballenstedt," but this title is historically verified only for Otto (Ottoni comiti de Ballenstide) in 1106.Annalista Saxo, ed. by Georg Heinrich Pertz in: MGH SS 6, 1844, p. 744. Thus, it is confirmed that he named himself after Ballenstedt Castle in the eastern Harz. Otto was briefly Duke of Saxony in 1112. He married Eilika, daughter of Duke Magnus of Saxony. Through this, he acquired Billung allodial estates and later received the Duchy of Saxony from the emperor. The count died in 1123 and was buried in Ballenstedt. His widow Eilika lived in Halle and Bernburg after his death. Otto the Rich and his son Albert the Bear converted the Ballenstedt collegiate church into a Benedictine monastery in 1123. His brother Siegfried was Count of Weimar-Orlamünde and Palatine of the Rhine.
thumb|upright=0.7|Monument to Albert the Bear in the Spandau Citadel, Berlin
Albert the Bear was the first significant family member and the most prominent Askanier in the Middle Ages. A contemporary and rival of Henry the Lion (Welfs) and Conrad the Great (Wettins), he significantly advanced the German settlement of Slavic border marks and founded the Margraviate of Brandenburg on the territory of the former Nordmark. He briefly served as Duke of Saxony before becoming Margrave of Brandenburg, establishing his family's power in the Saxon eastern marches. His extensive territorial possessions were divided among his sons Otto, Herman, Bernhard, and Adalbert. This created the four main Askanier branches at the time: Brandenburg (until 1320), Weimar-Orlamünde (until 1486), Saxe-Wittenberg (until 1422), Saxe-Lauenburg (until 1689), and Anhalt (to the present). Albert is referred to as a Count of Aschersleben, indicating that the title "Counts of Aschersleben" emerged in the 12th century. He was first documented as comes Asscherslovensis on August 8, 1147, during a court session he presided over., Part I, No. 337. Whether Albert used this title himself is unclear, but he referred to himself as Margrave of Brandenburg in a document dated October 3, 1157 ("Adelbertus dei gratia marchio in Brandenborch").CDA, Part I, No. 436 The epithet "the Bear" was used in contemporary sources. Albert the Bear died in November 1170 and was almost certainly buried in the Ballenstedt house monastery. The bear is the heraldic animal of Anhalt. His son Bernhard used various Latin variants of Count of Aschersleben and later Duke of Saxony. The Gelnhausen Charter of 1180 included the division of the Stem Duchy of Saxony. In this arrangement, Bernhard was enfeoffed with the eastern part, which continued to bear the name Saxony. He received the ducal title the following year after the Erfurt Reichstag.
From 1212 to 1603
thumb|County of Anhalt in the 13th century|327x327px
After the death of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxony, in February 1212 in Bernburg, his eldest son Henry received the Anhalt house estates between the Lower Harz and the lower Mulde River, while his brother Albert inherited the Duchy of Saxony. Their father Bernhard III inherited the County of Aschersleben from Adalbert, who had no male heirs. Although Albert held a higher title, Henry's possessions were securely in the family's hands. Part of the County of Anhalt was also allodial property. The division of 1212 marks the beginning of Anhalt's independent development, with Henry I as its first ruler. It is likely that he controlled a relatively cohesive area around Aschersleben, Ballenstedt, and Anhalt Castle, with a narrow connection to larger eastern complexes around Bernburg, Köthen, Wörbzig, Dessau, and Wörlitz, extending to the right bank of the Elbe around Coswig. Henry I of Anhalt appeared as Count of Askanien (comes Aschariae) in a document issued on November 4, 1213.CDA, Volume 2, No. 9, pp. 8–9 Ascharia is a term used by the document's issuer. Henry I was also the first to be called Prince in or of Anhalt (comes Ascharie et princeps in Anahalt) and was also Count of Aschersleben. The prince was considered cruel, as he mistreated Abbot Gernot at Nienburg. In the early 14th century, family members used Anhalt as their designation, regardless of whether they held Anhalt Castle.
thumb|Anhalt after the division among the sons of Henry I in 1252|353x353px
In the 13th century, the Anhaltiner were among the elite in their region, i.e., the Anhalt area. However, their significance declined sharply in the 14th and 15th centuries, as evidenced by their reduced imperial political influence and marriage alliances. Like other imperial princes, the Askanier benefited from the Statutum in favorem principum, enacted in 1231 at the Worms Hoftag, which regulated the sovereign rights of princes. The first formation of lines in the present-day Anhalt region occurred through the land division of 1252 among the sons of Henry I of Anhalt. Henry II founded the Aschersleben line, Bernhard I the Bernburg line, and Siegfried I the Köthen line. Alongside Köthen, Dessau and Coswig were part of this Principality. Dessau later gained significance as a residence. Ballenstedt belonged to Anhalt-Aschersleben and gave the Askanier their name as Counts of Ballenstedt. The family ruled the Principality of Anhalt-Aschersleben until 1315. The Askanier acquired the lordship of Zerbst in 1307 from the lords of Barby, which was last administered by Anhalt-Köthen; the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was established in 1396.
Anhalt-Köthen was divided among the sons of John II, son of Albert II of Anhalt-Zerbst. The brothers Sigmund I, Albert III, and Waldemar III initially ruled jointly. Waldemar III died soon after, and in 1396, the Sigmundian line (Zerbst) and Albertine line (Köthen) emerged. Sigmund I received the land on the right bank of the Elbe, while Albert III received the land on the left bank. Albert III's sons Waldemar IV, Adolf I, and Albert IV had significant disputes with their cousin George I of Anhalt-Zerbst regarding possessions. The possessions were later redistributed. The Sigmundian line eventually gained partial ownership of the Albertine line, which ended at the beginning of the 16th century. The Bernburg branch expired in 1468, and its possessions passed to the Sigmundian line.
The Sigmundian line split again in 1474 into the older Dessau line (Anhalt-Dessau; Ernestine-Dessau branch) and the so-called older Köthen line (Anhalt-Köthen), here used to refer to the Waldemarian-Köthen branch. The death date of George I is used, though some sources cite the earlier division by him in 1471. The latter line expired with Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen in 1566, and the possessions had already passed to the older Dessau line in 1562. Wolfgang was the son of Waldemar VI of Anhalt-Köthen and grandson of George I. The older Köthen line acquired part of the Zerbst lands in 1508, which also passed to the older Dessau line. Around 1500, the Magdeburg Archbishop attempted to subordinate the principality to his own sphere of influence, which would have meant the loss of imperial immediacy. Through the Imperial Reform starting in 1500, imperial circles were created in the Holy Roman Empire. The principalities were part of the Upper Saxon Circle. Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen introduced the Reformation in 1525 and was a leading figure among Protestant princes. He signed the Augsburg Confession in 1530, was a co-founder of the Schmalkaldic League in 1531, and participated in the Schmalkaldic War in 1546.
In the mid-16th century, progressive legislation modernized administration. The older Dessau line split in 1546 into the Zerbst, Dessau, and Plötzkau branches. John V received the Zerbst lands, Joachim Dessau, and George III Plötzkau.
Since Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen († 1566) from the older Köthen line died childless, his lands passed to Joachim Ernst of Anhalt, son of John IV and part of the older Dessau line. Joachim Ernst unified all possessions in 1570 and moved his seat of government to Dessau.
From 1603 to the present
thumb|Anhalt (center, green) around 1600 (black lines: boundaries of present-day federal states)|375x375px
In 1603, another division created the younger lines of Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Bernburg, Anhalt-Köthen, and Anhalt-Zerbst. John George I became Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and received the town, office, and castle of Dessau with Schloss Lippene, the towns of Raguhn and Jeßnitz, and the offices of Wörlitz, Sandersleben, and Freckleben. Christian I ruled Anhalt-Bernburg with the town, office, and castle of Bernburg, Plötzkau, Hoym, Ballenstedt, Harzgerode, and Güntersberge. Rudolph founded the Anhalt-Zerbst line and held the town, office, and castle of Zerbst with Kermen, Lindau, Roßlau, and Coswig. Louis I established the Anhalt-Köthen branch and received the town, office, and castle of Köthen with Brambach, Wulfen, Nienburg, and the marks of Jeser, Baalberge, Warmsdorf with Kolbigh, and the Vorwerk Diebzig. August initially renounced land ownership for a settlement but, after renegotiations in 1611, received Plötzkau from the Bernburg share, though without sovereign rights.
The division of possessions was significant only within the overall principality. Externally, the principality spoke with one voice, remaining undivided. Anhalt-Plötzkau existed until the mid-17th century and then passed to Anhalt-Bernburg. Anhalt-Köthen expired in 1665. The Anhalt-Plötzkau line inherited this possession and renamed itself Anhalt-Köthen.
Emperor Francis II granted the Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg the right to be called "Duke" in 1806. In 1807, Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen were also elevated to duchies by Napoleon Bonaparte. The Zerbst branch died out in 1793, the Köthen line in 1847, and the Bernburg line in 1863. Thus, in 1863, the Duchy of Anhalt (Anhalt-Dessau line) was formed with Dessau as its residence, remaining the sole ruling territory until the abdication in 1918.
Less significant lines included Anhalt-Köthen-Pless (1755 to mid-19th century), Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg (1707–1812), and Anhalt-Harzgerode (1635–1709).
After the Askanier's abdication, Ballenstedt Castle remained the family's residence. Joachim Ernst, the last duke, married Elisabeth Strickrodt in March 1927; the marriage was dissolved in 1929. In October 1929, he married Edda-Charlotte von Stephani-Marwitz, producing the children Marie Antoinette, Anna Luise, Leopold Friedrich, Edda, and Eduard. Joachim Ernst was arrested by the Nazis in January 1944 and held for three months in Dachau near Munich. In September 1945, he was arrested by Soviet occupation forces and taken to NKVD special camp Nr. 2 near Weimar, where he died in February 1947. His rehabilitation by the Russian state occurred in 1992. From 1947, his son Leopold Friedrich was head of the house, and since 1963, his son Eduard has been.
The House of Anhalt today
thumb|upright=0.75|Eduard, Prince of Anhalt (2023)
Since 1963, Eduard has served as the head of the family. Born in 1941 in Ballenstedt, he succeeded his older brother Leopold Friedrich, who died in a traffic accident. Both are sons of Joachim Ernst, who was the last duke, still a minor in 1918. The family uses the traditional style of a reigning ducal family, "Highness," applied to both the head and other family members. Eduard, Prince of Anhalt, is the last male Askanier; the family will become extinct in the male line upon his death. The current head of the family and his three daughters are the only legitimate descendants of the Askanier in the agnatic line. Two morganatic lines, the Counts of Westarp and of Waldersee, descend from non-house-law-compliant marriages of two Anhalt princes. Eduard, Prince of Anhalt, is related to the British King Charles III and had initial contact with the Windsors in 1947 when his mother was invited to Buckingham Palace in London. Familial ties exist through his great-uncle Aribert of Anhalt, who was married to a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
In January 2010, the head of the house issued the "Dessau Declaration," amending the house law to introduce female succession. Thus, his eldest daughter, Julia Katharina, is designated as the future head of the House of Anhalt. This is a novelty within the German formerly reigning houses. Due to the unconventional nature of absolute primogeniture allowing a female successor, the non-noble marriage of the designated heiress, and questions about whether monarchical house laws can be amended after the monarchy's abolition, this decision is controversial among conservative representatives of so-called noble associations, and the daughters' descendants are not yet included in the Gotha Genealogical Handbook.Eduard Prinz von Anhalt: Aktualisierung des Hausgesetzes der Familie Anhalt-Askanien. Berlin, January 1, 2010.
Heads of the House of Anhalt
- 1947–1963 Leopold Friedrich (* 1938; † 1963), son of Joachim Ernst
- Since 1963 Eduard (* 1941), brother
Territories of rule
General overview
thumb|upright=1.5|Principalities in 1789: Anhalt-Bernburg (AB), Anhalt-Köthen (AK), Anhalt-Dessau (AD), and Anhalt-Zerbst (AZ); right on the map: Electorate of Brandenburg (blue) and Electorate of Saxony (orange)
{| class="wikitable"
|style="width:50%;"|
In the Anhalt Region
- Anhalt-Aschersleben (1252–1315)
- Anhalt-Bernburg (1252–1468 and 1603–1863)
- Anhalt-Köthen (from 1252, from 1603, and 1665–1847)
- Anhalt-Dessau (from 1474, from 1546, and 1603–1863)
- Anhalt-Zerbst (from 1396, from 1544(?), and 1603–1793)
- Duchy of Anhalt (1863–1918)
- Anhalt-Plötzkau (from 1544 and 1611–1665)
- Anhalt-Harzgerode (c. 1635–1709)
- Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (1707–1812)
- Anhalt-Köthen-Pless (1755–c. 1840)
|
Outside Anhalt
- Margraviate of Brandenburg (until 1320)
- Duchy of Saxony (later Wittenberg and Lauenburg)
- Lüneburg (until 1388)
- Saxe-Wittenberg (until 1422)
- Weimar-Orlamünde (until 1486)
- Saxe-Lauenburg (until 1689)
|}
Overview of land divisions
center|upright=2
Note: The Albertine line expired with Adolph II of Anhalt-Köthen and Magnus of Anhalt, who renounced governance in 1508.
Rule in Anhalt
Anhalt-Aschersleben
thumb|150px|Seal of Heinrich II.
The allodial estates of the Ascanians between the Harz and Elbe remained with the Anhalt line after the 1212 division. Henry II. was the son of Henry I. of Anhalt and founded the Anhalt-Aschersleben line in 1252. He received the territories of Aschersleben, Gernrode, Hecklingen, Ermsleben, and Wörbzig. The Anhalt-Aschersleben region also included Ballenstedt and Anhalt Castle. The Ascanians originated from this area. The principality passed to the Diocese of Halberstadt in 1315, and with it, to the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1648. The Bishop of Halberstadt enfeoffed Bernhard II. of Anhalt-Bernburg in December 1316, transferring Anhalt-Aschersleben as a fief to Anhalt-Bernburg.
Rulers of Anhalt-Aschersleben
Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg
thumb|Bernburg Castle
Bernhard I. (* 1218; † 1287) was born as the son of Henry I. of Anhalt and founded the old Bernburg line. Prince Bernhard III. of Anhalt was the first in 1320 to call himself comes Ascanie.CDA, Part III, No. 406 Nineteenth-century historiography then applied this term to all members of the family of the Counts of Ballenstedt and Aschersleben since the 11th century. After the death of Bernhard VI in 1468, George I. of Anhalt-Zerbst inherited the possessions. A castle complex in Bernburg is mentioned in 961 and 1138, though the former date is uncertain. Under Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen, the Wolfgangsbau was constructed at Bernburg Castle in 1538/1539, located at the site of the former hillfort.
Christian I. of Anhalt-Bernburg became the governor of the Upper Palatinate in 1595 in the service of Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate and resided in Amberg. He represented Frederick IV at the founding of the Protestant Union. In 1619, he had significant influence in the election of his employer Frederick V. of the Palatinate as King of Bohemia.
Emperor Francis II. elevated Prince Alexius Frederick Christian to Duke in April 1806. Anhalt-Bernburg passed to Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau after the reign of Alexander Charles (* 1805; † 1863).
Rulers of Anhalt-Bernburg
Principality of Anhalt-Köthen
thumb|Köthen Castle
Siegfried I. († 1298) was the son of Henry I of Anhalt and received Köthen; his territory was to the right of the Saale and partly to the right of the Elbe. In 1272, he founded the Augustinian nunnery at Coswig, whose collegiate church was St. Nicolai. In older literature, the Anhalt-Köthen line is sometimes referred to as the old Zerbst line. Siegfried's sons were Albert I., Henry, Siegfried II, and Hermann.
The Anhalt-Köthen line adopted the ducal title from 1807. Henry (* 1778; † 1847) was the last Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. The land passed to the lines of Anhalt-Bernburg (administered by Anhalt-Dessau) and Anhalt-Dessau. No division occurred due to the anticipated extinction of the Bernburg line and the subsequent inheritance by Anhalt-Dessau.
Rulers of Anhalt-Köthen
Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst
The possessions were administered jointly with Köthen and Dessau before 1396. John VI. publicly introduced the Lutheran confession in 1644, and Calvinist preachers were subsequently replaced. In May 1681, the foundation stone was laid for the main part of Zerbst Castle. The Zerbst line ceased in 1793, and the possessions passed to the other brothers in 1797. The Köthen line ended in 1847, and Köthen was unified with Dessau in 1853. After the Bernburg line also became extinct in 1863, the Duchy of Anhalt was formed under Leopold IV († 1871). Anhalt-Zerbst acquired the Lordship of Jever through inheritance in 1667.
Until 1797, Roßlau was a Quedlinburg fief held by the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, then passed to Anhalt-Köthen, where it formed the "New Köthen" part, and finally to Anhalt-Dessau in 1847.
<gallery>
File:Zerbst Schloss vor Zerstörung.JPG|Zerbst Castle (historical photograph)
File:Joachim ernst von anhalt 2a.jpg|Joachim Ernest ruled all of Anhalt from 1570.
File:Coswig(Anhalt),Schloss.jpg|Coswig Castle, built 1667–1677 as a widow's residence
File:Schloss Dornburg Hofseite.jpg|Dornburg Castle, built from 1750 as a widow's residence for the dowager princess Joanna Elisabeth, mother of Catherine the Great
</gallery>
Rulers of Anhalt-Zerbst
Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
300px|thumb|right|Anhalt in the 18th century with Bernburg, Köthen, Zerbst, and Dessau
A separate cadet line of the princely house in Dessau emerged in 1474. Ernest († 1516) was born as the son of George I. of Anhalt-Zerbst and founded the Ernestine-Dessau line (Anhalt-Dessau). His brother Sigismund III. died in 1487 and was also a Prince of Anhalt-Dessau. The construction of the Dessau Palace is generally believed to have begun around 1530.
In 1660, John George II. succeeded his father John Casimir as regent. Under his rule, Großalsleben was added to the possessions. For his wife Henriette Catherine from the House of Orange-Nassau, Oranienbaum Palace was built east of Dessau from 1681. John George II was a brother-in-law of Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg.
Leopold III created the Wörlitz Park, an English landscape garden.
<gallery>
File:Dessau Schloss 1900.jpg|Dessau Palace, photograph c. 1900
File:Schloss Oranienbaum2.JPG|Oranienbaum Palace, from 1683 summer residence of Henriette Catherine of Orange-Nassau, wife of Prince John George II
File:Wörlitz Schloss.jpg|Wörlitz Palace in the Wörlitz Park, built from 1769 to 1773 by Leopold III Frederick Franz
File:Schloss Mosigkau.JPG|Mosigkau Palace, built 1752–57 for Princess Anna Wilhelmine
</gallery>
Rulers of Anhalt-Dessau
Anhalt-Plötzkau
thumb|Plötzkau Castle
Anhalt-Harzgerode
Anhalt-Harzgerode emerged in 1635 from the division of Anhalt-Bernburg and reverted to it in 1709.
Duchy of Anhalt
thumb|The Duchy of Anhalt, adjacent to Prussia and Brunswick|316x316px
The Zerbst line ceased in 1793, and its possessions passed to the other brothers in 1797. The Köthen line ended in 1847, and Köthen was unified with Dessau in 1853. When the Bernburg line became extinct in 1863, the Duchy of Anhalt was established under Duke Leopold IV Frederick († 1871). From this year, he held the title Duke of Anhalt, no longer Duke of Anhalt-Dessau.Almanach de Gotha. 1867. p. 3.
In the federal resolution of June 14, 1866, the Duchy of Anhalt sided with Prussia, joined the North German Confederation in 1867, and the German Empire in 1871. The state parliament consisted of 36 deputies. The Duke appointed 2 deputies, 8 represented the highest-taxed landowners, 2 the highest-taxed merchants and industrialists, 14 represented the cities, and 10 represented rural areas.
The Duchy existed until the November Revolution in 1918, when workers and soldiers in Anhalt demonstrated and demanded change, which occurred peacefully. The Social Democrats called for the abdication of the ducal family. Prince Regent Aribert of Anhalt declared the abdication of the Ascanians on November 12, 1918, on behalf of the minor Duke Joachim Ernst.
On December 30, 1918, Aribert of Anhalt established the Joachim-Ernst Foundation, renamed the Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation in 1947. The foundation manages most of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm with several landscape parks.
Heads of State and Dukes
State Ministers or Chairmen of the State Ministry
- 1863–1868 Karl Friedrich Ferdinand Sintenis (* 1804; † 1868)
- 1868–1875 Alfred von Larisch (* 1819; † 1897)
- 1875–1892 Anton von Krosigk (* 1820; † 1892)
- 1892–1903 Kurt von Koseritz (* 1838; † 1916)
- 1903–1909 Johann (Hans) Nikolaus Michael Louis von Dallwitz (* 1855; † 1919)
- 1910–1918 Eduard Hermann Ernst von Laue (* 1855; † 1923)
- 1918 Max Gutknecht (* 1876; † 1935)
Rule Outside of Anhalt
The Anhalters also ruled outside their ancestral lands. At the beginning of the family history, the Ascanians were significant in the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Saxony.
Margraviate of Brandenburg
thumb|Brandenburg around 1320|367x367pxthumb|upright=0.7|Albrecht the Bear on a seal with the inscription Adelbertus D(e)i gr(ati)a marchio (in Brandenborch)|alt=A seal depicting Albrecht the Bear with the Latin inscription indicating his title as Margrave of Brandenburg
The noble family shaped the history of Brandenburg, as it is credited with the Formation of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. When the Slavic prince Pribislav died in 1150, his widow Petrissa handed over the land of the Hevelli around Brandenburg Castle to Albrecht the Bear, Count of Ballenstedt. In 1157, Albrecht definitively took possession of Brandenburg. He participated in Lothair of Supplinburg's Italian campaign in 1132/1133, where Lothair was crowned emperor by Pope Innocent II. In gratitude, Albrecht received the Nordmark, which later gave him power over the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Despite Albrecht's rule over the Margraviate of Brandenburg, only three visits by the margrave (1150, 1157, and 1170) have been documented in the mark. Otto I. († 1184) became the new Margrave of Brandenburg in 1170, and his descendants expanded the territory through an expansionist eastern policy. In connection with the Ascanians, a founding myth also emerged.
At the beginning of the 14th century, the mark extended to the later Prussian Province of Brandenburg and even into Pomerania. With Henry II the Child, the Brandenburg line became extinct in 1320. Emperor Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach, an uncle of Henry II, reclaimed Brandenburg as a lapsed fief and granted it to his son Louis V in 1323, concluding the Brandenburg Interregnum. In 1348, a pretender known as the False Waldemar was enfeoffed with the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
Rulers of Brandenburg
Duchy of Saxony
The old Duchy of Saxony was transferred to Henry the Lion of the House of Welf in 1143. It was divided into the three provinces of Westphalia, Angria, and Eastphalia and lay mostly in the area of present-day Lower Saxony, Westphalia, and the western part of Saxony-Anhalt. The Ascanians briefly held the title of Duke of Saxony with Otto the Rich in 1112 and Albrecht the Bear from 1138 to 1142. Albrecht's mother, Eilika of Saxony, was the daughter of the Saxon Duke Magnus Billung of Saxony. This fact supported a claim to Saxony, just as the Welfs could present their own arguments. Thus, the family can also be considered a Saxon noble house.
The title of Duke of Saxony passed in 1180, after the deposition of Henry the Lion at the Diet of Gelnhausen, documented in the Gelnhausen Charter of April 13, 1180, to Bernhard III. of Saxony, the youngest son of Albrecht the Bear. However, he received only the eastern part, excluding Westphalia and Angria, which went to the Archbishop of Cologne Philipp I. von Heinsberg. Bernhard also held the counties of Aschersleben and Ballenstedt as well as Anhalt Castle, the ancestral lands. In the retained eastern part of the Duchy, he could only exercise actual power in parts of it. Bernhard divided his territories among his sons: the elder son Albert I. († 1261) received the Saxon Duchy, while the younger son Henry I. († 1252) received the Anhalt ancestral lands.
Albert II., son of Albert I, and the sons of his brother John I. conducted a division of the Ascanian Duchy of Saxony in 1296. Saxony-Wittenberg went to Albrecht II, and John II., Albrecht III, and Eric I. received Saxony-Lauenburg. The Saxony-Wittenberg line was significant, receiving the hereditary electoral dignity in 1356 through the Golden Bull. However, it became extinct in 1422, and Saxony-Wittenberg ("Electoral Saxony") was granted to the Wettins, causing the Ascanians to lose their status as electors.
<gallery>
File:Karte Stammesherzogtum Sachsen um 1000.png|The Duchy of Saxony around the year 1000.
File:The Saxon duchies circa 1235.jpg|Territory of the Ascanian Duchy of Saxony around 1235 (highlighted in green), consisting of parts of the former Duchy of Saxony around Wittenberg and at Lauenburg and the Hadeln area
File:Saxe-Lauenburg around 1400 (134037786).jpg|The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg around 1400.
</gallery>
Rulers of the Duchy of Saxony
Saxe-Wittenberg
Saxony-Lauenburg
The branch of John II., Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg in Bergedorf, now near Hamburg, and Mölln, ended in 1401 with his grandson Eric III.. Eric IV. received his lands, being Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg in Lauenburg and Ratzeburg. He thus held all the possessions and was a descendant of Eric I., who was Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg in Lauenburg and, after his brother Albrecht III's death in 1308, also in Ratzeburg. The Saxe-Lauenburg line ended with Julius Francis in 1689. The Welfs (from the neighboring Principality of Lüneburg line) succeeded them.
Weimar-Orlamünde
thumb|County of Orlamünde (approximate borders)|343x343px
Siegfried I became the first Ascanian Count of Weimar-Orlamünde in 1112 after Ulrich II, Margrave of Carniola from the Weimar-Orlamünde house. He was the son of Adalbert II of Ballenstedt and his wife Adelaide, a daughter of Otto I, Margrave of Meissen . Albert I the Bear received the County of Weimar-Orlamünde in 1140. Hermann I († 1176) continued the Weimar-Orlamünde line. Following the inheritance division of 1264/65, Hermann III received the area around Orlamünde, and Otto III received the area around Weimar.
Orlamünde was sold to the Wettins on April 25, 1344. By 1467, the Ascanians no longer held any possessions, as the Wettins took over everything.
Rulers of Weimar-Orlamünde
Principality of Lüneburg
After the older House of Lüneburg died out with William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1369, the Lüneburg War of Succession began in 1370. In the same year, the Principality of Lüneburg was granted to Albrecht and Wenceslaus I of the Saxony-Wittemberg line by decree of Emperor Charles IV. Albrecht was the maternal grandson of William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg, while Wenceslaus I was Albrecht's uncle. The Ascanians were replaced in 1388 by Albrecht's stepsons from the House of Welf.
The rulers of the Principality of Lüneburg
- 1370–1385: Albrecht († 1385), son of Otto of Saxony-Wittenberg, ruled together with Wenzel I.
- 1370–1388: Wenceslaus I (* 1337; † 1388), son of Rudolf I of Saxony-Wittenberg, also Elector
Rulers of the House of Ascania
House of Ascania
{{hidden begin
|title = Partitions of the House of Ascania
|titlestyle = background: #ccf; text-align:center;
}}
{|align="center" style="border-spacing: 0px; border: 1px solid black; text-align: center;"
|+
|-
| colspan=23 style="background: #fff;" |
|-
| colspan=4 rowspan="2" style="background: #aee;" |50pxCounty of Weimar-Orlamunde(1113–1247)
| colspan=19 style="background: #fff;" |50pxCounty of Ballenstedt(1030–1170)
|-
| colspan=4 rowspan="3" style="background: #fea;" |50pxDuchy of Saxony(1180–1296)
| colspan=2 rowspan="2" style="background: #ceb;" |50pxMargraviate of Brandenburg(1157-1266/67)
| colspan=7 style="background: #fde;" |County of Anhalt(1123–1212)Raised to:50pxPrincipality of Anhalt(1212–1252)
|-
| colspan=3 rowspan="2" style="background: #adf;" |County of Weimar(1247–1372)
| colspan=1 rowspan="7" style="background: #aee;" |County of Orlamunde(from 1354 in Schauenforst and Droyssig)(1247–1420)
| colspan=4 rowspan="6" style="background: #ecd;" |Principality of Zerbst(1st creation)(1252–1396)
| colspan=1 rowspan="7" style="background: #ecf;" |Principality of Bernburg(1st creation)(1252–1468)
| colspan=1 rowspan="4" style="background: #fde;" |Principality of Aschersleben(1252–1315)
|-
| colspan=1 rowspan="2" style="background: #cfc;" |Margraviate of Stendal<ref>From Stendal split off:
- Krossen (1266–1308)
- Neumark (1266–1318)</ref>(1266–1318)
| colspan=1 rowspan="2" style="background: #ada;" |Margraviate of SalzwedelStargard split off from Salzwedel (1267-1316) and was then annexed to the Duchy of Mecklenburg.(1267–1317)
|-
| colspan=1 rowspan="3" style="background: #adf;" |
| colspan=1 rowspan="3" style="background: #bee;" |County of Plassenburg(1285–1340)
| colspan=1 style="background: #adf;" |
| colspan=1 rowspan="5" style="background: #fea;" |Duchy of Wittenberg(1296–1356)Raised to:50pxElectorate of Saxe-Wittenberg(1356–1422)
| colspan=3 style="background: #fedf;" |50pxDuchy of Lauenburg(1296–1303)
|-
| colspan=1 rowspan="4" style="background: #cef;" |County of Lauenstein(1319–1460)
| colspan=1 rowspan="3" style="background: #ec6;" |Duchy of Mölln(1303–1401)
| colspan=1 style="background: #fc9;" |
| colspan=1 style="background: #ffc;" |Duchy of Ratzeburg(1303–15)
| colspan=2 style="background: #ceb;" |50pxMargraviate of Brandenburg(Stendal line)(1318–20)
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan="2" style="background: #fc9;" | Duchy of Bergdorf(1303–15)Renamed asDuchy of Ratzeburg(1315–1401)
| colspan=2 rowspan="13" style="background: #eee;" |Annexed to the House of Wittelsbach
| colspan=1 rowspan="13" style="background: #eee;" |Annexed to Bishopric of Halberstadt
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan="12" style="background: #eee;" |Annexed to the House of Wettin
|-
| colspan=3 rowspan="7" style="background: #fedf;" |50pxDuchy of Lauenburg(Ratzeburg line)(1401–1689)
| colspan=3 rowspan="5" style="background: #ccf;" |Principality of Köthen(1st creation)(1396–1562)
| colspan=1 style="background: #fde;" |
|-
| colspan=3 rowspan="10" style="background: #eee;" |Annexed to the House of Wettin
| colspan=2 style="background: #fde;" |
|-
| colspan=1 style="background: #fde;" |Principality of DessauThe 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.(1st creation)(1396–1561)
| colspan=1 rowspan="2" style="background: #ecd;" |Principality of Zerbst(2nd creation)(1544–1562)
|-
| colspan=1 style="background: #fde;" |
|-
| colspan=2 style="background: #ecd;" |
|-
| colspan=5 style="background: #fde;" |50pxPrincipality of Anhalt(Zerbst line)(1562–1603)
|-
| colspan=1 style="background: #fbd;" |Principality of Plötzkau(1603–1665)
| colspan=1 style="background: #ccf;" |50pxPrincipality of Köthen(2nd creation)(1603–1847)
| colspan=1 rowspan="2" style="background: #fde;" |Principality of Dessau(2nd creation)(1603–1863)
| colspan=1 rowspan="2" style="background: #ecd;" |50pxPrincipality of Zerbst(3rd creation)(1603–1793)
| colspan=1 rowspan="4" style="background: #ecf;" |Principality of Bernburg(2nd creation)(1603–1863)
|-
| colspan=3 rowspan="4" style="background: #eee;" |Annexed to the House of Welf
| colspan=2 rowspan="2" style="background: #ccf;" |
|-
| colspan=2 style="background: #fde;" |
|-
| colspan=4 style="background: #fde;" |
|-
| colspan=5 style="background: #fde;" |50pxDuchy of Anhalt(Dessau line)(1863–1918)
|}
{| class="wikitable sticky-header"
|- style="background:#cccccc"
! colspan=2 | Ruler!!Born!!Reign!!Ruling part!!Consort!!Death!!Notes
|- style="background:#fff"
|Adalbert IEven his name is uncertain; sources name him Adalbert assuming that his grandson, Count Adalbert (II) (d.1080) was named after him.||
|align="center"|c.970?
