Leopold II Maximilian, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (25 December 1700 – 16 December 1751), 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 ''Schlos ...

and ruler of the principality of

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 t ...

from 1747 to 1751; he also was a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

general.

Life

Leopold was born at

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-Roßl ...

as the second son of

Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (3 July 1676 – 7 April 1747) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1747. He was also a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the Prussian army. Nickname ...

, by his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife Anna Louise Föhse. At only nine years of age, he accompanied his father on his military duties for the Prussian army. In 1715 he was appointed

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

-in-Chief of the Infantry Regiment No. 27 of

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

. In 1733 he led the Prussian forces stationed in the city of

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen. Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and b ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

during the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. T ...

. The death in 1737 of his elder brother, the Hereditary Prince William Gustav, made Leopold the new heir of Dessau. The late prince was already married and had nine children, but his wife was of non-noble birth; for this reason, the issue of the marriage was barred from succession. After the death of his father in 1747, Leopold inherited Anhalt-Dessau. Leopold was one of the best subordinate generals who served under

Frederick the Great of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

. He distinguished himself in the capture of Glogau in 1741 and at the battles of Mollwitz, Chotusitz (where he was made ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

'' on the field of battle), Hohenfriedberg, and Soor. He died at Dessau in 1751. In 1752 Frederick the Great named a newly founded village

Leopoldshagen Leopoldshagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Geography Immediately northwest of Leopoldshagen begins the Anklamer Torfmoor, a protected wetland which runs along the western shore of t ...

(est. 1748) in his honour.

Marriage and issue

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 castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

on 25 May 1737 Leopold married Gisela Agnes (b. Köthen, 21 September 1722 – d. Dessau, 20 April 1751), daughter of

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

. They had seven children: # Leopold III Frederick Franz, Prince and (from 1807) Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (b. Dessau, 10 August 1740 – d. Luisium bei Dessau, 9 August 1817). #Louise Agnes Margarete (b. Dessau, 15 August 1742 – d. Dessau, 11 July 1743). # Henrietta Katharina Agnes (b. Dessau, 5 June 1744 – d. Dessau, 15 December 1799), married on 26 October 1779 to John Justus, Freiherr von Loën. # Marie Leopoldine (b. Dessau, 18 November 1746 – d.

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

, 15 April 1769), married on 4 August 1765 to

Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold Simon August, Count of Lippe (12 June 1727 – 1 May 1782), ruled the Principality of Lippe-Detmold from 1734 until 1782. He was born in Detmold, the son of Simon Henry Adolph and Johanna Wilhelmine of Nassau-Idstein. Simon August ruled until ...

. #John George (b. Dessau, 28 January 1748 – d.

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1 April 1811). # Casimire (b. Dessau, 19 January 1749 – d. Detmold, 8 November 1778), married on 9 November 1769 to

, widow of her sister. #Albert Frederick (b. Dessau, 22 April 1750 – d. Dessau, 31 October 1811), married on 25 October 1774 to Henriette of Lippe-Weissenfeld, great-granddaughter of

Jobst Herman, Count of Lippe Jobst Herman of Lippe-Biesterfeld (9 February 1625 in Detmold – 6 July 1678 in Biesterfeld) was a titular Count of Lippe, Sternberg and Schwalenberg. Early life He was the son of Count Simon VII from 1587 to 1627) from his marriage to Co ...

; the union was childless (Albert Frederick had an illegitimate son by one Anna Luise Franke: Gustav Adolf von Heideck).

Sources

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Ii, Prince Of Anhalt-Dessau 1700 births 1751 deaths Princes of Anhalt-Dessau German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Field marshals of Prussia People of the Silesian Wars