Joachim Ernest of Anhalt (21 October 1536 – 6 December 1586), was a German prince of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

, ruler of the principality of

Anhalt-Zerbst Anhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark (Brandenburg) and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower L ...

from 1551, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

lands.

Life

Early life

Joachim Ernest was born in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

on 21 October 1536 as the second son of

John V, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst John V of Anhalt-Zerbst (Dessau, 4 September 1504 – Zerbst, 4 February 1551), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. From 1544, he assumed rule of the re-created principality of Anhalt-Ze ...

, by his wife

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, daughter of

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

. He received an extensive education under the supervision of his father. On 1 February 1549, just thirteen years of age, he was officially admitted to the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where, among others, he studied with the theologian Georg Helt.

Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

In 1550, after the death of his father, he inherited

along with his older brother

Karl I Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

and his younger brother Bernhard VII. The death of his uncle

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

without male heirs permitted him and his brothers, Karl I and Bernhard VII, to inherit Anhalt-Plötzkau in 1553, while the death of his uncle Joachim I permitted him and his surviving brother Bernhard VII to inherit

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

in 1561. In 1562 his cousin Wolfgang abdicated

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a 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. The first creation lasted until 1562 ...

in his favor.

Marriages

In Barby on 3 March 1560 Joachim Ernest married Agnes (b. Barby, 23 June 1540 – d.

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated ...

, 27 November 1569), daughter of

Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

. They had six children. In

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

on 9 January 1571 Joachim Ernest married for a second time to Eleonore (b.

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

, 22 March 1552 – d. Schloss Lichtenberg, 12 January 1618), daughter of

Christoph, Duke of Württemberg Christoph of Württemberg (12 May 1515 – 28 December 1568), ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568. Life In November 1515, only months after his birth, his mother, Sabina of Bavaria, fled to the court of her parents ...

. They had ten children.

Sole ruler of Anhalt

In 1570 the death of his last surviving brother, Bernhard VII, left him as sole ruler of all the Anhalt states, which were finally unified for the first time since their first partition in 1252. Joachim Ernest made

the seat of his government. Joachim Ernest was a typical Renaissance monarch who generously supported the arts and culture. He sent his sons with their tutors on educational journeys across Europe. Also, he ordered the son of his chancellor, Tobias Hübner, to create a description of the famous knight's games (German: ''Ritterspiele'') that took place at the Dessau court. In 1572 he created the Regional Legal Code of Anhalt (German: ''Landesverordnung Anhalts'') and in 1582 he founded the Francisceum High School (German: ''Gymnasium Francisceum'') in

Zerbst Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regio ...

. He was a fervent supporter of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

Death and succession

Prince Joachim Ernest died in

on 6 December 1586. Since succession in the territories of Anhalt was not governed by the rules of

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, Joachim Ernest's seven sons shared rule of the territories of Anhalt until 1603, when the five surviving sons divided their lands among themselves.

Issue

Ancestors

Literature

* Johann Christoph Beckmann: ''Historie des Fürstenthums Anhalt''. 7 Tle. Zerbst 1710. (Ndr. Dessau 1995). * Gerhard Heine: ''Geschichte des Landes Anhalt und seiner Fürsten'', Heine, 1866, S. 98 ff. * * Ferdinand Siebigk: ''Das Herzogthum Anhalt'', Desbarats, 1867, S. 207 ff. , - , width="30%" align="center" rowspan="1", Preceded by

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 * J ...

, width="40%" align="center" , Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
''with Karl I (until 1561) and Bernhard VII''
1551–1570 , width="30%" align="center" rowspan="4" , Succeeded by
Unification of all
Anhalt Principalities , - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by

, width="40%" align="center" , Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau
''with Karl I (until 1561) and Bernhard VII''
1553–1570 , - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by
Joachim I , width="40%" align="center" , Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
''with Bernhard VII''
1561–1570 , - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by
Wolfgang , width="40%" align="center" , Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
''with Bernhard VII''
1562–1570 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt 1536 births 1586 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau Princes of Anhalt Princes of Anhalt-Zerbst Princes of Anhalt-Plötzkau Princes of Anhalt-Dessau Princes of Anhalt-Köthen House of Ascania