|align="center"|c.1000–1036||County of Ballenstedt||Hiddafour children
|align="center"|1036aged 65–66||First documented member of the family.
|- style="background:#fff"
|Esico||
|align="center"|c.1000Son of Adalbert I and Hidda
|align="center"|1036–1060||County of Ballenstedt||Matilda of Swabia1026three children
|align="center"|1060aged 59–60||
|- style="background:#fff"
|Adalbert II||100px
|align="center"|c.1030BallenstedtSon of Esico and Matilda of Swabia
|align="center"|1060–1080||County of Ballenstedt||Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamündec.1070two children
|align="center"|c.1080Westdorfaged c.49-50||
|- style="background:#fff"
|Otto I the Rich||
|align="center"|c.1065First son of Adalbert II and Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde
|align="center"|1080 – 9 February 1123||County of Ballenstedt||Eilika of Saxonyc.1095two children
|align="center"|9 February 1123aged 57–58?
|rowspan="2"|Children of Adalbert II, divided their inheritance.
|- style="background:#aee"
|Siegfried I||
|align="center"|c.1070Second son of Adalbert II and Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde
|align="center"|1080 – 9 March 1113||||Gertrude of Northeim1026three children
|align="center"|9 March 1113aged 42–43?
|- style="background:#aee"
|colspan=7 style="text-align:center"|Regencies of Gertrude of Northeim (1113–1115) and Otto I, Count of Salm (1115–1121)
|rowspan=2|Left no descendants. The county went to his brother.
|- style="background:#aee"
|||100px
|align="center"|1107First son of Siegfried I and Gertrude of Northeim
|align="center"|9 March 1113 – 19 March 1124||||Irmgard of Hennebergno children
|align="center"|19 March 1124aged 16–17
|- style="background:#fff"
|| Albert I the Bear ||100px
|align="center"|c.1100Son of Otto I and Eilika of Saxony
|align="center"|9 February 1123 – 18 November 1170||County of Ballenstedt(with Brandenburg from 1157)||Sophie of Winzenburg1124thirteen children
|align="center"|18 November 1170Stendal (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.
|- style="background:#aee"
|colspan=7 style="text-align:center"|Regency of Otto I, Count of Salm (1124-1126)
|rowspan=2|Also ascended as a minor Left no descendants. The county went to his cousin, Albert the Bear, from Ballenstedt.
|- style="background:#aee"
|William||
|align="center"|1112WormsSecond son of Siegfried I and Gertrude of Northeim
|align="center"|19 March 1124 – 13 February 1140||||Adelaideno children
|align="center"|13 February 1140Cochemaged 27–28
|- style="background:#aee"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Weimar-Orlamünde briefly annexed to Ballenstedt (1140-70)
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Otto I ||100px
|align="center"|1128First son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg
|align="center"|18 November 1170 – 8 July 1184||Margraviate of Brandenburg||Judith of Poland1148two childrenAda of Holland1175one child
|align="center"|8 July 1184aged 55–56
|rowspan="5" style="background:#fff"| Children of Albert I, divided their inheritance. After Adalbert and Dietrich's childless deaths, their possessions were inherited by the younger brother, Bernard.
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|1130Second son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg
|align="center"|18 November 1170 – 19 October 1176||||Irmgardtwo children
|align="center"|19 October 1176aged 45–46
|- style="background:#fff"
|||
|align="center"|1136Fourth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg
|align="center"|18 November 1170 – 1171||County of Ballenstedt(at Aschersleben)
|rowspan="2"|Unmarried
|align="center"|1171aged 34–35
|- style="background:#fff"
|||
|align="center"|1137Fifth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg
|align="center"|18 November 1170 – 1183||County of Ballenstedt(at Burgwerben)
|align="center"|1183aged 45–46
|-style="background:#fde"
|Bernard (I)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.||100px
|align="center"|1140Sixth son of Albert I and Sophie of Winzenburg
|align="center"|18 November 1170 – 2 February 1212||County of Anhalt(with Ballenstedt and Saxony) || Brigitte of Denmarkone childc.1173five childrenSophia of Thuringiaone child
|align="center"|2 February 1212Bernburgaged 71–72
|- style="background:#fff"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Aschersleben and Burgwerben annexed to Anhalt
|- style="background:#aee"
|Siegfried III||
|align="center"|1155Son of and Irmgard
|align="center"|19 October 1176 – 1206||||c.1180three children
|align="center"|1206aged 50–51||
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Otto II the Generous ||100px
|align="center"|c.1150First son of Otto I and Judith of Poland
|align="center"|8 July 1184 – 4 July 1205||Margraviate of Brandenburg||Unmarried
|align="center"|4 July 1205aged 54–55
|rowspan="2"|Elder children of Otto I, both left no descendants. The patrimony was inherited by their half-brother, Albert II.
|- style="background:#ceb"
| ||
|align="center"|c.1150?Second son of Otto I and Judith of Poland
|align="center"|8 July 1184 – 1192||Margraviate of Brandenburg(at Gardelegen)||Unmarried
|align="center"|1192aged 41–42?
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Albert II ||100px
|align="center"|1177Son of Otto I and Ada of Holland
|align="center"|4 July 1205 – 25 February 1220||Margraviate of Brandenburg||1205four children
|align="center"|25 February 1220aged 42–43||
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|1182First son of Siegfried III and
|align="center"|1206 – 22 October 1245||(at Nordhalben)||Unmarried
|align="center"|22 October 1245aged 62–63
|rowspan="3"| Children of Siegfried III, divided their inheritance, which was soon reunited by Herman II.
|- style="background:#aee"
|Herman II||100px
|align="center"|1184Second son of Siegfried III and
|align="center"|1206 – 27 December 1247||(at Orlamünde)||Beatrix of Andechs-Meraniac.1230six children
|align="center"|27 December 1247aged 62–63
|- style="background:#aee"
|Otto II||
|align="center"|c.1185Third son of Siegfried III and
|align="center"|1206–1211||(at Weimar)||Unmarried
|align="center"|1211aged 25–26
|- style="background:#aee"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Nordhalben and Weimar rejoined Orlamünde
|-style="background:#fde"
|Henry I||100px
|align="center"|c.1173First son of Bernard (I) and
|align="center"|2 February 1212 – 1252||County of Anhalt(until 1218)Principality of Anhalt(from 1218) ||Irmgard of Thuringia1211eleven children
|align="center"|1252aged 78–79
|rowspan="2" style="background:#fff"| Children of Bernard, divided their inheritance. In 1218 Henry becomes Prince of Anhalt, which after his death is divided by his sons.
|- style="background:#fea;"
|Albert I||100px
|align="center"|c.1175Second son of Bernard (I) and
|align="center"|2 February 1212 – 7 October 1260||Duchy of Saxony || 1222five children1238three children1247five children
|align="center"|7 October 1260aged 84–85
|- style="background:#ceb"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"|Regencies of Henry I, Count of Anhalt (1220–1225), Albert I, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1220–1221) and (1221–1225)
|rowspan="3"|Children of Albert II, ruled jointly, but their children divided the margraviate.
|- style="background:#ceb"
| John I
|rowspan="2"|100px
|align="center"|1213First son of Albert II and
|align="center"|25 February 1220 – 4 April 1266
|rowspan="2"|Margraviate of Brandenburg||1230six children1255four children
|align="center"|4 April 1266Stendalaged 52–53
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Otto III the Pious
|align="center"|1215Second son of Albert II and
|align="center"|25 February 1220 – 9 October 1267||Beatrice of Bohemia1243six children
|align="center"|9 October 1267Brandenburg an der Havelaged 51–52
|- style="background:#aee"
|Herman III the Popular||
|align="center"|c.1230Second son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania
|align="center"|27 December 1247 – 1283||County of Orlamünde||Unknownfour children
|align="center"|1283aged 52–23
|rowspan="4" style="background:#aee"| Children of Herman II, divided their inheritance.
|- style="background:#adf"
|Otto III the Magnificent||100px
|align="center"|1236Third son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania
|align="center"|27 December 1247 – 13 May 1285||County of Weimar||Agnes of Leiningen(c. 1230/40-13 May 1285)1266four children
|align="center"|13 May 1285aged 48–49
|- style="background:#adf"
|||
|align="center"|c.1240Fourth son of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania
|align="center"|27 December 1247 – 1283||County of Weimar||Unmarried
|align="center"|1283aged 42–43
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|c.1240Daughter of Herman II and Beatrix of Andechs-Merania
|align="center"|27 December 1247 – 1270||(at )||19 July 1258three children
|align="center"|c.1270aged 29–30
|-style="background:#fde"
|Henry II the Fat||100px
|align="center"|1215First son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia
|align="center"|1252 – 12 June 1266||Principality of Aschersleben||1245two children
|align="center"|12 June 1266aged 50–51
|rowspan="3"| Children of Henry I, divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard I||100px
|align="center"|1218Second son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia
|align="center"|1252–1287||Principality of Bernburg||Sophia of Denmark3 February 1258Hamburgsix children
|align="center"|1287aged 68–69
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Siegfried I||
|align="center"|1230Seventh son of Henry I and Irmgard of Thuringia
|align="center"|1252 – 25 March 1298||Principality of Zerbst ||Catherine of Sweden17 October 1259ten children
|align="center"|25 March 1298Köthenaged 67–68
|- style="background:#fea;"
|John I||
|align="center"|1249WittenbergFirst son of Albert I and
|align="center"|7 October 1260 – 1282
|rowspan="2"|Duchy of Saxony(Since 1296 in Saxe-Wittenberg)|| Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Sweden1270eight children
|align="center"|30 July 1285Wittenbergaged 35–36
|rowspan="2"| 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.
|- style="background:#fea;"
||Albert II||100px
|align="center"|1250WittenbergSecond son of Albert I and
|align="center"|7 October 1260 – 25 August 1298|| 1282six children
|align="center"|25 August 1298Akenaged 35–36
|- style="background:#fea;"
| style="text-align:center" colspan=8 | 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.
|- style="background:#fde"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of (1266–1270)
|rowspan="3"| Children of Henry II, ruled jointly, first under their mother, who was elected Abbess of Gernrode in 1275. In 1283, Henry renounced his rights in Otto's favor, and later became Archbishop of Magdeburg.
|-style="background:#fde"
|Otto I
|rowspan="2"|100px
|align="center"|c.1245First son of Henry II and
|align="center"|12 June 1266 – 25 June 1304
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Aschersleben ||Hedwig of Wrocław1283three children
|align="center"|25 June 1304aged 58–59
|-style="background:#fde"
|Henry III
|align="center"|c.1245Second son of Henry II and
|align="center"|12 June 1266 – 1283||Unmarried
|align="center"|9 November 1307aged 61–62
|- style="background:#cfc"
| John II ||100px
|align="center"|1237First son of John I and
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 10 September 1281||Margraviate of Stendal(at Krossen)||Hedwig of Werle(1243–1287)1249two children
|align="center"|10 September 1281aged 43–44
|rowspan="4" style="background:#ceb"|Children of John I. Despite co-rulership between them, they received different parts in the Margraviate to rule (alone or in co-rulership):
- John II received seat at Krossen;
- Otto IV received seat at Stendal;
- Conrad received seat at Neumark, and associated his sons in 1291.
|- style="background:#cfc"
| Otto IV of the Arrow ||100px
|align="center"|1238Second son of John I and
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 27 November 1308||Margraviate of Stendal(at Stendal)||Heilwig of Holstein-Kiel(d.1305)1279no childrenJudith of Henneberg-Schleusingen(d.1315)1308no children
|align="center"|27 November 1308aged 69–70
|- style="background:#cfc"
| Conrad I ||100px
|align="center"|1240Third son of John I and
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 1304
|rowspan="2"|Margraviate of Stendal(at Neumark)||Constance of Greater Poland1260Santokthree children
|align="center"|1304Chorinaged 63–64
|- style="background:#cfc"
| 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. ||100px
|align="center"|c.1265Second son of Conrad I and Constance of Greater Poland
|align="center"|1291–1297||Unmarried
|align="center"|1297aged 31–32
|- style="background:#ada"
| John III of Prague ||100px
|align="center"|6 April 1244PragueFirst son of Otto III and Beatrice of Bohemia
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 8 April 1268
|rowspan="3"|Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Salzwedel)||Unmarried
|align="center"|8 April 1268Merseburgaged 24
|rowspan="4" style="background:#ceb"|Children of Otto III. Despite co-rulership between them, they received different parts in the Margraviate to rule (alone or in co-rulership):
- John III (and then Otto V with Otto VI) received the seat at Salzwedel, from which Otto VI abdicated in 1286;
- Albert III received a seat in Stargard (which he ruled alone at least from 1284.
|- style="background:#ada"
| Otto V the Tall ||
|align="center"|1246PragueSecond son of Otto III and Beatrice of Bohemia
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – July 1299||22 October 1268Freiburgfour children
|align="center"|July 1299aged 52–53
|- style="background:#ada"
| Otto VI the Short ||100px
|align="center"|3/17 November 1264Fourth son of Otto III and Beatrice of Bohemia
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 1286||Hedwig of AustriaFebruary 1279Viennano children
|align="center"|6 July 1303Lehninaged 38
|- style="background:#ada"
| Albert III ||100px
|align="center"|c.1250Third son of Otto III and Beatrice of Bohemia
|align="center"|9 October 1267 – 1300||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Stargard)||1268four children
|align="center"|1300aged 49–50
|- style="background:#cfc"
| Conrad II ||
|align="center"|1261Son of John II and Hedwig of Werle
|align="center"|10 September 1281 – 1308||Margraviate of Stendal(at Krossen)||Unmarried
|align="center"|1308aged 46–47||With his childless death his land reverted to Stendal.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Krossen re-annexed to Stendal
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|First son of Herman III
|align="center"|1283 – 26 March 1354
|rowspan="2"|County of Orlamünde||26 July 1313two children
|align="center"|26 March 1354aged 83–84?
|rowspan="3"|Children of Herman III, divided their inheritance.
|- style="background:#aee"
|Herman VHerman V was possibly younger than his cousin Herman IV, but he ascended two years earlier then him.||
|align="center"|Second son of Herman III
|align="center"|1283–1312||Unmarried
|align="center"|1312aged 41–42?
