The House of Ascania () was a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss Askanien'' in German, which was located near and named after Aschersleben. The castle was the seat of the County of Ascania, a title that was later subsumed into the titles of the princes of Anhalt.

History

File:Schloss Ballenstedt, Hofseite.JPG, Ballenstedt Castle File:Arms of the house of Ascania (ancient).svg, First coat of arms of the family Map of Anhalt (1747-1793).svg, Map of Anhalt (1747–1793) The earliest known member of the house, Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt, first appears in a document of 1036. Genealogists assume him to have been a grandson (through his mother) of Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark (). From Odo, the Ascanians inherited large properties in the Saxon Eastern March. Esiko's grandson Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, died in 1123. By Otto's marriage to Eilika, daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony, the Ascanians became heirs to half of the property of the House of Billung, former dukes of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Otto's son,

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...

, became, with the help of his mother's inheritance, the first Ascanian duke of Saxony in 1139. However, he soon lost control of Saxony to the rival House of Guelph. Albert inherited the area of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157 from its last Wendish ruler, Pribislav (died 1150), Albert's son's godfather. Albert became the first Ascanian margrave; he and his descendants of the House of Ascania then made considerable progress in Christianizing and Germanizing the Brandenburg lands. As a borderland between German and Slavic cultures, the country was known as a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

(). In 1237 and 1244, two towns,

Cölln Cölln () was the Twin cities, twin city of Old Berlin (Alt-Berlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fischerinsel, Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River ...

and Berlin, were founded during the joint rule of Otto and Johann, grandsons of Margrave Albert the Bear. (Later, in 1710, the two centres united into one city,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Emblems of the House of Ascania, a red eagle (for Brandenburg) and a bear, became heraldic emblems of Berlin.) In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end. After the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

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

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

. In 1212 the County of Anhalt was split off from the Duchy of Saxony, and the remaining Duchy was split into Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. The Ascanian dynasties in these two Saxon states became extinct in 1689 and in 1422, respectively, but Ascanians continued to rule in the smaller state of Anhalt and its various subdivisions until the abolition of monarchy in 1918.

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

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

Rulers of the House of Ascania

House of Ascania

Partitions of the House of Ascania

Table of rulers

Heads of the House of Ascania since 1918

*Duke Joachim Ernest II 1918–1947 *Prince Frederick 1947–1963 *Prince

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

1963–present

Family trees

(genealogical list of the dynasty in German) Anhalt-lines

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

was invested with the Saxon ducal title in 1138; when he succeeded the Welf's Henry the Lion, who was deposed by Emperor

. In 1180, Albert's son Bernhard, Count of Anhalt received the remaining Saxon territories around

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

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. From about 1260, the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg emerged under the Ascanian duke Albert II, who adopted the tradition of the Saxon stem duchy and was granted the Saxon electoral dignity, against the fierce protest of his Ascanian Saxe-Lauenburg cousins. This was confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356. As the Ascanian Electors of Saxony also held the High office of an Arch-Marshal of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, they added the ensign ''Per fess sable and argent two swords in saltire gules'' (the swords later featuring as the trademark of the Meissen china factory) to their coat of arms. When the line became extinct in 1422, the arms and electoral dignity were adopted by the Wettin by margrave Frederick IV of Meissen as it had become synonymous with the Saxon ducal title. When upon

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

the Free State of Saxony was re-established, the coat of arms was formally confirmed in 1991. Flag Legislation (Saxony, Germany)
: 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 File:HRE Arch-Marshal Arms.svg, Arms of the Arch-Marshal/

prince elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

of the Saxons of the

File:Blason Jean-Georges IV de Saxe.svg, Arms of the Elector/Duke of Saxony ( Saxe-Wittenburg) 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 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,

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

List of states ruled by the House of Ascania

File:Sächsische-Herzogtümer 1235.png, Saxony in 1180 with the Ascanian duchies in Saxony around 1235 (green). The former stem Duchy of Saxony is in gold with the official electorate duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg in green in the South East. Also shown is Saxe-Lauenburg in North West and the Welf Duchies of Brunswick-Luneburg in orange. File:Herzogtum Sachsen Lauenburg 1400.PNG, The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1400 File:Mark Lausitz, Karte Anno 1200.jpg, Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg (dark green, centred on the town of Wittenberg) FIle:Karte Mark Brandenburg 1320.png, Brandenburg in 1320 under the Ascanians File:Herzogtum anhalt 1863-1918.svg, The Duchy of Anhalt, bordered by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

und Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg File:TeilfürstentümerAnhalt1789.png, Anhalt Principalities in 1789: Anhalt-Bernburg (AB), Anhalt-Köthen (AK), Anhalt-Dessau (AD) and Anhalt-Zerbst (AZ); on the rightside of the map: the

Electorate of Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the fifth-largest German state b ...

(blue) und

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

(orange) * County, Principality, and Duchy of Anhalt: c. 1100–1918 *

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

and

: 1112, 1139–1142, 1180–1422 * County of Weimar-Orlamünde: 1112–1486 * Margraviate of Brandenburg: 1157–1320 * Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg: 1269–1689 * Principality of Lüneburg: 1369–1388 * Principality and Duchy of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

: 1252–1468 and 1603–1863 *

Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst Anhalt-Zerbst was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania, with its residence at Zerbst in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision of the Principality of Anhalt from 1 ...

: 1252–1396 and 1544–1796 * Principality of Anhalt-Aschersleben: 1252–1315 * Principality and Duchy of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

: 1396–1561 and 1603–1847 * Principality and Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau 1396–1561 and 1603–1863 * Principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau 1544–1553 and 1603–1665 * Principality of Anhalt-Harzgerode 1635–1709 * Principality of Anhalt-Mühlingen: 1667–1714 * Principality of Anhalt-Dornburg: 1667–1742 * Lordship of Jever: 1667–1796 * Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym: 1718–1812 *

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

: 1762–1796

References

''Askanien'', Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888
* Trillmich, Werner, ''Kaiser Konrad II. und seine Zeit'', Bonn, 1991

External links

– 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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ascania, House Of Saxon nobility