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ANHALT

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 47 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ANHALT , a duchy of See also:

Germany, and a constituent See also:state of the See also:German See also:empire, formed, in 1863, by the amalgamation of the two duchies Anhalt-See also:Dessau-See also:Cothen and Anhalt-See also:Bernburg, and comprising all the various Anhalt territories which were sundered apart in 1603. The See also:country now known as Anhalt consists of two larger portions—Eastern and Western Anhalt, separated by the interposition of a See also:part of Prussian Saxony—and of five enclaves surrounded by Prussian territory, viz. Alsleben, Muhlingen,See also:Dornburg,Godnitz and Tilkerode-Abberode. The eastern and larger portion of the duchy is enclosed by the Prussian See also:government See also:district of See also:Potsdam (in the Prussian See also:province of See also:Brandenburg), and See also:Magdeburg and See also:Merseburg (belonging to the Prussian province of See also:Saxony). The western or smaller portion (the so-called Upper Duchy or See also:Ballenstedt) is also enclosed by the two latter districts and, for a distance of 5 m. on the See also:west, by the duchy of See also:Brunswick. The western portion of the territory is undulating and in the extreme See also:south-west, where it forms part of the Harz range, mountainous, the Ramberg See also:peak attaining a height of 1900 ft. From the Harz the country gently shelves down to the See also:Saale; and between this See also:river and the See also:Elbe there lies a See also:fine See also:tract of fertile country. The portion of the duchy lying See also:east of the Elbe is mostly a See also:flat sandy See also:plain, with extensive See also:pine forests, though interspersed, at intervals, by See also:bog-See also:land and See also:rich pastures. The Elbe is the See also:chief river, and intersecting the eastern portion of the duchy, from east to west, receives at See also:Rosslau the See also:waters of the See also:Mulde. The navigable Saale takes a northerly direction through the western portion of the eastern part of the territory and receives, on the right, the Fuhne and, on the See also:left, the Wipper and the See also:Bode. The See also:climate is on the whole mild, though somewhat inclement in the higher regions to the south-west. The See also:area of the duchy is 906 sq. m., and the See also:population in 1905 amounted to 328,007, a ratio of about 351 to the square mile.

The country is divided into the districts of Dessau, Cothen, See also:

Zerbst, Bernburg and Ballenstedt, of which that of Bernburg is the most, and that of Ballenstedt the least, populated. Of the towns, four, viz. Dessau, Bernburg, Cothen and Zerbst, have populations exceeding 20,000. The inhabitants of the duchy, who mainly belong to the upper Saxon See also:race, are, with the exception of about 12,000 See also:Roman Catholics and 1700 See also:Jews, members of the Evangelical (See also:Union) See also:Church. The supreme ecclesiastical authority is the See also:consistory in Dessau; while a See also:synod of 39 members, elected for six years, assembles at periods to deliberate on See also:internal matters touching the organization of the church. The Roman Catholics are under the See also:bishop of See also:Paderborn. There are within the duchy four See also:grammar See also:schools (gymnasia), five semi-classical and See also:modern schools, a teachers' See also:seminary and four high-grade girls' schools. Of the whole See also:surface, land under tillage amounts to about 6o, meadowland to 7 and See also:forest to 25 %. The chief crops are See also:corn (especially See also:wheat), See also:fruit, vegetables, potatoes, See also:beet, See also:tobacco, See also:flax, See also:linseed and hops. The land is well cultivated, and the husbandry on the royal domains and the large estates especially so. The pastures on the See also:banks of the Elbe yield See also:cattle of excellent quality. The forests are well stocked with See also:game, such as See also:deer and See also:wild See also:boar, and the open country is well supplied with partridges.

The See also:

rivers yield abundant See also:fish, See also:salmon (in the Elbe), See also:sturgeon and lampreys. The country is rich in See also:lignite, and See also:salt See also:works are abundant. Of the manufactures of Anhalt, the chief are its See also:sugar factories, distilleries, breweries and chemical works. See also:Commerce is brisk, especially in raw products— corn, cattle, See also:timber or See also:wool. See also:Coal (lignite), See also:guano, oil and bricks are also articles of export. The See also:trade of the country is furthered by its excellent roads, its navigable rivers and its See also:railways (165 m.), which are worked in connexion with the Prussian See also:system. There is a chamber of commerce in Dessau. Constitution.—The duchy, by virtue of a fundamental See also:law, proclaimed on the 17th of See also:September 1859 and subsequently modified by various decrees, is a constitutional See also:monarchy. The See also:duke, who bears the See also:title of " See also:Highness," wields the executive See also:power while sharing the legislation with the estates. The See also:diet (Landtag) is composed of See also:thirty-six members, of whom two are appointed by the duke, eight are representatives of landowners paying the highest taxes, two of the highest assessed members of the commercial and manufacturing classes, fourteen of the other See also:electors of the towns and ten of the rural districts. The representatives are chosen for six years by indirect See also:vote and must have completed their twenty-fifth See also:year. The duke governs through a See also:minister of state, who is the praeses of all the departments—finance, See also:home affairs, See also:education, public See also:worship and See also:statistics.

The See also:

budget estimates for the See also:financial year 1905–r906 placed the See also:expenditure of the See also:estate at £1,323,437. The public See also:debt amounted on the 3oth of See also:June 1904 to £226,300. By See also:convention with See also:Prussia of 1867 the Anhalt troops See also:form a contingent of the Prussian See also:army. See also:Appeal from the lowercourts of the duchy lies to the appeal See also:court at See also:Naumburg in Prussian Saxony. See also:History.—During the r 1 th See also:century the greater part of Anhalt was included in the duchy of Saxony, and in the 12th century it came under the See also:rule of See also:Albert the See also:Bear, See also:margrave of Brandenburg. Albert was descended from Albert, See also:count of Ballenstedt, whose son Esico (d. 1059 or ro6o) appears to have been the first to bear the title of count of Anhalt. Esico's See also:grandson, See also:Otto the Rich, count of Ballenstedt, was the See also:father of Albert the Bear, by whom Anhalt was See also:united with the See also:mark of Brandenburg. When Albert died in 1170, his son See also:Bernard, who received the title of duke of Saxony in 11 8o, became count of Anhalt. Bernard died in 1212, and Anhalt, separated from Saxony, passed to his son See also:Henry, who in 1218 took the title of See also:prince and was the real founder of the See also:house of Anhalt. On Henry's See also:death in 1252 his three sons partitioned the principality and founded respectively the lines of See also:Aschersleben, Bernburg and Zerbst. The See also:family ruling in Aschersleben became See also:extinct in 1315, and this district was subsequently incorporated with the neighbouring bishopric of See also:Halberstadt.

The last prince of the See also:

line of Anhalt-Bernburg died in 1468 and his lands were inherited by the princes of the See also:sole remaining line, that of Anhalt-Zerbst. The territory belonging to this See also:branch of the family had been divided in 1396, and after the acquisition of Bernburg Prince See also:George I. made a further See also:partition of Zerbst. See also:Early in the 16th century, however, owing to the death or See also:abdication of several princes, the family had become narrowed down to the two branches of Anhalt-Cothen and Anhalt-Dessau. Wolfgang, who became prince of Anhalt-Cothen in 15o8, was a stalwart adherent of the See also:Reformation, and after the See also:battle of Miihlberg in 1547 was placed under the See also:ban and deprived of his lands by the See also:emperor See also:Charles V. After the See also:peace of See also:Passau in 1552 he bought back his principality, but as he was childless he surrendered it in 1562 to his kinsmen the princes of Anhalt-Dessau. Ernest I. of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1516) left three sons, See also:John II., George III., and See also:Joachim, who ruled their lands together for many years, and who, like Prince Wolfgang, favoured the reformed doctrines, which thus became dominant in Anhalt. About 1546 the three See also:brothers divided their principality and founded the lines of Zerbst, Plotzkau and Dessau. This See also:division, however, was only temporary, as the acquisition of Cothen, and a See also:series of deaths among the"ruling princes, enabled Joachim Ernest, a son of John II., to unite the whole of Anhalt under his rule in 1570. Joachim Ernest died in 1586 and his five sons ruled the land in See also:common until 1603, when Anhalt was again divided, and the lines of Dessau, Bernburg, Plotzkau, Zerbst and Cothen were refounded. The principality was ravaged during the Thirty Years' See also:War, and in the earlier part of this struggle See also:Christian I. of Anhalt-Bernburg took an important part. In 1635 an arrangement was made by the various princes of Anhalt, which gave a certain authority to the eldest member of the family, who was thus able to represent the principality as a whole.