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|1265Daughter of Herman III
|align="center"|1283–1327||County of Orlamünde(at Nordhalben)||Hartmann XI, Count of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugkone childAlbert II, Margrave of Meissen1 October 1290no children
|align="center"|1327aged 56–57
|- style="background:#adf"
|||100px
|align="center"|First son of Otto III and Agnes of Leiningen
|align="center"|13 May 1285 – 1319||County of Weimar||Matilda of Rabenswald(d.1339)24 November 1290four children
|align="center"|1319aged 48–49
|rowspan="2"|Children of Otto III, divided their inheritance.
|- style="background:#bee"
|||100px
|align="center"|1279Second son of Otto III and Agnes of Leiningen
|align="center"|13 May 1285 – 1318||County of Plassenburg||Adelaide of Kafernburg(d.c.1305)14 December 1296one childCatherine of Hesse(1286–1322)1308one child
|align="center"|1318aged 38–39
|-style="background:#ecf"
|John I||
|align="center"|1258First son of Bernard I and Sophia of Denmark
|align="center"|1287 – 5 June 1291
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Bernburg ||Unmarried
|align="center"|5 June 1291aged 32–33
|rowspan="2"| Children of Bernard I, ruled jointly.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard II||100px
|align="center"|1260Third son of Bernard I and Sophia of Denmark
|align="center"|1287 – 1323||Helena of Rügen27 December 1302three children
|align="center"|1323aged 62–63
|- style="background:#ec6;"
||John II||
|align="center"|1275First son of John I and Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Sweden
|align="center"|20 September 1296 – 22 April 1322|| Duchy of Mölln(in co-rulership in Lauenburg until 1303)|| Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg1315one child
|align="center"|22 April 1322Möllnaged 46–47
|rowspan="4" style="background:#fedf|Children of John I, co-ruled first with their uncle Albert II since 1282 (since the death of their father), and in 1296 split the land with him. They retained Lauenburg, which they divided once more. Albert passed the land to his widow, and after her death, in 1315, the territory was realigned: Eric divided Bergdorf with his surviving brother and held all of his brother Albert's inheritance. However, he ended up abdicating to his son, and survived for most of his reign.
|- style="background:#fc9;"
||Eric I||100px
|align="center"|1280Second son of John I and Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Sweden
|align="center"|20 September 1296 – 1338||Duchy of Bergedorf(in co-rulership in Lauenburg until 1303; in Bergedorf 1303–1315)Duchy of Ratzeburg(from 1315)|| 1316 or 1318four children
|align="center"|1360Nienburgaged 79–80
|- style="background:#ffc;"
||Albert III||
|align="center"|1281Third son of John I and Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Sweden
|align="center"|20 September 1296 – 1308||Duchy of Ratzeburg (in co-rulership in Lauenburg until 1303)|| Margaret of Brandenburg-Salzwedel1302two children
|align="center"|1308aged 26–27
|- style="background:#ffc;"
|Margaret of Brandenburg-Salzwedel||
|align="center"|1270Second daughter of Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel and
|align="center"|1308 – 1 May 1315||Duchy of Ratzeburg || Przemysł II, King of Poland1302two childrenAlbert III1302two children
|align="center"|1 May 1315Ratzeburgaged 44–45
|- style="background:#fedf;"
| colspan=8 style="text-align:center"| In 1315, after the death of Margaret of Brandenburg, the remaining brothers Eric and John redesigned the political division in Saxe-Lauenburg; Eric retained all of Margaret's part, but had to give part of his original domains to his brother.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Albert I||
|align="center"|c.1260Son of Siegfried I and Catherine of Sweden
|align="center"|25 March 1298 – 17 August 1316||Principality of Zerbst ||Liutgard of Holstein-Itzehoeafter 1277two childrenAgnes of Brandenburg-Stendal1300five children
|align="center"|17 August 1316aged 55–56||
|- style="background:#fea;"
||Rudolph I||100px
|align="center"|1284WittenbergSon of Albert II and
|align="center"|25 August 1298 – 10 January 135610 January 1356 – 12 March 1356||Duchy of Wittenberg(until 1356)Electorate of Saxony(from 1356)|| Judith of Brandenburg-Salzwedel1298eight childrenKunigunde of Poland28 August 1328one child1333three children
|align="center"|12 March 1356Wittenbergaged 71–72|| In January 1356 the Golden Bull confirmed Rudolf I as the legitimate Saxon Prince-Elector, thus the rulers of Saxe-Wittenberg are conceived as Electors of Saxony.
|- style="background:#fea;"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|The Golden Bull of 1356 confirmed the right to participate in the election of a Holy Roman Emperor to the Duke of Saxony in the Saxe-Wittenberg line.
|- style="background:#ada"
| Herman the Tall ||100px
|align="center"|1275Son of Otto V and
|align="center"|July 1299 – 1 February 1308||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Salzwedel)||Anne of Austria1295Grazfour children
|align="center"|1 February 1308Lübzaged 32–33
|rowspan="2"| Children of Otto V, divided the land. Beatrice's part was then annexed to the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor.
|- style="background:#ada"
| Beatrice (I) ||
|align="center"|1270Daughter of Otto V and
|align="center"|July 1299 – 1316||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Upper Lusatia)||Bolko I, Duke of Świdnica4 October 1284Berlinten childrenWładysław, Duke of Bytom21 September 1308two children
|align="center"|1316aged 45–46
|- style="background:#ada"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Upper Lusatia annexed to the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor
|- style="background:#ada"
| Beatrice (II) ||
|align="center"|First daughter of Albert III and
|align="center"|1300 – 22 September 1314||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Stargard)||Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg1292Stargard Castlefour children
|align="center"|22 September 1314aged 43–44|| Daughter and heiress of Albert III. Her marriage transferred the Stargard region into the Duchy of Mecklenburg.
|- style="background:#ada"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Stargard annexed to the Duchy of Mecklenburg
|- style="background:#cfc"
| ||100px
|align="center"|1261First son of Conrad I and Constance of Greater Poland
|align="center"|1304–1305||Margraviate of Stendal(at Neumark)||Unmarried
|align="center"|1305aged 43–44||Co-ruler of his father since 1291. His childless death reverted his lands to his younger brother Valdemar.
|-style="background:#fde"
|Otto II||100px
|align="center"|c.1260Son of Otto I and Hedwig of Wrocław
|align="center"|25 June 1304 – 24 July 1315||Principality of Aschersleben ||Elisabeth of Meissen24 August 1309two children
|align="center"|24 July 1315aged 54–55|| After his death in 1315 without male heirs opened a succession crisis in the Principality.
|- style="background:#cfc"
| Henry I Lackland ||
|align="center"|21 March 1256Son of John I and
|align="center"|27 November 1308 – 14 February 1318||Margraviate of Stendal(at Delitzsch since 1297; at Stendal since 1308)||Agnes of Bavaria1303three children
|align="center"|14 February 1318aged 61||Younger brother of John II, Otto IV and Conrad I. Started his co-rulership in 1297, receiving seat at Delitzsch; he ended up as successor of his childless elder brother Otto IV.
|- style="background:#ada"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"|Regency of Valdemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (1308–1316)
|rowspan="5"|Children of Herman, divided the land:
- John V received the core of Salzwedel;
- Matilda received a seat at Lower Lusatia;
- Agnes received a seat at Altmark;
- Jutta received a seat at Coburg.
John's and Agnes' childless deaths left the main core of Salzwedel and the important seat of the Altmark to be reunited in Brandenburg. The remaining possessions were annexed by the respective marriages.
|- style="background:#ada"
| John V the Illustrious ||
|align="center"|August 1302Son of Herman and Anne of Austria
|align="center"|1 February 1308 – 26 March 1317||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Salzwedel)||Unmarried
|align="center"|26 March 1317Spandauaged 14
|- style="background:#ada"
| ||
|align="center"|1296First daughter of Herman and Anne of Austria
|align="center"|1 February 1308 – 31 March 1329||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Lower Lusatia)||Henry IV, Duke of Żagań5 January 1310four children
|align="center"|31 March 1329aged 32–33
|- style="background:#ada"
| ||100px
|align="center"|1297Second daughter of Herman and Anne of Austria
|align="center"|1 February 1308 – 27 November 1334||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Altmark)||Valdemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal1309no childrenOtto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1319no children
|align="center"|27 November 1334Braunschweigaged 36–37
|- style="background:#ada"
| Judith ||100px
|align="center"|1301Third daughter of Herman and Anne of Austria
|align="center"|1 February 1308 – 1353||Margraviate of Salzwedel(at Coburg)||Henry VI, Count of Henneberg-Coburg1 January 1317 or 1 February 1319five children
|align="center"|1353aged 51–52
|- style="background:#ada"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Salzwedel and Altmark reunited with Stendal; Coburg returned to the House of Henneberg, and Lower Lusatia was inherited by the Duchy of Żagań
|-style="background:#fde"
|Elisabeth of Meissen||
|align="center"|c.1280?Daughter of and Judith of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg
|align="center"|24 July 1315 – 1332||Principality of Aschersleben(in Aschersleben) ||Otto II24 August 1309two children
|align="center"|1332aged 51–52?
|rowspan="4"| Succession crisis in Aschersleben: Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, supported Bernard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg as successor, but Bernard ended up giving his rights to Aschersleben to the Bishopric of Halberstadt. However, it is known that Otto II's widow inherited Aschersleben as a seat, and that she had to obtain consent of her daughters ("heiresses of the Allodial") and approval of Bernard II of Bernburg for making her donations. This may possibly imply that, at least between Otto II's death (1315) and the definite delivery of Aschersleben to Halberstadt (December 1316), both Otto's minor daughters may have inherited the principality, under regency of the Prince of Bernburg, with Elisabeth receiving its main town as a widow's seat.
|- style="background:#fde"
|colspan=7 style="text-align:center"|Regency of Bernard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (1315-1316)
|-style="background:#fde"
|Catharina||
|align="center"|c.1310First daughter of Otto II and Elisabeth of Meissen
|align="center" rowspan="2"|24 July 1315 – December 1316
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Aschersleben(in the remaining principality) ||1328two children
|align="center"|1369aged 58–59
|-style="background:#fde"
|Elisabeth||
|align="center"|c.1310Second daughter of Otto II and Elisabeth of Meissen||Unmarried
|align="center"|1319aged 8–9
|-style="background:#fde"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|The whole Principality was definitively annexed by the Bishopric of Halberstadt
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"|Regency of Valdemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (1316-1319)
|rowspan="4"|Albert III and Valdemar I ruled jointly, as sons of Albert II. In 1359 Albert II associated his eldest son, Albert III, but he predeceased him.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Albert II||
|align="center"|c.1305First son of Albert I and Agnes of Brandenburg-Stendal
|align="center"|17 August 1316 – 17 July 1362
|rowspan="3"|Principality of Zerbst ||Agnes of Rügen2 September 1324no childrenc.1337five children
|align="center"|17 July 1362aged 56–57
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Valdemar I||
|align="center"|c.1305Second son of Albert I and Agnes of Brandenburg-Stendal
|align="center"|17 August 1316 – 7 January 1368||22 June 1344six childrenBeatrice d'Este1365no children
|align="center"|7 January 1368aged 62–63
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Albert III||
|align="center"|c.1337First son of Albert II and
|align="center"|1359 – 1 August 1359||Unmarried
|align="center"|1 August 1359aged 21–22
|- style="background:#ceb"
|rowspan="2"| Valdemar the Great
|rowspan="2"|100px
|align="center" rowspan="2"|1280Third son of Conrad I and Constance of Greater Poland
|align="center"style="background:#cfc"|1305 – 14 February 1318
|style="background:#cfc"|Margraviate of Stendal(at Neumark)
|rowspan="2"|1309no children
|align="center" rowspan="2"|14 August 1319Mieszkowiceaged 38–39
|rowspan="2"| Son of Conrad, co-ruled with his uncles since 1308. Left no descendants, and the margraviate went to his underage cousin.
|- style="background:#ceb"
|align="center"|14 February 1318 – 14 August 1319||Margraviate of Brandenburg
|- style="background:#bee"
|Otto VI was possibly younger than his cousin Otto V, but he ascended one year earlier then him.||100px
|align="center"|1297Son of and Adelaide of Kafernburg
|align="center"|1318 – 28 July 1340||County of Plassenburg||Kunigunde of Leuchtenberg1321no children
|align="center"|28 July 1340aged 42–43||Left no descendants. After his death his possessions were annexed by the House of Hohenzollern.
|-style="background:#bee"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Plassenburg annexed to the House of Hohenzollern
|- style="background:#adf"
|||100px
|align="center"|c.1290First son of and Matilda of Rabenswald
|align="center"|1319 – 25 July 1365||County of Weimar||Elisabeth of Meissen(d. 2 May 1347)1322three children
|align="center"|25 July 1365aged 74–75
|rowspan="2"|Children of Herman IV, divided their inheritance.
|- style="background:#cef"
|||
|align="center"|c.1290Third son of and Matilda of Rabenswald
|align="center"|1319 – 12 March 1335||County of ||1321three children
|align="center"|12 March 1335aged 44–45
|- style="background:#ceb"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"|Regency of Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania (1319–1320)
|rowspan="3"|Children of Henry I, divided their inheritance. Henry died as a minor, and the Brandenburg Ascanians were extinct in the male line. Their lands came under the control of the Emperor Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach, who granted Brandenburg to his eldest son, Louis V of Bavaria.
For Sophia, she inherited the Margraviate of Landsberg, which was inherited by her sons.
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Henry II the Child ||100px
|align="center"|1302Son of Henry I and Agnes of Bavaria
|align="center"|14 August 1319 – July 1320||Margraviate of Brandenburg||Unmarried
|align="center"|July 1320Mieszkowiceaged 17–18
|- style="background:#ceb"
| Sophia ||
|align="center"|1300Daughter of Henry I and Agnes of Bavaria
|align="center"|14 August 1319 – 1356||Margraviate of Brandenburg(at Landsberg)||Magnus I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1327eight children
|align="center"|1356aged 55–56
|-style="background:#ceb"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Brandenburg definitively annexed to the House of Wittelsbach; Landsberg definitely annexed to the House of Welf
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|style="text-align:center"colspan="7"| Regency of Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg (1322–1330)
|rowspan="2"|
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|Albert IV||
|align="center"|1315Son of John II and Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg
|align="center"|1322–1343||Duchy of Mölln || Beata of Schwerin1334three childSophia of Werle-Güstrow1341no children
|align="center"|1343aged 27–28
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard III||100px
|align="center"|1300Son of Bernard II and Helena of Rügen
|align="center"|1323 – 20 August 1348||Principality of Bernburg ||1328five childrenMatilda of Anhalt-Zerbst1339no childrenMatilda of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel1343two children
|align="center"|20 August 1348aged 47–48||
|- style="background:#cef"
|||
|align="center"|c.1321Son of and
|align="center"|12 March 1335 – 14 October 1368||County of ||Sophia of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg(d.1392)18 November 1357two children
|align="center"|14 October 1368aged 46–47||
|- style="background:#fc9;"
|Eric II||
|align="center"|1318RatzeburgSon of Eric I and Elisabeth of Pomerania
|align="center"|1338–1368||Duchy of Ratzeburg || Agnes of Holstein-Plönbetween 1342 and 1349four children
|align="center"|1368Ratzeburgaged 49–50||
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|style="text-align:center"colspan="7"| Regency of Sophia of Werle-Güstrow (1343-1349)
|rowspan="2"|Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his brother, Albert.
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|John III||
|align="center"|c.1335First son of Albert IV and Beata of Schwerin
|align="center"|1343–1356||Duchy of Mölln || Unmarried
|align="center"|1356aged 20–21
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard IV||100px
|align="center"|c.1330First son of Bernard III and
|align="center"|20 August 1348 – 28 June 1354||Principality of Bernburg ||Unmarried
|align="center"|28 June 1354aged 23–24||
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|c.1320First son of and
|align="center"|26 March 1354 – 1379||County of Orlamünde(at Schauenforst)||Unknowntwo children
|align="center"|1379aged 58–59
|rowspan="2"| Children of Henry I, ruled jointly. In 1354, Orlamunde was annexed to the House of Wettin, and the family changed seat to Schauenforst, while Frederick's brother Henry II ruled from Droyssig. After Henry's death, Frederick reunited Orlamunde.
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|c.1320Second son of and
|align="center"|26 March 1354 – 1357||County of Orlamünde(at Droyssig)||Richeza of Henneberg(d.1379)1357one child
|align="center"|1357aged 36–37
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Henry IV||
|align="center"|c.1330Second son of Bernard III and
|align="center"|28 June 1354 – 7 July 1374||Principality of Bernburg ||Sophia of Stolbergc.1345three children
|align="center"|7 July 1374aged 43–44||Unlike usual co-rulerships seen in the family, Henry was bypassed by his older brother Bernard, who ruled alone. He only assumed rule of the principality when Bernard died in 1354.
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|Albert V||
|align="center"|c.1335Second son of Albert IV and Beata of Schwerin
|align="center"|1356–1370||Duchy of Mölln || Catherine of Werle-Güstrow25 January 1366no children
|align="center"|1370aged 34–35|| Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his brother, Eric.
|- style="background:#fea;"
|Rudolph II the Blind||100px
|align="center"|1307WittenbergSon of Rudolph I and Judith of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
|align="center"|12 March 1356 – 6 December 1370||Electorate of Saxony|| Elisabeth of Hesse(d.1354)1336three childrenElisabeth of Lindow-Ruppinc.1355?no children
|align="center"|6 December 1370Wittenbergaged 62–63|| Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his half-brother.
|- style="background:#adf"
|||
|align="center"|c.1290?Second son of and Matilda of Rabenswald
|align="center" rowspan="2"|25 July 1365 – 1372
|rowspan="2"|County of Weimar||Catherine of Anhalt(d. 15 April 1369)1328two children
|align="center"|1372aged 81–82?
|rowspan="2"| Uncle and nephew possibly ruled jointly. After Herman's death Weimar was annexed to the House of Wettin.
|- style="background:#adf"
|Frederick IV the Younger||
|align="center"|c.1325Son of and Elisabeth of Meissen||Irmgardno children
|align="center"|1381aged 55–56
|-style="background:#adf"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the House of Wettin
|- style="background:#cef"
|||100px
|align="center"|c.1360Son of and Sophia of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg
|align="center"|14 October 1368 – 1405||County of ||Liutgard Reuss of Gera(d.c.1410)c.1390six children
|align="center"|1405Ludwigsstadtaged 44–45||
|-style="background:#ecd"
|John II||
|align="center"|c.1340Second son of Albert II and
|align="center"|7 January 1368 – 11 April 1382
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Zerbst ||Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen1366four children
|align="center"|11 April 1382aged 41–42
|rowspan="2"|Double cousins, ruled jointly.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Valdemar II||
|align="center"|c.1345Son of Valdemar I and
|align="center"|7 January 1368 – 1371||Unmarried
|align="center"|1371aged 25–26
|- style="background:#fea;"
|Wenceslaus||100px
|align="center"|1337WittenbergSon of Rudolph I and
|align="center"|6 December 1370 – 15 May 1388|| Electorate of Saxony ||23 January 1376six children
|align="center"|15 May 1388Celleaged 50–51|| Brother of his predecessor. In 1370, jointly with his nephew Albert, he managed to acquire the Principality of Lüneburg. This conquer was lost after his death.
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|Eric III||100px
|align="center"|c.1335Third son of Albert IV and Beata of Schwerin
|align="center"|1370 – 25 May 1401||Duchy of Mölln || Unmarried
|align="center"|25 May 1401Ratzeburgaged 65–66?|| Determined to enter to clergy, has to resign to succeed his brothers. He also left no descendants, which allowed the Ratzeburg line to reunite the Duchy of Lauenburg.
|- style="background:#ec6;"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Mölln was annexed to Ratzeburg; Reunion of Lauenburg
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Otto III||
|align="center"|c.1345Son of Bernard III and Matilda of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|align="center"|7 July 1374 – 27 February 1404||Principality of Bernburg ||Unknowntwo childrenLutrudisbefore 1391one child
|align="center"|27 February 1404aged 58–59||
|- style="background:#aee"
|||
|align="center"|c.1360?Son of
|align="center"|1379–1405||County of Orlamünde(at Droyssig)||c.1380?two children
|align="center"|c.1405aged 44–45|| Changed seat once more to Droyssig.
|-style="background:#fde"
||Sigismund I||
|align="center"|c.1370First son of John II and Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen
|align="center"|11 April 1382 – 19 January 1405||Principality of Dessau(in co-rulership in Zerbst until 1396)||Judith of Querfurt1386eleven children
|align="center"|19 January 1405Coswigaged 34–35
|rowspan="3" style="background:#ecd"| Sons of John II. Ruled jointly until 1396, when they divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ccf"
||Albert IV||
|align="center"|c.1370Second son of John II and Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen
|align="center"|11 April 1382 – 24 November 1423||Principality of Köthen(in co-rulership in Zerbst until 1396)||Elisabeth of Mansfeld (I)before 1398six childrenElisabeth of Querfurtbefore 4 January 1419three children
|align="center"|24 November 1423Coswigaged 52–53
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Valdemar III||
|align="center"|c.1370Third son of John II and Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen
|align="center"|11 April 1382 – 1391||Principality of Zerbst ||Unmarried
|align="center"|1391aged 20–21?
|-style="background:#ecd"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Zerbst divided between Kothen and Dessau
|- style="background:#fea;"
|Rudolph III||100px
|align="center"|1378WittenbergFirst son of Wenceslaus and
|align="center"|15 May 1388 – 11 June 1419|| Electorate of Saxony ||1387/89three childrenMarch 1396two children
|align="center"|11 June 1419in Bohemia (Prague (?))aged 40–41|| Left no male descendants. he was succeeded by his brother, Albert.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|rowspan="2"|Eric IV
|rowspan="2"|
|align="center" rowspan="2"|1354RatzeburgSon of Eric II and Agnes of Holstein-Plön
|align="center" style="background:#fc9;"|1368 – 25 May 1401
|style="background:#fc9;"|Duchy of Ratzeburg
|rowspan="2"| 8 April 1373ten children
|align="center" rowspan="2"|21 June 1412Ratzeburgaged 57–58
|rowspan="2"| In 1401 reunited Saxe-Lauenburg.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|align="center"|25 May 1401 – 21 June 1412||Duchy of Lauenburg
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"| In 1401 the Ratzeburg line inherited the duchy of Mölln and reunited the Duchy of Lauenburg.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard V||
|align="center"|c.1350Son of Henry IV and Sophia of Stolberg
|align="center"|27 February 1404 – 24 June 1420
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Bernburg ||Elisabeth of Hohnstein-Kelbra8 September 1396one child
|align="center"|24 June 1420aged 69–70?
|rowspan="2"|Cousins, ruled jointly. As neither of them left male heirs, the land was inherited by his other cousin, Bernard.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Otto IV||
|align="center"|c.1380?First son of Otto III
|align="center"|27 February 1404 – 1 May 1415||Unmarried
|align="center"|1 May 1415aged 34–35?
|-style="background:#fde"
|Valdemar IV||
|align="center"|c.1386First son of Sigismund I and Judith of Querfurt
|align="center"|19 January 1405 – 1417
|rowspan="4"|Principality of Dessau||Unmarried
|align="center"|1417aged 30–31
|rowspan="4"|Sons of Sigismund I, ruled jointly. In 1468 inherited Anhalt-Bernburg.
|-style="background:#fde"
||George I the Elder||
|align="center"|1390Second son of Sigismund I and Judith of Querfurt
|align="center"|19 January 1405 – 22 September 1474||Matilda of Anhalt-Bernburg Iafter 1413no children1432six childrenSophia of Hohnsteinafter 1442three childrenAnna of Lindow-Ruppin7 September 1453nine children
|align="center"|21 September 1474Dessauaged 83–84?
|-style="background:#fde"
|Sigismund II||
|align="center"|c.1390Fourth son of Sigismund I and Judith of Querfurt
|align="center"|19 January 1405 – 1452||Matilda of Anhalt-Bernburg IIno children
|align="center"|1452aged 61–62
|-style="background:#fde"
||Albert V||
|align="center"|c.1390Fifth son of Sigismund I and Judith of Querfurt
|align="center"|19 January 1405 – 1469||Sophie of Hadmerslebenno children
|align="center"|1469aged 78–79
|- style="background:#cef"
|||
|align="center"|c.1395First son of and Liutgard Reuss of Gera
|align="center"|1405 – 3 March 1460
|rowspan="2"|County of ||Catherine of Blankenhain1427two children
|align="center"|3 March 1460aged 64–65?
|rowspan="4"| Children of Otto VII, divided their inheritance, which was progressively annexed to the House of Wettin. Elisabeth's part of Lauenstein went to the House of Schwarzburg.
|- style="background:#cef"
|Elisabeth (II)||
|align="center"|c.1395Daughter of and Liutgard Reuss of Gera
|align="center"|1405–1450||no children
|align="center"|c.1450aged 54–55?
|- style="background:#cef"
|||
|align="center"|c.1395Second son of and Liutgard Reuss of Gera
|align="center"|1405 – 30 March 1460||County of (at Grafenthal)||Agnes of Beichlingen(d. 2 May 1347)1322three children
|align="center"|30 March 1460aged 64–65?
|- style="background:#cef"
|||
|align="center"|c.1395Third son of and Liutgard Reuss of Gera
|align="center"|1405 – 2 July 1447||County of (at Lichtenberg)||Unmarried
|align="center"|2 July 1447aged 51–52?
|-style="background:#cef"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the House of Wettin
|- style="background:#aee"
|Henry III||
|align="center"|c.1390?First son of and
|align="center"|1405–1423
|rowspan="2"|County of Orlamünde(at Droyssig)
|rowspan="2"|Unmarried
|align="center"|1423aged 32–33?
|rowspan="2"| Children of Frederick V, ruled jointly. After their childless deaths their possessions were annexed by the House of Wettin.
|- style="background:#aee"
|Martin||
|align="center"|c.1390?Second son of and
|align="center"|1405
|align="center"|1405aged 14–15?
|-style="background:#aee"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the House of Wettin
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Eric V||
|align="center"|c.1375RatzeburgFirst son of Eric IV and
|align="center"|21 June 1412 – 1436
|rowspan="2"|Duchy of Lauenburg|| 1404no childrenElisabeth of Weinsbergbefore 1422one child
|align="center"|1436Ratzeburgaged 60–61
|rowspan="2"| Children of Eric IV, ruled jointly.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|John IVThe 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.||
|align="center"|c.1375RatzeburgSecond son of Eric IV and
|align="center"|21 June 1412 – 1414||Unmarried
|align="center"|1414Ratzeburgaged 38–39
|- style="background:#fea;"
|Albert III||100px
|align="center"|1380WittenbergSecond son of Wenceslaus and
|align="center"|11 June 1419 – 1422|| Electorate of Saxony ||14 January 1420no children
|align="center"|1422Wittenbergaged 41–42|| Left no male descendants, which led the Ascanian Saxe-Wittenberg line to extinction.
|- style="background:#fea;"
|style="text-align:center" colspan=8|The Ascanian Dynasty became extinct in Wittenberg in 1422. However, the dynasty's presence in Saxony continued, through the Duchy of Lauenburg, until 1689. After losing the Saxon Electorate to the Wittenberg line in 1356, and failing to obtain it again in 1422, the recognition of power of this Lauenburg line as Dukes of Saxony weakened. To follow the remnant House of Ascania in Saxe-Lauenburg, follow this table. For the following Electors of Saxony, see Rulers of Saxony.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Bernard VI||
|align="center"|c.1390?Second son of Otto III
|align="center"|24 June 1420 – 2 February 1468||Principality of Bernburg ||Matilda of Querfurt-Burgscheidungen21 October 1419two childrenHedwig of Żagań11 March 1434no children
|align="center"|2 February 1468aged 77–78?||His children predeceased him, which left him with no heirs at his death in 1468. Bernburg was inherited by the Dessau line.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|colspan="8" style="text-align:center"|Anhalt-Bernburg was annexed to Anhalt-Dessau
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Adolph I||
|align="center"|c.1400First son of Albert IV and Elisabeth of Mansfeld (I)
|align="center"|24 November 1423 – 28 August 1473
|rowspan="3"|Principality of Köthen||Cordula of Lindow-Ruppin2 November 1442Ruppinseven children
|align="center"|28 August 1473Zerbstaged 72–73?
|rowspan="3"| Ruled jointly. Adolph ruled with his brother Valdemar V until 1436 and then with Valdemar's son John. In 1436, shortly after his father's death, John III renounced his rights to the principality. In 1471, Adolph concluded a succession contract with George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, which would put the latter's youngest son in Köthen's throne as Valdemar VI.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Valdemar V||
|align="center"|c.1400Second son of Albert IV and Elisabeth of Mansfeld (I)
|align="center"|24 November 1423 – 1436||Sophie of Hadmersleben1420no children
|align="center"|1436aged 35–36?
|-style="background:#ccf"
|John III||
|align="center"|c.1415?Son of Valdemar V and Sophie of Hadmersleben
|align="center"|1436||Unmarried
|align="center"|1463aged 47–48?
