The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Zeitz) was a territory of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

established in 1656–57 as a

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from la, secundus "following, second," and "born") was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance in which the second a ...

of the Electoral Saxon house of

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

. Its capital was

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) 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 Zeitz was first recorded u ...

. 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: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

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 (german: Sachsen-Weißenfels) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 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 u ...

and *

Saxe-Merseburg The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and con ...

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 is the second most populous country ...

in the former

Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz The Prince-Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz (german: Bistum Naumburg-Zeitz; la, Citizensis, then ' or ') was a medieval diocese in the central German area between Leipzig in the east and Erfurt in the west. The seat of the bishop was Zeitz Cathedral in ...

which in 1562 had been

secularized In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

in the course of the

Protestant 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 ...

. He also received the city of

Schleusingen Schleusingen is a town in the 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 Henneberger Land got its name from ...

in 1660, which had once been the residence of the extinct

Counts of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. Upo ...

, 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.

Relatives

Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz (13 November 1661 – 29 April 1720) was the wife of Duke Christian II of Saxe-Merseburg, whom she married on 14 October 1679 at Moritzburg Palace in Zeitz. Regent of the duchy of Saxe-Merseburg After her husban ...

(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 , image = Frederick Henry, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz-Pegau-Neustadt.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = , reign = , succession = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , heir = ...

(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 Hesse-Kassel. Life Dorothea Wilhelmine was a daughter of the Duke Maurice William of Saxe-Zeitz ...

(1691–1743), by marriage Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel

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