Frederick Augustus III

The House of Wettin (German: Haus Wettin) was 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 origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany. The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig: the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation. Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony and played a part in Polish history. The Albertine line (Albertines) is one of the two main lines of the ruling house of Wettin, descendants of the Saxon Duke Albrecht. From 1485 to 1918 they ruled in Saxony as 

dukes, electors and kings. Ernst and Albrecht III of Saxony, sons of Elector Frederick II (1412-1464), ruled over their father's inheritance together for a long time, with Ernst, as the eldest, holding the title of Elector. In 1485 the brothers divided the estates among themselves (the so-called Leipzig division), becoming the founders of the Ernestine and Albertine lines. Albrecht and his descendants were given their own territory centered on Dresden, which they ruled since as Dukes of Saxony. While the Ernestine Elector Frederick III supported the Reformation, the Albertine Duke George the Bearded opposed it. Only his brother Henry V (1538-1541), who succeeded Georg as duke, introduced the Reformation into Albertine Saxony. Although he was a Protestant, the representative of the Albertine line, Moritz of Saxony, sided with Emperor Charles V in 1546 against the Protestant princes of the Schmalkalden Union, led by his cousin Elector Johann-Friedrich the Magnanimous. After the defeat of the Protestants in the Schmalkalden War in 1547, Moritz was rewarded for his services by the Emperor with the title of Elector and most of the Ernestine line. From then on, the Albertine line became the main line of the Wettin dynasty. Albertinz Augustus the Strong succeeded in 1697 in taking the throne of the Kingdom of Poland and preserving it for his son Frederick Augustus II. The latter took part in the Seven Years' War on the side of the anti-Prussian coalition, but was defeated. After his death in 1763, the Albertine line failed to retain power in Poland and it became politically insignificant. Only Frederick Augustus II's grandson, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, managed to gain power in Poland under Napoleon's protectorate, where he ruled as Duke of the Duchy of Warsaw. However, after Napoleon's fall, the Wettins lost both the Duchy of Warsaw and a large part of their Saxon possessions. In 1806 Napoleon declared the Saxon Elector Frederick Augustus III King of Saxony. From then on he called himself King Frederick Augustus I. During the November Revolution of 1918, the last Albertine king, Frederick Augustus III, abdicated.