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Bernard IINumbered after Bernard, Count of Anhalt, who was also Duke of Saxony.||
|align="center"|1385RatzeburgThird son of Eric IV and
|align="center"|1436 – 16 July 1463||Duchy of Lauenburg|| 2 February 1429two children
|align="center"|16 July 1463Ratzeburgaged 77–78||
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|John VSometimes 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).||
|align="center"|18 July 1439RatzeburgSon of Bernard II and
|align="center"|16 July 1463 – 15 August 1507||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Dorothea of Brandenburg12 February 1464twelve children
|align="center"|15 August 1507Ratzeburgaged 68||
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Valdemar VI||
|align="center"|1450Son of George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Sophia of Hohnstein
|align="center"|28 August 1473 – 1 November 1508
|rowspan="5"|Principality of Köthen ||Margaret of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt24 January 1485Köthenfour children
|align="center"|1 November 1508Köthenaged 57–58
|rowspan="5"| After the contract established with Dessau, this line of princes dominated in Köthen. After the death of Adolph in 1473, George I of Dessau's sons, Valdemar VI and Albert VI, ascended to the principality. After Albert's death, Valdemar co-ruled with his nephews. In 1508, all his co-rulers abdicated to him.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Albert VI||
|align="center"|c.1420Son of Albert IV and Elisabeth of Querfurt
|align="center"|28 August 1473 – 9 January 1475||Elisabeth of Mansfeld (II)27 March 1454Alslebenseven children
|align="center"|9 January 1475aged 54–55
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Philip||
|align="center"|31 May 1468Son of Albert VI and Elisabeth of Mansfeld (II)
|align="center"|9 January 1475 – 13 November 1500
|rowspan="3"|Unmarried
|align="center"|13 November 1500aged 32
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Magnus||
|align="center"|1455Third son of Adolph I and Cordula of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center" rowspan="2"|28 August 1473 – 1508
|align="center"|29 October 1524aged 68–69
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Adolph II||
|align="center"|16 October 1458Fifth son of Adolph I and Cordula of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center"|24 March 1526Merseburgaged 67
|-style="background:#fde"
|Ernest I||
|align="center"|1454First son of George I and Anna of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center"|21 September 1474 – 12 June 1516
|rowspan="4"|Principality of Dessau||Margaret of Münsterberg20 January 1494Cottbusfour children
|align="center"|12 June 1516Dessauaged 61–62
|rowspan="4"| Sons of George I, co-ruled jointly with their father since 1471, and continued the joint rule after his death.
|-style="background:#fde"
|George II the Strong||
|align="center"|1454Second son of George I and Anna of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center"|1474 – 25 April 1509||1478no children
|align="center"|25 April 1509aged 54–55
|-style="background:#fde"
|Sigismund III||
|align="center"|1456Third son of George I and Anna of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center"|21 September 1474 – 27 November 1487
|rowspan="2"|Unmarried
|align="center"|27 November 1487Dessauaged 30–31
|-style="background:#fde"
|Rudolph the ValiantSometimes numbered Rudolph IV.||
|align="center"|1466Fourth son of George I and Anna of Lindow-Ruppin
|align="center"|21 September 1474 – 7 September 1510
|align="center"|7 September 1510aged 43–44
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Magnus I||100px
|align="center"|1 January 1470RatzeburgSon of John V and Dorothea of Brandenburg
|align="center"|15 August 1507 – 1 August 1543||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel20 November 1509Wolfenbüttelsix children
|align="center"|1 August 1543Ratzeburgaged 73||
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Wolfgang the Confessor||100px
|align="center"|1 August 1492KöthenSon of Valdemar VI and Margaret of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
|align="center"|1 November 1508 – 23 March 1566||Principality of Köthen(at Coswig only, since 1562)||Unmarried
|align="center"|23 March 1566Zerbstaged 73|| Sole ruler of Köthen. In 1562, without descendants, he abdicated of all his territories, with the sole exception of Coswig (which he kept until his death) to the recreated Principality of Zerbst.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Köthen (and later Coswig) annexed to Zerbst
|- style="background:#fde"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Margaret of Münsterberg (1516–1524)
|rowspan="4"|Children of Ernest I, ruled jointly, firstly under their mother. In 1544, the brothers divided the land. Joachim mainteined Dessau to himself; John took Zerbst and refounded Anhalt-Zerbst; George took Plotzkau. After George and Joachim's deaths without descendants, their lands were inherited by their nephews, sons of John III.
|-style="background:#ecd"
||John VDespite 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.||100px
|align="center"|4 September 1504DessauSecond son of Ernest I and Margaret of Münsterberg
|align="center"|12 June 1516 – 4 February 1551||Principality of Zerbst(in co-rulership in Dessau until 1544))||Margaret of Brandenburg15 February 1534Dessausix children
|align="center"|4 February 1551Zerbstaged 46
|-style="background:#fde"
||George III the Godly||100px
|align="center"|15 August 1507DessauThird son of Ernest I and Margaret of Münsterberg
|align="center"|12 June 1516 – 17 October 1553||Principality of Dessau(in co-rulership until 1544; at Plotzkau since 1544)
|rowspan="2"|Unmarried
|align="center"|17 October 1553Dessauaged 46
|-style="background:#fde"
|Joachim I||100px
|align="center"|7 August 1509DessauFourth son of Ernest I and Margaret of Münsterberg
|align="center"|12 June 1516 – 6 December 1561||Principality of Dessau(in co-rulership until 1544)
|align="center"|6 December 1561Dessauaged 52
|-style="background:#fde"
|align="center" colspan="8"|Dessau and Plotzkau annexed to Zerbst
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Francis I||
|align="center"|1510RatzeburgSon of Magnus I and Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|align="center"|1 August 1543 – 15711573 – 19 March 1581||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Sibylle of Saxony8 February 1540Dresdennine children
|align="center"|19 March 1581Buxtehudeaged 70–71|| In 1571 – highly indebted – Francis I resigned in favour of his eldest son Magnus II, who had promised to redeem the pawned ducal demesnes with funds he gained as Swedish military commander and by his marriage to a Swedish princess. However, after warring with his son and pushing him back, he regained the title.
|-style="background:#ecd"
||Charles I||
|align="center" |17 November 1534DessauFirst son of John V and Margaret of Brandenburg
|align="center" |4 February 1551 – 4 May 1561||Principality of Zerbst(in co-rulership)||16 May 1557Zerbstno children
|align="center" |4 May 1561Zerbstaged 26
|rowspan="3" style="background:#fde"| Children of John V, ruled jointly. In 1553 inherited Plotzkau from their uncle George III. In 1561 inherited Dessau and Bernburg from their uncle Joachim. In the next year inherited Kothen. From 1570 Joachim Ernest was the sole owner of all Anhalt.
|-style="background:#fde"
||Joachim Ernest||100px
|align="center"|21 October 1536DessauSecond son of John V and Margaret of Brandenburg
|align="center"|4 February 1551 – 6 December 1586
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Anhalt(in co-rulership in Zerbst until 1562)||3 March 1560Barbysix childrenEleonore of Württemberg9 January 1571Stuttgartten children
|align="center" |6 December 1586Dessauaged 50
|-style="background:#fde"
||Bernard VII||
|align="center"|17 March 1540DessauThird son of John V and Margaret of Brandenburg
|align="center"|4 February 1551 – 1 March 1570||28 May 1565Dessauone child
|align="center"|1 March 1570Dessauaged 29
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Magnus II||
|align="center"|1543RatzeburgSecond son of Francis I and Sibylle of Saxony
|align="center"|1571–1573||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Sophia of Sweden4 July 1568Stockholmone child
|align="center"|14 March 1603Ratzeburgaged 59–60|| Eldest son of Francis I. He didn't pay the debts he promised to pay and led to war with his father and brothers. Two years later they deposed Magnus II and Francis I re-ascended. Magnus' violent and judicial attempts to regain the duchy failed. In 1588 he was imprisoned for the remainder of his life.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Francis II||100px
|align="center"|10 August 1547RatzeburgThird son of Francis I and Sibylle of Saxony
|align="center"|19 March 1581 – 2 July 1619
|rowspan="2"|Duchy of Lauenburg|| 26 December 1574Wolgastfour childrenMaria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel10 November 1582Wolfenbüttelfourteen children
|align="center"|2 July 1619Lauenburgaged 71
|rowspan="2"| Brothers of Magnus II, ruled jointly. Francis was vice-regent from 1578, and administrator from 1581.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Maurice||
|align="center"|1551RatzeburgFifth son of Francis I and Sibylle of Saxony
|align="center"|19 March 1581 – 2 November 1612|| Katharina von Spörck1581(annulled 1582)no children
|align="center"|2 November 1612Buxtehudeaged 60–61
|-style="background:#fde"
||John George I the Fragrant ||100px
|align="center"|9 May 1567HarzgerodeFirst son of Joachim Ernest and
|align="center"|6 December 1586 – 24 May 1618||Principality of Dessau(in co-rulership in the whole Anhalt until 1603)||22 February 1588Hederslebenfive childrenDorothea of Palatinate-Simmern21 February 1595Heidelbergeleven children
|align="center"|24 May 1618Dessauaged 51
|rowspan="5"|Sons of Joachim Ernest, ruled jointly. In 1603 divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ecf"
||Christian I the LongingNickname given to him by the Fruitbearing Society.||100px
|align="center"|11 May 1568BernburgSecond son of Joachim Ernest and
|align="center"|6 December 1586 – 17 April 1630||Principality of Bernburg(in co-rulership in the whole Anhalt until 1603)||Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg2 July 1595Lorbachsixteen children
|align="center"|17 April 1630Bernburgaged 61
|-style="background:#fbd"
||Augustus the Victorious||
|align="center"|14 July 1575DessauSecond son of Joachim Ernest and
|align="center"|6 December 1586 – 22 August 1653||Principality of Plötzkau(in co-rulership in the whole Anhalt until 1603)||25 January 1618Ansbacheight children
|align="center"|22 August 1653Plötzkauaged 78
|-style="background:#ecd"
||Rudolph the Sweet||100px
|align="center"|28 October 1576HarzgerodeThird son of Joachim Ernest and
|align="center"|6 December 1586 – 30 July 1621||Principality of Zerbst(in co-rulership in the whole Anhalt until 1603)||Dorothea Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel29 December 1605Wolfenbüttelfour children31 August 1612Oldenburgtwo children
|align="center"|30 July 1621Zerbstaged 44
|-style="background:#ccf"
||Louis I the Nourishing||100px
|align="center"|17 June 1579DessauFifth son of Joachim Ernest and
|align="center"|6 December 1586 – 7 January 1650||Principality of Köthen(in co-rulership in the whole Anhalt until 1603)||31 October 1606Rhedatwo children12 September 1626Detmoldtwo children
|align="center"|7 January 1650Köthenaged 70
|-style="background:#fde"
|John Casimir the Penetrating ||100px
|align="center"|17 December 1596DessauSon of John George I and Dorothea of Palatinate-Simmern
|align="center"|24 May 1618 – 15 September 1660||Principality of Dessau||Agnes of Hesse-Kassel18 May 1623Dessausix children14 July 1651Dessauno children
|align="center"|15 September 1660Dessauaged 63||
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Augustus the Hundred-fold|| 100px
|align="center"|17 February 1577RatzeburgSon of Francis II and
|align="center"|2 July 1619 – 18 January 1656||Duchy of Lauenburg|| 5 March 1621Husumsix children4 June 1633no children
|align="center"|18 January 1656Lauenburgaged 78|| Left no male descendants; he was succeeded by his half-brother Julius Henry.
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau (1621–1642)
|rowspan="2"|
|-style="background:#ecd"
|John VI the Well-FormedActually the fifth ruler named John. See note for John V of Zerbst.||100px
|align="center"|24 March 1621ZerbstSon of Rudolph and
|align="center"|30 July 1621 – 4 July 1667||Principality of Zerbst||Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp16 September 1649Gottorpfourteen children
|align="center"|4 July 1667Zerbstaged 46
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Christian II the Unchangeable ||100px
|align="center"|11 August 1599AmbergSecond son of Christian I and Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg
|align="center"|17 April 1630 – 22 September 1656||Principality of Bernburg||Eleonore Sophie of Holstein-Sonderburg28 February 1625Ahrensbökfifteen children
|align="center"|22 September 1656Bernburgaged 57
|rowspan="2"|Children of Christian I, divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Frederick the Reasonable ||100px
|align="center"|16 November 1613EnsdorfFourth son of Christian I and Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg
|align="center"|17 April 1630 – 30 June 1670||Principality of Bernburg(at Harzgerode)||Johanna Elisabeth of Nassau-Hadamar10 August 1642Bückeburgthree childrenAnna Catharina of Lippe-Detmold(31 July 1612 – 15 October 1659)26 May 1657Harzgerodeno children
|align="center"|30 June 1670Plötzkauaged 56
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau, Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen and Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1650–1653)
|rowspan="2"|After his death without descendants, his previous regents took over the principality for themselves.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|William Louis the Achiever||
|align="center"|3 August 1638KöthenSon of Louis I and
|align="center"|7 January 1650 – 13 April 1665||Principality of Köthen||Elisabeth Charlotte of Anhalt-Harzgerode25 August 1663Köthenno children
|align="center"|13 April 1665Köthenaged 26
|-style="background:#fbd"
||Ernest Gottlieb||
|align="center"|4 September 1620PlötzkauFirst son of Augustus and
|align="center"|22 August 1653 – 7 March 1654||Principality of Plötzkau||Unmarried
|align="center"|7 March 1654Plötzkauaged 33||
|-style="background:#ccf"
|rowspan="2"|Lebrecht I the Pleasant
|rowspan="2"|100px
|rowspan="2" align="center"|8 April 1622PlötzkauSecond son of Augustus and
|style="background:#fbd" align="center"|7 March 1654 – 13 April 1665
|style="background:#fbd"|Principality of Plötzkau
|rowspan="2"|18 January 1655Plötzkauno children
|rowspan="2" align="center"|7 November 1669Köthenaged 47
|rowspan="4"| Cousins of William Louis, and princes of Anhalt-Plötzkau, they served as regents for their cousin alongside their uncle, Augustus. After William Louis' death in 1665, they took the principality of Köthen for themselves, giving away their inheritance in Plötzkau to Anhalt-Bernburg.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|align="center"|13 April 1665 – 7 November 1669||Principality of Köthen
|-style="background:#ccf"
|rowspan="2"|Emmanuel the Striving
|rowspan="2"|100px
|rowspan="2" align="center"|6 October 1631PlötzkauThird son of Augustus and
|align="center" style="background:#fbd"|7 March 1654 – 13 April 1665
|style="background:#fbd"|Principality of Plötzkau
|rowspan="2"|Anna Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode23 March 1670Ilsenburgone child
|rowspan="2" align="center"|8 November 1670Köthenaged 39
|-style="background:#ccf"
|align="center"|13 April 1665 – 8 November 1670||Principality of Köthen
|-style="background:#fbd"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Plotzkau definitively annexed to the Principality of Bernburg
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Victor Amadeus the Praised ||100px
|align="center"|6 October 1634HarzgerodeSon of Christian II and Eleonore Sophie of Holstein-Sonderburg
|align="center"|22 September 1656 – 14 February 1718||Principality of Bernburg||Elisabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken16 October 1667Meisenheimsix children
|align="center"|14 February 1718Bernburgaged 83|| Annexed Anhalt-Plötzkau in 1665.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Julius Henry the Lucky||100px
|align="center"|9 April 1586WolfenbüttelSon of Francis II and Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|align="center"|18 January 1656 – 20 November 1665||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Anna of East Frisia17 March 1617Grabowno childrenElisabeth Sophia of Brandenburg4 June 1633Toužimone son18 August 1632Viennasix children
|align="center"|20 November 1665Pragueaged 79||
|-style="background:#fde"
||John George II the Filled ||100px
|align="center"|17 November 1627DessauSon of John Casimir and Agnes of Hesse-Kassel
|align="center"|15 September 1660 – 7 August 1693||Principality of Dessau||Henriette Catherine of Orange-Nassau9 September 1659Groningenfive children
|align="center"|7 August 1693Berlinaged 65|| Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, he also served as regent for his cousin, Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Kothen, together with the prince's mother, Anna Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Francis Erdmann the Growing||
|align="center"|25 February 1629ToužimSon of Julius Henry and Elisabeth Sophia of Brandenburg
|align="center"|20 November 1665 – 30 July 1666||Duchy of Lauenburg|| 1654no children
|align="center"|30 July 1666Schwarzenbekaged 37||Left no descendants; He was succeeded by his brother Julius Francis.