This proceeding was probably due to the See also:

necessity of maintaining an See also:appearance of unity in view of the disturbed state of See also:European politics. In 1665 the branch of Anhalt-Cothen became extinct, and according to a family compact this district was inherited by Lebrecht of Anhalt-Plotzkau, who surrendered Plotzkau to Bernburg,and took the title of prince ofAnhalt- Cothen. In the same year the princes of Anhalt decided that if any branch of the family became extinct its lands should be equally divided between the remaining branches. This arrangement was carried out after the death of See also:Frederick See also:Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1793, and Zerbst was divided between the three remaining princes. During these years the policy of the different princes was marked, perhaps intentionally, by considerable uniformity. Once or twice Calvinism was favoured by a prince, but in See also:general the house was loyal to the doctrines of See also:Luther. The growth of Prussia provided Anhalt with a formidable See also:neighbour, and the See also:establishment and practice of See also:primogeniture by all branches of the family prevented further divisions of the principality. In 18o6 Alexius of Anhalt-Bernburg was created a duke by the emperor See also:Francis II., and after the See also:dissolution of the Empire each of the three princes took this title. Joining the See also:Confederation of the See also:Rhine in 1807, they supported See also:Napoleon until 1813, when they transferred their See also:allegiance to the See also:allies; in 1815 they became members of the Germanic Confederation, and in 1828 joined, somewhat reluctantly, the Prussian See also:Zollverein. Anhalt-Cothen was ruled without division by a See also:succession of princes, prominent among whom was See also:Louis (d. 1650), who was both a soldier and a See also:scholar; and after the death of Prince Charles at the battle of See also:Semlin in 1789 it passed to his son Augustus II. This prince sought to emulate the changes which had recently been made in See also:France by dividing Cothen into two departments and introducing the See also:Code Napoleon.

Owing to his extravagance he left a large amount of debt to his See also:

nephew and successor, Louis II., and on this See also:account the See also:control of the finances was transferred from the prince to the estates. Under Louis's successor See also:Ferdinand, who was a Roman See also:Catholic and brought the See also:Jesuits into Anhalt, the state of the finances See also:grew worse and led to the interference of the See also:king of Prussia and to the See also:appointment of a Prussian See also:official. When the succeeding prince, Henry, died in 1847, this family became extinct, and according to an arrangement between the lines of Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Bernburg, Cothen was added to Dessau. Anhalt-Bernburg had been weakened by partitions, but its princes had added several districts to their lands; and in 1812, on the extinction of a See also:cadet branch, it was again united under a single ruler. The feeble rule of See also:Alexander Charles, who became duke in 1834, and the disturbed state of See also:Europe in the following See also:decade, led to considerable unrest, and in 1849 Bernburg was occupied by Prussian troops. A number of abortive attempts were made to See also:change the government, and as Alexander Charles was unlikely to leave any See also:children, See also:Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau took some part in the affairs of Bernburg. Eventually in 1859 a new constitution was established for Bernburg and Dessau jointly, and when Alexander Charles died in 1863 both were united under the rule of Leopold. Anhalt-Dessau had been divided in 1632, but was quickly reunited; and in 1693 it came under the rule of Leopold I. (see ANHALT-DESSAU, LEOPOLD I., PRINCE OF),the famous soldier who was generally known as the " Old Dessauer." The sons of Leopold's eldest son were excluded from the succession on account of the See also:marriage of their father being morganatic, and the principality passed in 1747 to his second son, Leopold II. The unrest of 1848 spread to Dessau, and led to the interference of the Prussians and to the establishment of the new constitution in 1859. Leopold IV., who reigned from 1817 to 1871, had the See also:satisfaction in 1863 of reuniting the whole of Anhalt under his rule. He took the title of duke of Anhalt, summoned one Landtag for the whole of the duchy, and in 1866 fought for Prussia against See also:Austria.

