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

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

, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1551, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands.

Life

Early life

Joachim Ernest was born in

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

on 21 October 1536 as the second son of John V, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his wife

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, daughter of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. 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, where, among others, he studied with the theologian Georg Helt.

Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

In 1550, after the death of his father, he inherited Anhalt-Zerbst along with his older brother Karl I 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 King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

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 in 1561. In 1562 his cousin Wolfgang abdicated Anhalt-Köthen in his favor.

Marriages

In Barby on 3 March 1560 Joachim Ernest married Agnes of Barby-Mühlingen (b. Barby, 23 June 1540 – d. Bernburg, 27 November 1569), daughter of Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen (1502–1564) and his wife, Countess Agnes of Mansfeld (1511–1558). They had six children. In

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

on 9 January 1571 Joachim Ernest married for a second time to Eleonore (b. Tübingen, 22 March 1552 – d. Schloss Lichtenberg, 12 January 1618), daughter of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg and his wife, Princess Anna Maria of Brandenburg-Ansbach. 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 List of cities and towns in Germany, 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 sit ...

. He was a fervent supporter of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

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 Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, 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 , 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 16th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire 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