|- style="background:#fedf;"
|Julius Francis||100px
|align="center"|16 September 1641PragueSon of Julius Henry and
|align="center"|30 July 1666 – 30 September 1689||Duchy of Lauenburg|| Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach9 April 1668Sulzbachtwo children
|align="center"|30 September 1689Zákupyaged 48||
|-style="background:#fedf"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the House of Welf
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp (1667–1674)
|rowspan="4"| Children of John VI, divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Charles William the Shadowy||100px
|align="center"|16 October 1652ZerbstThird son of John VI and Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp
|align="center"|4 July 1667 – 3 November 1718||Principality of Zerbst||Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels18 June 1676Hallethree children
|align="center"|3 November 1718Zerbstaged 66
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Anton Günther|| 100px
|align="center"|11 November 1653ZerbstFourth son of John VI and Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp
|align="center"|4 July 1667 – 1 November 1704||Principality of Zerbst(at Mühlingen)||Auguste Antonie Marschall of Bieberstein(3 March 1659 – 28 December 1736)1 January 1705Zerbst(morganatic)seven children
|align="center"|10 December 1714Zerbstaged 61
|-style="background:#ecd"
|John Louis I||
|align="center"|4 May 1656ZerbstSixth son of John VI and Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp
|align="center"|4 July 1667 – 1 November 1704||Principality of Zerbst(at Dornburg)||Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch(5 June 1666 – 17 May 1699)23 July 1687Halle(morganatic)seven children
|align="center"|1 November 1704Dornburgaged 48
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="8" style="text-align:center"|Mühlingen reannexed to Zerbst
|-style="background:#ecf"
|William Louis||100px
|align="center"|18 August 1643HarzgerodeSon of Frederick and Johanna Elisabeth of Nassau-Hadamar
|align="center"|30 June 1670 – 14 October 1709||Principality of Bernburg(at Harzgerode)||Elisabeth Juliana of Solms-Laubach(6 March 1631 – 2 January 1693)25 July 1671Laubachno childrenSophie Auguste of Nassau-Dillenburg(28 April 1666 – 14 January 1733)20 October 1695Frederiksborgno children
|align="center"|14 October 1709Harzgerodeaged 66|| After his death, Harzgerode merged again in Bernburg.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|colspan="8" style="text-align:center"|Harzgerode reannexed to Bernburg
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regencies of Anna Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1670–1690) and John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (1690–1692)
|rowspan="2"|
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Emmanuel Lebrecht||100px
|align="center"|20 May 1671KöthenSon of Emmanuel and Anna Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode
|align="center"|20 May 1671 – 30 May 1704||Principality of Köthen||Gisela Agnes of Rath30 September 1692Nienburg(morganatic)ten children
|align="center"|30 May 1704Köthenaged 33
|- style="background:#fde"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Henriette Catherine of Orange-Nassau (1693–1698)
|rowspan="2"|
|-style="background:#fde"
|Leopold I the Old Dessauer||100px
|align="center"|3 July 1676DessauSon of John George II and Henriette Catherine of Orange-Nassau
|align="center"|7 August 1693 – 7 April 1747||Principality of Dessau||Anna Louise Föhse8 September 1698Dessau(morganatic)ten children
|align="center"|7 April 1747Dessauaged 70
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Gisela Agnes of Rath (1704–1715)
|rowspan="2"| With no male heirs, he was succeeded by his brother.
|-style="background:#CCCCFF"
|Leopold||100px
|align="center"|29 November 1694KöthenSecond son of Emmanuel Lebrecht and Gisela Agnes of Rath
|align="center"|30 May 1704 – 19 November 1728||Principality of Köthen||Frederica Henriette of Anhalt-Bernburg11 December 1721Bernburgone child 27 June 1725Weimartwo children
|align="center"|19 November 1728Köthenaged 33
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Charles Frederick||100px
|align="center"|13 July 1668BernburgFirst son of Victor Amadeus and Elisabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
|align="center"|14 February 1718 – 22 April 1721||Principality of Bernburg||25 June 1692Bernburgsix children1 May 1715Bernburgtwo children
|align="center"|22 April 1721Bernburgaged 52
|rowspan="2"| Children of Victor Amadeus, divided their rule.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Lebrecht||100px
|align="center"|28 June 1669Second son of Victor Amadeus and Elisabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
|align="center"|14 February 1718 – 17 May 1727||Principality of Bernburg(in Zeitz and Hoym)||Charlotte of Nassau-SchaumburgSchaumburg Castle12 April 1692five children27 June 1702Gravesix childrenSophie Sibylla of Ingersleben(18 March 1684 – 31 March 1726)14 September 1725(morganatic)no children
|align="center"|17 May 1727Bad Emsaged 57
|-style="background:#ecd"
|John Augustus||100px
|align="center"|29 July 1677ZerbstSon of Charles William and Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels
|align="center"|3 November 1718 – 7 November 1742||Principality of Zerbst||Frederica of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg25 May 1702Zerbstno children
|align="center"|7 November 1742Zerbstaged 65|| Died without issue. Zerbst was inherited by his cousins from Dornburg.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Victor Frederick||100px
|align="center"|20 September 1700BernburgSon of Charles Frederick and
|align="center"|22 April 1721 – 18 May 1765||Principality of Bernburg||Louise of Anhalt-Dessau25 November 1724Dessauone childSophie Albertine Fredericka of Brandenburg-Schwedt22 May 1733Potsdamfive childrenKonstanze Fredericka Schmidt13 November 1750Bernburg(morganatic)one child
|align="center"|18 May 1765Bernburgaged 64||
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Victor I Amadeus||100px
|align="center"|7 September 1693SchaumburgSon of Lebrecht and Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg
|align="center"|17 May 1727 – 15 April 1772||Principality of Bernburg(in Zeitz, Hoym and Schaumburg)||22 November 1714Birsteinsix childrenHedwig Sophie Henckel of Donnersmarck14 February 1740Pölzigsix children
|align="center"|15 April 1772Schaumburgaged 78||
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Augustus Louis||100px
|align="center"|9 June 1697KöthenThird son of Emmanuel Lebrecht and Gisela Agnes of Rath
|align="center"|19 November 1728 – 6 August 1755||Principality of Köthen(at Güsten until 1737; at Köthen proper since 1737)||Agnes Wilhelmine von Wuthenau23 January 1722Dresden(morganatic)two childrenChristine Johanna Emilie of Promnitz-Pless14 January 1726Soraufive childrenAnna Fredericka of Promnitz-Pless21 November 1732Sorautwo children
|align="center"|6 August 1755Köthenaged 58
|rowspan="3"| Inheritors of Leopold, "fought" (legally) for the inheritance. Heiress of her father, Gisela Agnes claimed her allodial inheritance (possibly, while Augustus Louis, brother of the deceased Leopold, should keep the main principality. According to the Reichskammergericht final decision, she kept her father's collections, and eventually gave up her inheritance (which included the main capital, Köthen, and other estates) when she married (1737), being compensated by her uncle with great sums of money that highly indebted the principality.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of (1728-1734)
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Gisela Agnes||100px
|align="center"|21 September 1722KöthenDaughter of Leopold and Frederica Henriette of Anhalt-Bernburg
|align="center"|19 November 1728 – 25 May 1737||Principality of Köthen(at Köthen, Prosigk and Klepzig)||Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau25 May 1737Bernburgseven children
|align="center"|20 April 1751Dessauaged 22
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="8" style="text-align:center"| The property of the Principality of Köthen was reunited in 1737
|-style="background:#ecd"
|John Louis II||100px
|align="center"|23 June 1688DornburgFirst son of John Louis I and Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch
|align="center"|7 November 1742 – 5 November 1746
|rowspan="2"|Principality of Zerbst(in Dornburg 1704–1742; in Zerbst proper since 1742)||Unmarried
|align="center"|5 November 1746Dornburgaged 58
|rowspan="2"| First cousins of John Augustus I, they were Princes of Dornburg, until its ending by joining it with the inherited Principality of Zerbst.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Christian August||100px
|align="center"|29 November 1690DornburgThird son of John Louis I and Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch
|align="center"|7 November 1742 – 16 March 1747||Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp8 November 1727Vecheldefive children
|align="center"|16 March 1747Dornburgaged 56
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="8" style="text-align:center"|Dornburg reannexed to Zerbst
|-style="background:#fde
|Leopold II Maximilian||100px
|align="center"|25 December 1700DessauSon of Leopold I and Anna Louise Föhse
|align="center"|7 April 1747 – 16 December 1751||Principality of Dessau||Gisela Agnes of Anhalt-Köthen25 May 1737Bernburgseven children
|align="center"|16 December 1751Dessauaged 50||
|- style="background:#ecd"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (1747–1752)
|rowspan="2"| Left no descendants; after his death, his property was annexed by his cousins from Dessau.
|-style="background:#ecd"
|Frederick August||100px
|align="center"|8 August 1734StettinSon of Christian August and Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
|align="center"|16 March 1747 – 3 March 1793||Principality of Zerbst||Caroline Wilhelmina Sophia of Hesse-Kassel17 November 1753Zerbstno childrenFriederike Auguste Sophie of Anhalt-Bernburg22 May 1764Ballenstedtno children
|align="center"|3 March 1793Luxembourgaged 58
|-style="background:#ecd"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed by the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
|- style="background:#fde"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regency of Dietrich of Anhalt-Dessau (1751–1758)
|rowspan="2"|Initially under regency, Leopold III himself also served later as regent for his cousin, Louis Augustus Karl Frederick Emil from Anhalt-Kothen. After his death the regency in Anhalt-Kothen passed together with the principality of Anhalt-Dessau to his grandson.
|-style="background:#fde"
||Leopold III Frederick Franz||100px
|align="center"|10 August 1740DessauSon of Leopold II Maximilian and Gisela Agnes of Anhalt-Köthen
|align="center"|16 December 1751 – 9 August 1817||Principality of Dessau(until 1807)Duchy of Dessau(from 1807)||Louise Henriette of Brandenburg-Schwedt25 July 1767Charlottenburgtwo children
|align="center"|9 August 1817Luisium Castleaged 76
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Charles George Lebrecht||100px
|align="center"|15 August 1730KöthenSecond son of Augustus Louis and Christine Johanna Emilie of Promnitz-Pless
|align="center"|6 August 1755 – 17 October 1789||Principality of Köthen||Louise Charlotte of Holstein-Glücksburg26 July 1763Glücksburgsix children
|align="center"|17 October 1789Zemunaged 59
|rowspan="2"|Children of Augustus Louis, divided their inheritance.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Frederick Erdmann||100px
|align="center"|27 October 1731KöthenThird son of Augustus Louis and Christine Johanna Emilie of Promnitz-Pless
|align="center"|6 August 1755 – 12 December 1797||Principality of Köthen(at Pless)||Louise Ferdinande of Stolberg-Wernigerode13 June 1766Wernigerodenine children
|align="center"|12 December 1797Plessaged 66
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Frederick Albert||100px
|align="center"|15 August 1735BernburgSon of Victor Frederick and Sophie Albertine Fredericka of Brandenburg-Schwedt
|align="center"|18 May 1765 – 9 April 1796||Principality of Bernburg||Louise Albertine of Holstein-Plön25 November 1724Augustenburgtwo children
|align="center"|9 April 1796Ballenstedtaged 60||
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Charles Louis||
|align="center"|16 May 1723SchaumburgThird son of Victor I Amadeus and
|align="center"|15 April 1772 – 20 August 1806||Principality of Bernburg(in Schaumburg and Hoym)||Benjamine Gertrude Keiser(1 January 1729 – 6 January 1787)25 March 1748Stevensweert(morganatic)12 December 1765Braunfelsfive children
|align="center"|20 August 1806Schaumburgaged 83||
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Augustus Christian Frederick||
|align="center"|18 November 1769KöthenSon of Charles George Lebrecht and Louise Charlotte of Holstein-Glücksburg
|align="center"|17 October 1789 – 5 May 1812||Principality of Köthen(until 1806)Duchy of Köthen(from 1806)||9 February 1792Frankfurt-am-Mainno children
|align="center"|5 May 1812Geuzaged 42|| In 1806 became Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. Left no descendants, and was succeeded by his nephew.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Alexius Frederick Christian||100px
|align="center"|12 June 1767BallenstedtSon of Frederick Albert and Louise Albertine of Holstein-Plön
|align="center"|9 April 1796 – 24 March 1834||Principality of Bernburg(until 1803)Duchy of Bernburg(from 1803)||Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel29 November 1794Kassel(annulled 1817)four childrenDorothea Fredericka of Sonnenberg11 January 1818Ballenstedt(morganatic)no childrenErnestine Charlotte of Sonnenberg2 May 1819Bernburg(morganatic)no children
|align="center"|24 March 1834Ballenstedtaged 66|| In 1803 became Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Victor II Charles||
|align="center"|2 November 1767SchaumburgSon of Charles Louis and
|align="center"|20 August 1806 – 22 April 1812||Principality of Bernburg(in Schaumburg and Hoym)||Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg29 October 1793Weilburgfour children
|align="center"|22 April 1812Schaumburgaged 44||
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Frederick||
|align="center"|29 November 1741SchaumburgFifth son of Victor I Amadeus and
|align="center"|22 April – 24 December 1812||Principality of Bernburg(in Schaumburg and Hoym)||Unmarried
|align="center"|24 December 1812|| After his childless death, Hoym and Holzappel were inherited by his niece Hermine (daughter of Victor II), while Hoym merged in Bernburg again.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Hoym reannexed to Bernburg
|- style="background:#ccf"
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center"| Regencies of Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (1812–1817) and Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt (1817–1818)
|rowspan="2"|Nephew of Augustus Christian Frederick. Died as a minor, never ruled by his own.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Louis Augustus Karl||100px
|align="center"|20 September 1802KöthenSon of Louis of Anhalt-Köthen and
|align="center"|5 May 1812 – 18 December 1818||Duchy of Köthen||Louise Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg26 July 1763Glücksburgsix children
|align="center"|18 December 1818Leipzigaged 16
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Hermine||100px
|align="center"|2 December 1797HoymDaughter of Victor II Charles and Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg
|align="center"|24 December 1812 – 14 September 1817||Principality of Bernburg(in Schaumburg and Holzappel)||Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary30 August 1815Schaumburg Castletwo children
|align="center"|14 September 1817Budapestaged 19||After her death her lands probably merged again in Bernburg.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|colspan="8" align="center"|Schaumburg and Holzappel reannexed to Bernburg
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Frederick Ferdinand||100px
|align="center"|25 June 1769PlessSecond son of Frederick Erdmann and Louise Ferdinande of Stolberg-Wernigerode
|align="center"|18 December 1818 – 23 August 1830||Duchy of Köthen(in Pless 1797–1818; in Köthen proper since 1818)||Maria Dorothea of Holstein-Beck26 July 1763Lindenau bei Heiligenbeilno children20 May 1816Berlinno children
|align="center"|23 August 1830Köthenaged 61|| From the Anhalt-Pless line, cousin of his predecessor. Attempted, with no success, to reinstall Catholicism in his duchy. Left no descendants; he was succeeded by his brother.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|Henry||100px
|align="center"|30 July 1778PlessFourth son of Frederick Erdmann and Louise Ferdinande of Stolberg-Wernigerode
|align="center"|23 August 1830 – 23 November 1847||Duchy of Köthen||18 May 1819Trebschenno children
|align="center"|23 November 1847Köthenaged 69|| Left no descendants. His allodial principality of Pless was inherited by his nephew, count Hans Heinrich X. of Hochberg-Fürstenstein. His other possessions were inherited by Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau.
|-style="background:#ccf"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
|-style="background:#ecf"
|Alexander Charles||100px
|align="center"|2 March 1805BallenstedtSon of Alexius Frederick Christian and Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel
|align="center"|24 March 1834 – 19 August 1863||Duchy of Bernburg||Frederica of Holstein-Glücksburg30 October 1834Gottorpno children
|align="center"|19 August 1863Hoymaged 58|| Left no male descendants. Bernburg reverted to Anhalt-Dessau.