Subsequently a See also:

quarrel over the See also:possession of the ducal estates between the duke and the Landtag See also:broke the peace of the duchy, but this was settled in 1872. In 1871 Anhalt became a state of the German Empire. Leopold IV. was followed by his son Frederick I., and on the death of this prince in 1904 his son Frederick II. became duke of Anhalt. ANHALT-DESSAU, LEOPOLD I., PRINCE OF (1676-1747), called the "Old Dessauer" (Alter Dessauer), general See also:field See also:marshal in the Prussian army, was the only surviving son of John George II., prince of Anhalt-Dessau, and was See also:born on the 3rd of See also:July 1676 at Dessau. From his earliest youth he was devoted to the profession of arms, for which he educated himself physically and mentally..He became See also:colonel of a Prussian See also:regiment in 1693, and in the same year his father's death placed him at the See also:head of his own principality; thereafter, during the whole of his See also:long See also:life, he performed the duties of a See also:sovereign prince and a Prussian officer. His first See also:campaign was that of 1695 in the See also:Netherlands, in which he was See also:present at the See also:siege of See also:Namur. He remained in the fieldto the end of the war of 1697, the affairs of the principality being managed chiefly by his See also:mother, Princess Henriette See also:Catherine of See also:Orange. In 1698 he married See also:Anna Luise Fose, an See also:apothecary's daughter of Dessau, in spite of his mother's long and See also:earnest opposition, and subsequently he procured for her the See also:rank of a princess from the emperor (1701). Their married life was long and happy, and the princess acquired an See also:influence over the stern nature of her See also:husband which she never ceased to exert on behalf of his subjects, and after the death of Leopold's mother she performed the duties of See also:regent when he was absent on campaign. Often, too, she accompanied him into the field. Leopold's career as a soldier in important commands begins with the outbreak of the War of the See also:Spanish Succession. He had made many improvements in the Prussian army, notably the introduction of the See also:iron ramrod about 1700, and he now took the field at the head of a Prussian See also:corps on the Rhine, serving at the sieges of See also:Kaiserswerth and See also:Venlo.

In the following year (1703), having obtained the rank of See also:

lieutenant-general, Leopold took part in the siege of See also:Bonn and distinguished himself very greatly in the battle of See also:Hochstadt, in which the Austrians and their allies were defeated by the See also:French under Marshal See also:Villars (September 20,1703). In the campaign of 1704 the Prussian contingent served under Prince Louis of See also:Baden and subsequently under See also:Eugene, and Leopold himself won See also:great See also:glory by his conduct at See also:Blenheim. In 1705 he was sent with a Prussian corps to join Prince Eugene in See also:Italy, and on the 16th of See also:August he displayed his bravery at the hard-fought battle of See also:Cassano. In the following year he added to his reputation in the battle of See also:Turin, where he was the first to enter the hostile entrenchments (September 7, 1706). He served in one more campaign in Italy, and then went with Eugene to join See also:Marlborough in the Netherlands, being present in 1709 at the siege of Tournay and the battle of See also:Malplaquet. In 1710 he succeeded to the command of the whole Prussian contingent at the front, and in 1712, at the particular See also:desire of the See also:crown prince, Frederick See also:William, who had served with him as a volunteer, he was made a general field marshal. Shortly before this he had executed a coup de See also:main on the See also:castle of Mors, which was held by the Dutch in See also:defiance of the claims of the king of Prussia to the possession. The operation was effected with See also:absolute precision and the castle was seized without a shot being fired. In the earlier part of the reign of Frederick William I., the prince of Dessau was one of the most influential members of the Prussian governing circle. In the war with See also:Sweden (1715) he accompanied the king to the front, commanded an army of 40,000 men, and met and defeated Charles XII. in a severe battle on the See also:island of Rtfgen (See also:November 16). His conduct of the siege of See also:Stralsund which followed was equally skilful,and the great results of the war to Prussia were largely to be attributed to his See also:leader-See also:ship in the campaign. In the years of peace,and especially after a court quarrel (1725) and See also:duel with General von Grumbkow, he devoted himself to the training of the Prussian army.

The reputation it had gained in the See also:

wars of 1675 to 1715, though See also:good, gave no hint of its coming glory, and it was even in 1740 accounted one of the See also:minor armies of Europe. That it proved, when put to the test, to be by far the best military force existing, may be taken as the See also:summary result of Leopold's See also:work. The "Old Dessauer" was one of the sternest disciplinarians in an See also:age of stern discipline, and the technical training of the See also:infantry, under his See also:hand, made them See also:superior to all others in the proportion of five to three (see See also:AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION, WAR OF THE). He was essentially an infantry soldier; in his See also:time See also:artillery did not decide battles, but he suffered the See also:cavalry service, in which he See also:felt little See also:interest, to be comparatively neglected, with results which appeared at Mollwitz. Frederick the Great formed the cavalry of See also:Hohenfriedberg and See also:Leuthen himself, but had it not been for the incomparable infantry trained by the " Old Dessauer" he would never have had the opportunity of doing so. Thus Leopold, heartily sup-ported by Frederick William, who was himself called the great See also:drill-See also:master of Europe, turned to good account the twenty, years following the peace with Sweden. During this time two incidents in his career See also:call for See also:special mention: first, his intervention in the See also:case of the crown prince Frederick, who was condemned to death for See also:desertion, and his continued and finally successful efforts to secure Frederick's reinstatement in the Prussian army; and secondly, his part in the War of the See also:Polish Succession on the Rhine, where he served under his old chief Eugene and held the See also:office of field marshal of the Empire. With the death of Frederick William in 1740. Frederick succeeded to the Prussian See also:throne, and a few months later took See also:place the invasion and See also:conquest of See also:Silesia, the first See also:act in the long Silesian wars and the test of the work of the "Old Dessauer's" lifetime. The prince himself was not often employed in the king's own army, though his sons held high commands under Frederick. The king, indeed, found Leopold, who was reputed, since the death of Eugene, the greatest of living soldiers, somewhat difficult to See also:manage, and the prince spent most of the campaigning years up to 1745 in command of an army of observation on the Saxon frontier. Early in that year his wife died.

He was now over seventy, but his last campaign was destined to be the most brilliant of his long career. A combined effort of the Austrians and See also:

Saxons to retrieve the disasters of the summer by a See also:winter campaign towards See also:Berlin itself led to a hurried concentration of the Prussians. Frederick from Silesia checked the Austrian main army and hastened towards See also:Dresden. But before he had arrived, Leopold, no longer in observation, had decided the war by his overwhelming victory of Kesselsdorf (See also:December 14, 1745). It was his See also:habit to pray before battle, for he was a devout Lutheran. On this last field his words were, " 0 See also:Lord See also:God, let me not be disgraced in my old See also:clays. Or if See also:Thou wilt not help me, do not help these scoundrels, but leave us to try it ourselves." With this great victory Leopold's career ended. He retired from active service, and the See also:short See also:remainder of his life was spent at Dessau, where he died on the 7th of See also:April 1747. He was succeeded by his son, LEOPOLD II., See also:MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF ANIIALT-DESSAU (1700-1751), who was one of the best of Frederick's subordinate generals, and especially distinguished himself by the See also:capture of See also:Glogau in 1741, and his generalship at Mollwitz, Chotusitz (where he was made general field marshal on the field of battle), Hohenfriedberg and Soor. Another son, PRINCE See also:DIETRICH OF ANHALT-DESSAU (d. 1769), was also a distinguished Prussian general. But the most famous of the sons was PRINCE See also:MORITZ OF ANHALT-DESSAU (1712-1760), who entered the Prussian army in 1725, saw his first service as a volunteer in the War of the Polish Succession (1734-35), and in the latter years of the reign of Frederick William held important commands.

In the Silesian wars of Frederick II., Moritz, the ablest of the old Leopold's sons, greatly distinguished himself, especially at the battle of Hohenfriedberg (See also:

Striegau), .1745. At Kesselsdorf it was the wing led by the See also:young Prince Moritz that carried the Austrian lines and won the "Old Dessauer's" last fight. In the years of peace preceding the Seven Years' War, Moritz was employed by Frederick the Great in the colonizing of the See also:waste lands of See also:Pomerania and the See also:Oder Valley. When the king took the field again in 1756, Moritz was in command of one of the columns which hemmed in the Saxon army in the lines of See also:Pirna, and he received the surrender of Rutowski's force after the failure of the Austrian attempts at See also:relief. Next year Moritz underwent changes of See also:fortune. At the battle of See also:Kolin he led the left wing, which, through a misunderstanding with the king, was prematurely See also:drawn into See also:action and failed hopelessly. In the disastrous days which followed, Moritz was under the See also:cloud of Frederick's displeasure. But the glorious victory of Leuthen (December 5, 1757) put an end to this. At the See also:close of that See also:day, Frederick rode down the lines and called out to General Prince Moritz, "I congratulate you, Herr Feldmarschall I" At Zorndorf he again distinguished himself, but at the surprise of Hochkirch See also:fell wounded into the hands of the Austrians. Two years later, soon after his See also:release, his See also:wound proved mortal.

End of Article: ANHALT

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