Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel of Anhalt-Köthen (Plötzkau
Plötzkau
Plötzkau is a municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

, 6 October 1631 – Köthen, 8 November 1670), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau. From 1665, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen
Anhalt-Köthen
Anhalt-Köthen has existed on two separate occasions. The first state was created in 1396 when the Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1552 when it was inherited by Anhalt-Dessau....

.

He was the third and youngest son of Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau
Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau
Augustus of Anhalt-Plötzkau , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt...

, by his wife Sibylle, daughter of John George I, Count of Solms-Laubach.

Life

In 1653, after the death of his father, Emmanuel inherited Plötzkau jointly with his older brothers Ernest Gottlieb
Ernest Gottlieb, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau
Ernest Gottlieb of Anhalt-Plötzkau was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau....

 and Lebrecht
Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau...

. They also had the responsibility of acting as regents over Anhalt-Köthen on behalf of the infant Prince William Louis
William Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
William Louis of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen....

. In practice, it was Emmanuel and Lebrecht who exercised the regency while Ernest Gottlieb remained as sole ruler of Plötzkau for only seven months until his own death, after which Emmanuel and Lebrecht served as co-rulers. Their regency over Köthen lasted until 1659, when William Louis was proclaimed of age and began his own government over the principality.

The death of William Louis in 1665 without heirs changed the distribution of the existing Anhalt principalities: Emmanuel and Lebrecht received Köthen, and their former principality of Plötzkau was returned to Anhalt-Bernburg
Anhalt-Bernburg
Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt...

, from which it was originally extracted.

The death of Lebrecht without heirs in 1669 left Emmanuel as sole ruler of Anhalt-Köthen until his death, almost exactly one year later.

Marriage and issue

In Ilsenburg
Ilsenburg
Ilsenburg is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilsetal valley of the small Ilse river, a tributary of the Oker, about six north-west of the town of Wernigerode. It received town privileges...

 on 23 March 1670 Emmanuel married Anna Eleonore (b. Ilsenburg, 26 March 1651 - d. Köthen, 27 January 1690), daughter of Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode and niece of Sophie Ursula, the widow of his brother Lebrecht.

On Emmanuel's death, his wife was three months pregnant. She was declared regent over Köthen until the birth of the child; if she had a boy, he could succeed his father, but, in case was a girl, the other principalities would divide the Köthen lands.

On 20 May 1671, six months after the death of her husband, the Dowager Princess Anna Eleonore gave birth to a son, named Emmanuel Lebrecht
Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen....

, who immediately became the new ruler of Anhalt-Köthen under the regency of his mother.
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