|-style="background:#ecf"
|colspan=8 style="text-align:center"|Definitively annexed to the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
|-style="background:#fde"
||Leopold IV Frederick||100px
|align="center"|1 October 1794DessauSon of Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau and Amalie of Hesse-Homburg
|align="center"|9 August 1817 – 22 May 1871||Duchy of Dessau(until 1863)Duchy of Anhalt(from 1863)||Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia18 April 1818Berlinsix children
|align="center"|22 May 1871Dessauaged 76||Grandson of Leopold III. Ended the regency in Kothen after his cousin's death (1818). In 1863 he reunited Anhalt under his rule, and becomes its first duke.
|-style="background:#fde"
|Frederick I||100px
|align="center"|29 April 1831DessauSon of Leopold IV Frederick and Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia
|align="center"|22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904||Duchy of Anhalt||Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg22 April 1854Altenburgsix children
|align="center"|24 January 1904Ballenstedtaged 72||
|-style="background:#fde"
|Frederick II||100px
|align="center"|19 August 1856DessauFirst son of Frederick I and Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg
|align="center"|24 January 1904 – 21 April 1918||Duchy of Anhalt||Marie of Baden2 July 1889Karlsruheno children
|align="center"|21 April 1918Ballenstedtaged 61|| Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his brother.
|-style="background:#fde"
|Edward||100px
|align="center"|18 April 1861DessauSecond son of Frederick I and Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg
|align="center"|21 April – 13 September 1918||Duchy of Anhalt||Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg 6 February 1895Altenburg(annulled 26 January 1918)six children
|align="center"|13 September 1918Berchtesgadenaged 57||
|-style="background:#fde"
|Joachim Ernest||100px
|align="center"|11 January 1901DessauSon of Edward and Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg
|align="center"|13 September – 12 November 1918||Duchy of Anhalt||Elisabeth Strickrodt3 March 1927Ballenstedt(morganatic, annulled 1929)no childrenEdda-Charlotte von Stephani-Marwitz15 October 1929Ballenstedt(morganatic)five children
|align="center"|18 February 1947Weimaraged 46|| Monarchy abolished in that year.
|}
Notable figures
Catherine the Great
thumb|Lordship of Jever in 1789 (top of the map, labeled AZ Jever)
The most famous Ascanian in modern times was the Russian Empress Catherine the Great (* 1729; † 1796), previously named Sophie Auguste Friederike. Her father, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, served as a high-ranking military officer in Prussian service, so she grew up primarily in Szczecin Castle, not Zerbst. In 1745, she married Karl Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, the future Russian Emperor Peter III. On this occasion, she converted to Russian Orthodoxy and took the name Yekaterina Alexeyevna in honor of Catherine I. After orchestrating her husband's deposition in 1762, during which he was murdered, she assumed sole rule over Russia, governing for 34 years. Her governing style is associated with enlightened absolutism; she also maintained contact with Voltaire, Cesare Beccaria, and Denis Diderot.M. B. W. Trent, "Catherine the Great Invites Euler to Return to St. Petersburg." in Leonhard Euler and the Bernoullis (AK Peters/CRC Press, 2009) pp. 276–283.
The Zerbst sub-branch of Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg was founded by her grandfather John Louis I, which inherited the main Anhalt-Zerbst line again in 1742.
Senior members of the House of Anhalt
The senior members managed the overall affairs of the Anhalt house per the 1603 division agreement.
- 1603–1618 John George I of Dessau (* 1567; † 1618), Prince
- 1618–1630 Christian I of Bernburg (* 1568; † 1630)
- 1630–1653 August of Plötzkau (* 1575; † 1653)
- 1653–1660 John Casimir of Dessau (* 1596; † 1660)
- 1660–1670 Frederick of Harzgerode (* 1613; † 1670)
- 1670–1693 John George II of Dessau (* 1627; † 1693)
- 1693–1718 Victor I Amadeus of Bernburg (* 1634; † 1718)
- 1718 Charles William of Zerbst (* 1652; † 1718)
- 1718–1721 Karl Frederick of Bernburg (* 1668; † 1721)
- 1721–1747 Leopold I of Dessau, known as "The Old Dessauer" (* 1676; † 1747)
- 1747–1755 August Louis of Köthen (* 1697; † 1755)
- 1755–1765 Victor II Frederick of Bernburg (* 1700; † 1765)
- 1765–1789 Karl George Lebrecht of Köthen (* 1730; † 1789)
- 1789–1796 Frederick Albert of Bernburg (* 1735; † 1796)
- 1796–1817 Leopold III of Dessau (* 1740; † 1817), henceforth dukes
- 1817–1834 Alexius Frederick Christian of Bernburg (* 1767; † 1834)
- 1834–1847 Henry of Köthen (* 1778; † 1847)
- 1847–1863 Leopold Frederick of Dessau (* 1794; † 1871)
Ascanian Abbesses
The Ascanians also held advocacy and protection rights over the monasteries of Nienburg/Saale and Gernrode. They later maintained a close connection with the Abbey of Gernrode. Abbess Sophia of Anhalt was the sister of Henry I, who received the family estates in 1212. The Gernrode abbesses, as imperial princesses of the Holy Roman Empire, held a seat at the Imperial Diets.Hans K. Schulze: Das Stift Gernrode (…), Böhlau, Köln 1965, pp. 89–90.
Gernrode Abbey
- 1044–1046 Hazecha of Ballenstedt, daughter of Adalbert of Ballenstedt
- 1221–1244 Sophia of Anhalt († 1244), daughter of Bernhard III of Saxony
- 1267–1296 Matilda I of Brunswick
- 1348–1374 Adelheid III of Anhalt
- 1445–1463 Mechthild II of Anhalt (* 1392; † 1463)
- 1469–1504 Scholastica of Anhalt (* 1451; † 1504), daughter of George I of Anhalt-Zerbst
- 1565–1569 Elisabeth III of Anhalt
- 1570–1577 Anna Maria of Anhalt (* 1561; † 1605), daughter of Joachim Ernest of Anhalt
- 1578–1581 Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt (* 1573; † 1616), daughter of Joachim Ernest
- 1586–1593 Dorothea Maria of Anhalt (* 1574; † 1617), daughter of Joachim Ernest
- 1593–1610 Sophia Elisabeth of Anhalt
Gandersheim Abbey
- 1485–1504 Agnes III of Anhalt (* 1445; † 1504), daughter of George I of Anhalt-Zerbst
Research activities
Since the 16th century, court historians of the Anhalt and Saxe-Lauenburg family branches sought to trace their patrons' descent. The Historie des Fürstenthums Anhalt by Johann Christoph Bekmann was published in 1710. Samuel Lenz released Samuelis Lentzii Becmannvs Envcleatvs, Svppletvs Et Continvatvs, Oder: Historisch-Genealogische Fürstellung des Hochfürstlichen Hauses Anhalt in 1757. Philipp Ernst Bertram and Johann Christoph Krause authored the Geschichte des Hauses und Fürstenthums Anhalt, published in 1780 and 1782. The Anhalt court archivist Otto von Heinemann published the Codex diplomaticus Anhaltinus starting in 1867, a collection of documents from 936 to 1400. In 1912 and 1913, the ducal archivist Hermann Wäschke published the three-volume Anhaltische Geschichte, a comprehensive history of Anhalt that became a standard work. Wäschke was appointed archive director and head of the Ducal House and State Archives in Zerbst in 1901. He also founded the Zerbst Historical Society, serving as its chairman for 23 years.
The Historical Commission for Saxony-Anhalt has established a permanent working group on Anhalt history. The Association for Anhalt Regional Studies, based in Köthen, has published a journal on Anhalt history since 1993. The Ducal Anhalt House Order of Albert the Bear, whose Grand Master is Eduard, Prince of Anhalt, honored historian Lutz Partenheimer in 2016 by admitting him as a knight to the house order. This recognition was for his research on Albert the Bear, the formation of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and the House of Anhalt.
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.Freistaat Sachsen official website Accessed 2009-05-19.
When upon German reunification the Free State of Saxony was re-established, the coat of arms was formally confirmed in 1991.<ref>Flag Legislation (Saxony, Germany) :{{Blockquote|
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. }}</ref>
<gallery class="center">
File:Arms of the house of Ascania (ancient).svg|Original Arms of counts of Ballenstedt
File:Arms of Heinrich I, Prince of Anhalt.svg|Arms of Ascania impaled with the Mark of Brandenburg
File:Arms of the house of Anhalt (13th century).svg|Arms of Ascania impaled with the Mark of Brandenburg
</gallery>
<gallery class="center">
File:HRE Arch-Marshal Arms.svg|Arms of the Arch-Marshal/prince elector of the Saxons of the Holy Roman Empire
File:Blason Jean-Georges IV de Saxe.svg|Arms of the Elector/Duke of Saxony (Saxe-Wittenburg)
</gallery>
<gallery class="center">
File:Blason Principauté d'Anhalt (XVe siècle).svg|Principality of Anhalt in the 15th century
File:Blason Principautés d'Anhalt (XVIIe siècle).svg|Principalities of Anhalt in the 17th century
File:Blason Principauté d'Anhalt-Köthen (XVIIIe siècle).svg|Principality of Anhalt-Köthen in the 18th century
File:Blason Principauté d'Anhalt-Zerbst (XVIIIe siècle).svg|Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst in the 19th century
File:Shield of the Duchy of Anhalt.svg|Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Anhalt
File:Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Anhalt.svg|Achievement of the Duchy of Anhalt
</gallery>
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.
<gallery class="center">
File:Order of Albert the Bear.svg|Collar of the Order of Albert the Bear
File:Зірка ордену Альбрехта Ведмедя.JPG|Star of the Order of Albert the Bear
File:Huisorde van Albrecht de Beer.jpg|House Order of Albert the Bear
</gallery>
Ascanian Buildings
<gallery mode="packed" heights="100">
Schloss Ballenstedt, Hofseite.JPG|Ballenstedt Castle
Schloss Bernburg Luftbild 2.jpg|Bernburg Castle
SchlossKöthen4-2012.JPG|Köthen Castle
Zerbst Schloss vor Zerstörung.JPG|Zerbst Castle
Dessau Schloss 1900.jpg|Dessau Palace
Schloss wörlitz.jpg|Wörlitz Palace
Schloss Oranienbaum2.JPG|Oranienbaum Palace
Dornburgschloss.jpg|Dornburg Castle
Coswig (Anhalt) 012.JPG|Coswig Castle
Schloss Mosigkau 2012.JPG|Mosigkau Palace
Schloss-Schaumburg-JR-G6-3708-2009-08-04.jpg|Schaumburg Castle
Schloss Großkühnau.jpg|Großkühnau Palace
</gallery>
Name bearers through adult adoption
thumb|upright=0.75|Frédéric, Prince of Anhalt
In addition to those born into the Ascanian family, there are a significant number of individuals adopted as adults who bear the name. The number of adopted individuals and their family members with the same surname far exceeds that of born Ascanians. Among the adoptees, Frédéric, Prince of Anhalt, adopted in 1980 in Germany by Marie-Auguste, Princess of Anhalt, is particularly notable. Frédéric, Prince of Anhalt, has adopted six adults in Los Angeles, who thereby bear the name Prince of Anhalt. The head of the Ascanian family, Eduard, Prince of Anhalt, generally rejects such adult adoptions and does not consider the adoptees part of the family.
Adult adoption in Germany differs from the adoption of a minor in that, per § 1770(1) of the BGB, only a kinship relationship with the adopting person is established, not with their family. Typically, the kinship with biological parents remains intact. In the U.S. state of California, adult adoption is straightforward, and, as in Germany, a personal relationship between the parties is required.
Bibliography
- Anhaltischer Heimatbund e.V.: 800 Jahre Anhalt: Geschichte, Kultur, Perspektiven [800 Years of Anhalt: History, Culture, Perspectives]. Dößel 2012.
- Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (GHdA) Fürstl. Häuser XIX (2011)
- Lorenz Friedrich Beck: Herrschaft und Territorium der Herzöge von Sachsen-Wittenberg (1212–1422) [Rule and Territory of the Dukes of Saxony-Wittenberg (1212–1422)] (=Bibliothek der Brandenburgischen und Preußischen Geschichte. Volume 6). Potsdam 2000.
- Werner Freitag, Michael Hecht (eds.): Die Fürsten von Anhalt. Herrschaftssymbolik, dynastische Vernunft und politische Konzepte in Spätmittelalter und Früher Neuzeit [The Princes of Anhalt. Symbolism of Rule, Dynastic Reason, and Political Concepts in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period]. Halle 2009, .
- Michael Hecht: Die Erfindung der Askanier. Dynastische Erinnerungsstiftung der Fürsten von Anhalt an der Wende vom Mittelalter zur Neuzeit [The Invention of the Ascanians. Dynastic Memory Foundation of the Princes of Anhalt at the Transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period]. In: Zeitschrift für historische Forschung. Volume 33, 2006, pp. 1–32.
- Britta Kägler, Michael Hecht: Dynastien und Hochadel: Die anhaltischen Askanier / Die bayerischen Wittelsbacher [Dynasties and High Nobility: The Anhalt Ascanians / The Bavarian Wittelsbachers]. In: Werner Freitag, Michael Kißener, Christine Reinle, Sabine Ullmann (eds.): Handbuch Landesgeschichte [Handbook of Regional History]. Berlin 2018, pp. 268–302.
- Walter Leisering: Zur Geschichte der Askanier. Ein Tabellenbuch mit 200 Abbildungen und historischen Anhalt-Karten [On the History of the Ascanians. A Table Book with 200 Illustrations and Historical Anhalt Maps]. Dessau 1998.
- Jörg Meyn: Vom spätmittelalterlichen Gebietsherzogtum zum frühneuzeitlichen "Territorialstaat". Das askanische Herzogtum Sachsen 1180–1543 [From the Late Medieval Territorial Duchy to the Early Modern "Territorial State". The Ascanian Duchy of Saxony 1180–1543] (=Schriftenreihe der Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg. Volume 20). Hamburg 1995.
- Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht der Bär. Gründer der Mark Brandenburg und des Fürstentums Anhalt [Albert the Bear. Founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Principality of Anhalt]. 2nd edition. Böhlau, Köln / Weimar / Wien 2003, .
- Lutz Partenheimer and Moritz Niens: Die Chronik der Markgrafen von Brandenburg (aus dem Hause der Askanier, 13. Jahrhundert) [The Chronicle of the Margraves of Brandenburg (from the House of the Ascanians, 13th Century)]. Nach der Edition Georg Sellos (1888) Latin-German. Becker, Potsdam 2022, Paperback: (Black-and-white reproductions of the two surviving 14th-century manuscripts), Hardcover: (Color reproductions of the two surviving 14th-century manuscripts).
- Ralf Regener: Der Sturz der Askanier 1918 in Anhalt. Bedingungen, Verlauf und Nachwirkungen des Untergangs einer kleinstaatlichen deutschen Monarchie [The Fall of the Ascanians 1918 in Anhalt. Conditions, Course, and Aftermath of the Collapse of a Small German Monarchy]. Dessau-Roßlau 2013.
- Mathias Tullner: Geschichte Sachsen-Anhalts [History of Saxony-Anhalt]. Beck, München 2008, .
- Hermann Wäschke: Die Askanier in Anhalt: Genealogisches Handbuch [The Ascanians in Anhalt: Genealogical Handbook]. Dessau 1904.
References
External links
- House of Ascania – official website
- European Heraldry page
- (first page of a series)
- Stirnet: Brandenburg1 (genealogy of the Houses of Ascania and Brandenburg, including the most likely ancestry of the 11th-century House of Ascania)
- Stirnet: Ascania1 (an alternate possible ancestry of the 11th-century House of Ascania)