John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (17 October 1666 – 14 January 1729), was a duke of

Saxe-Eisenach Saxe-Eisenach () was an Ernestine duchy ruled by the Saxon House of Wettin. The state intermittently existed at three different times in the Thuringian region of the Holy Roman Empire. The chief town and capital of all three duchies was Eisenach ...

, and came from the Ernestine line of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

Life

John William III was born in Friedewald, the third son of

John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach Johann Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (Weimar, 12 July 1634 – hunting accident, Eckhartshausen, Marksuhl, 19 September 1686) was the fifth but third surviving son of William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau. After ...

and Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein. His twin brother, Maximilian, died at the age of two. He succeeded his brother John George II as duke of Saxe-Eisenach when he died childless in 1698. John William III was crowned duke of Saxe-Eisenach. Saxe-Eisenach experienced a cultural boon under his reign, which was in no small part due to the duke's court band, whose most prominent member was

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...

Family

In Oranjewoud on 28 November 1690, John William married with Amalie (

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, 25 November 1655 –

Allstedt Allstedt () is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximatively 10 km southeast of Sangerhausen. History Allstedt is mentioned as the tithable place ''Altstedi'' in Friesenfeld in the ...

, 16 February 1695), a daughter of

William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz William Frederick (; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), was Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography Family life William Frederick was the second son of Er ...

. They had two children: #

Wilhelm Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach Wilhelm Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (10 November 1691 – 26 July 1741), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach. He was born in Oranjewoud, the eldest and only surviving son of Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach and his first wife Amalie of Na ...

(b. Oranjewoud, 10 November 1691 – d. Eisenach, 26 July 1741). #Albertine Johannetta (b. Oranjewoud, 28 February 1693 – d. Eisenach, 1 April 1700). In

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

on 27 February 1697 — two years of the death of his first wife — John William married secondly with Christine Juliane of Baden-Durlach, a daughter of Charles Gustav of Baden-Durlach. They had seven children: #Johannette Antoinette Juliane (b. Jena, 31 January 1698 – d. Schloss Dahme, 13 April 1726), married on 9 May 1721 to Duke Johann Adolf II of Saxe-Weissenfels. #Karoline Christine (b. Jena, 15 April 1699 – d. Philippsthal, 25 July 1743), married on 24 November 1725 to Landgrave Charles I of Hesse-Philippsthal. #Anton Gustav (b. Eisenach, 12 August 1700 – d. Eisenach, 4 October 1710). #Charlotte Wilhelmine Juliane (b. Eisenach, 27 June 1703 – d. Erfurt, 17 August 1774). #Johannetta Wilhelmine Juliane (b. Eisenach, 10 September 1704 – d. Eisenach, 3 January 1705). #Karl Wilhelm (b. Eisenach, 9 January 1706 – d. Eisenach, 24 February 1706). #Karl August (b. Eisenach, 10 June 1707 – d. Eisenach, 22 February 1711). In Weissenfels on 28 July 1708 — one year after the death of his second wife — John William married thirdly with Magdalene Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels, a daughter of

Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (2 November 1649, in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle – 24 May 1697, in Weissenfels), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin. He was the first son of Augustus, Duke of Sax ...

. They had three children: #Johanna Magdalene Sophie (b. Eisenach, 19 August 1710 – d. Eisenach, 26 February 1711). # Christiane Wilhelmine (b. Altenkirchen, 3 September 1711 – d. Idstein, 27 November 1740), married on 26 November 1734 to Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen. #Johann Wilhelm (b. Marksuhl, 28 January 1713 – d. Eisenach, 8 May 1713). In the Schloss Philippsruhe on 29 May 1727 — one year after the death of his third wife — John William married fourthly with Marie Christine Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim, Dowager Princess of Baden-Durlach. This union was childless. John William died at

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John William 03 of Saxe-Eisenach, Duke House of Wettin 1666 births 1729 deaths People from Altenkirchen (district) Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach