Adolph I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (died

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 regi ...

, 28 August 1473), 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 ''Schlo ...

and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. He was the eldest son of Albert IV, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, by his first wife Elisabeth, daughter of Gebhard III, Count of Mansfeld.

Life

After the death of his father in 1423, Adolph succeeded him in Anhalt-Köthen with his second brother Waldemar V as co-ruler; their younger half-brother Albert VI, still a minor, was bypassed. After the death of Waldemar in 1436, Adolph became the sole ruler of the principality as "Lord of Köthen." All three of Adolph's surviving sons entered the priesthood; after them, the only remaining heirs to the principality were Adolph's half-brother Albert VI and Albert's son Philip. Since it appeared as though Adolph's family line would die out in the next generation, he drew up a succession contract with his cousin

George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau ( – 21 September 1474), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was the second son of Sigismund I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Judith, daughter ...

, in 1471. Under the terms of this contract, George I would inherit half of Anhalt-Köthen as "Mitherr" (co-ruler) and the other half would be given to the long-excluded Albert VI. Shortly after, George renounced his rights in favor of his oldest son

Waldemar Waldemar, Valdemar or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Slavic name Vladimir, Volodymyr, Uladzimir or Wło ...

, who became co-ruler with Adolph as Waldemar VI until Adolph's death in 1473. Thirty-five years later, in 1508, the only two surviving males of the family,

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and Adolph, formally renounced their rights over the principality with the result that the Anhalt-Köthen line became extinct.

Marriage and issue

Ruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Fonta ...

on 2 November 1442 Adolph married Cordula (died 1 June 1508), daughter of Albert III, Count of Lindau-Ruppin. They had seven children: #Anna (died 1 August 1485), Abbess in

Derenburg Derenburg is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the Blankenburg am Harz municipality. Geography The settlement is situated in the northern foothills of the Harz mountain range ...

. #Magdalena (died aft. 1481), a nun at

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

(1481). #Bernhard (died young). #Melchior (died young). # Magnus, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1455 – October 1524). #William (born 1457 – d.

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

, 29 August 1504), a Franciscan friar. He renounced all his rights of inheritance to the principality during his father's lifetime. # Adolph II, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (16 October 1458 –

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a dioces ...

, 24 March 1526). {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolph I, Prince of Anhalt-Kothen Princes of Anhalt-Köthen 1473 deaths Year of birth unknown 15th-century German people