John George II (17 November 1627 – 7 August 1693) 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 1660 to 1693. A member of the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

, he also served as a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohe ...

Life

Early life

John George was born on 17 November 1627 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 ...

, the second (but eldest and only surviving) son of

John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (17 December 1596 – 15 September 1660), was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1618 to 1660. During his reign the tasks of government were carried ...

, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of

Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (german: Moritz; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Life Maurice was born in Kassel a ...

Marriage

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

on 9 September 1659 John George married Henriette Katharina (b.

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, 10 February 1637 – d. Schloss Oranienbaum, 3 November 1708), daughter of

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

. The marriage was happy and was even said by some to be a love match. They had ten children.

Reign

After the death of his father on 15 July 1660, John George took over the government of Anhalt-Dessau. He also inherited his family's claim on

Aschersleben Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale). Geography Aschersleben lies near the confluence of ...

, which had been controlled by Brandenburg-Prussia since 1648. John George made his military career in the service of the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

; the Elector Frederick William named him a

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 ...

in 1670. After

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

invaded Frederick William's

Duchy of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves ...

, John George negotiated a treaty in

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

in June 1672 between

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria ...

, and Frederick William, by which each pledged to provide 12,000 troops to uphold the borders of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...

in the face of French aggression. John George was chosen to lead the largely unsuccessful campaign, which led

Georg von Derfflinger Georg von Derfflinger (20 March 1606 – 14 February 1695) was a field marshal in the army of Brandenburg-Prussia during and after the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). Early years Born 1606 at Neuhofen an der Krems in Austria, into a family of ...

to temporarily resign in protest. While campaigning against the French for control of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

in 1674, most of Frederick William's army went into winter quarters in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

. As viceroy (''

Statthalter In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

''), John George commanded the troops remaining in Brandenburg. King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

convinced King

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

to invade Brandenburg; after dispersing John George's small force, the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

troops went into winter quarters as well. The Prince of Dessau took part in Frederick William's retaliatory campaign in 1675, which resulted in the

Battle of Fehrbellin The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 18, 1675 (Julian calendar date, June 28th, Gregorian), between Swedish and Brandenburg-Prussian troops. The Swedes, under Count Waldemar von Wrangel (stepbrother of '' Riksamiral'' Carl Gustaf Wrang ...

. In 1683 John George travelled to

Passau Passau (; bar, label= Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's po ...

, ostensibly to discuss Brandenburg's involvement in the Ottoman wars with the emperor Leopold, although his main aim was to advise against another French war. The prince reaffirmed Brandenburg's alliance with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Death and succession

Prince John George died in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

on 7 August 1693. He was succeeded as prince of Anhalt-Dessau by his eldest surviving son, Leopold.

Issue

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:John George 02 Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 1627 births 1693 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau German Calvinist and Reformed Christians Field marshals of Prussia Princes of Anhalt-Dessau