The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz () was a territory 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 ...

established in 1656–57 as a

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from 'following, second', and 'born') was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch.Luard, Evan. The Balance of Power: The System of International Relations, ...

of the Electoral Saxon house of

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. Its capital was

Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

. The territory fell back to the Wettin electoral line in 1718.

History

On 20 July 1652, the Saxon elector John George I stipulated in his will that, while the electoral dignity passes to his eldest son John George II, his three younger brothers should receive secundogeniture principalities upon his death. After the elector died on 8 October 1656, his sons concluded the "friend-brotherly main treaty" in the Saxon residence of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 22 April 1657 and a further treaty in 1663 delineating their territories and sovereign rights definitely. These treaties created three duchies: * Saxe-Zeitz, *

Saxe-Weissenfels Saxe-Weissenfels () was a Duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line ...

and *

Saxe-Merseburg The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, with Merseburg as its capital. It existed from 1656 or 1657 to 1738 and was owned by an Albertine secundogeniture of the Saxon House of Wettin. History The Wettin Elector J ...

Prince Maurice, the fourth-oldest son received the districts of Zeitz,

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

and

Haynsburg Haynsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North S ...

in the former Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz which in 1562 had been

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

in the course of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. He also received the city of

Schleusingen Schleusingen is a town in the Hildburghausen (district), district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl. Geography The town of Schleusingen in the Henneber ...

in 1660, which had once been the residence of the extinct Counts of Henneberg, together with the districts of

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

and Kühndorf. Duke Maurice resided in the city castle at

until his new seat at Moritzburg Palace in Zeitz had been completed.

Rulers

The only rulers were Duke Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz and his son Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz. This line was the first of the three Saxon secundogenitures to die out in 1718, when the only male heir, Prince Christian August, joined the clergy. Zeitz was merged into the Electorate of Saxony in accordance with the will of Elector Johann Georg I. Google Books website, 'The Penny-Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 27'', p758
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Relatives

* Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz (1661–1720), consort of Duke Christian II of Saxe-Merseburg * Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (1666–1725), Primate of Hungary and Cardinal * Frederick Henry, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz-Pegau-Neustadt (1668–1713) *

Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz Duchess Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz (20 March 1691 – 17 March 1743) was a duchess of Saxe-Zeitz by birth and by marriage Landgravine of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel. Life Dorothea Wilhelmine was a daughter of the Duke ...

(1691–1743), by marriage to William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

References

External links

Johann Huebner ... Three hundred and thirty-three Genealogical Tables, Table 171
{{Coord missing, Germany 1657 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1718 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1657 House of Wettin Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt