History of Saxony-Anhalt
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The history of Saxony-Anhalt began with Old Saxony, which was conquered by Charlemagne in 804 and transformed into the Duchy of Saxony within the Carolingian Empire. Saxony went on to become one of the so-called stem duchies of the German Kingdom and subsequently the Holy Roman Empire which formed out of the eastern partition of the Carolingian Empire. The duchy grew to become a powerful state within the empire, ruling over much of what is now northern Germany, but following conflicts with the emperor it was partitioned into numerous minor states, including the Principality of Anhalt, around the end of the 12th century and early 13th century. The territories of the Duchy of Saxony, the Principality of Anhalt, and their successors are now part of the modern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
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The ducal title and electoral dignity passed to the Ascanian Bernhard of Anhalt, but the title only came with a few small eastern parts of the former territory. Following his death in 1212 his possessions were divided between his sons: Henry established Anhalt as a county while Albert I took on the ducal title and the remaining possessions.
Anhalt was raised to a principality in 1218 but was divided in 1252 between Henry's sons, forming Anhalt-Aschersleben, Anhalt-Bernburg and Anhalt-Zerbst. Over the centuries, numerous additional divisions and reunifications of the Anhalt territory took place, resulting in the creation of Anhalt-Köthen, Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Pless and Anhalt-Plötzkau, as well as the recreation of several of the divisions; after 1252 it was only ruled as a single entity between 1570 and 1603.
Meanwhile, after Albert I's death in 1260, the Duchy of Saxony was co-ruled by his sons John I and Albert II, and subsequently also by John I's sons. However, the geographic separation of the territories – Wittenberg, Lauenburg and Hadeln – led to them being increasingly administered separately. In 1296 the duchy was officially separated into two separate duchies: John's sons became rulers of Saxe-Lauenburg (which also included the Hadeln exclave) while Albert II became ruler of Saxe-Wittenberg. In addition to the duchy, Albert had acquired the County of Gommern in 1295, and in 1290 his son and heir Rudolph had been enfeoffed with the lands of the former County of Brehna on Wittenberg's southern border. The status of the electoral dignity was contested by both lines until it was officially settled in Saxe-Wittenberg's favour by the Golden Bull of 1356, after which time it became known as the Electorate of Saxony. In 1423 the Electorate was inherited by the Wettin Frederick I, who was also the Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia. Since Prince-elector was a higher rank than either landgrave or margrave, the whole of Frederick's territory became known as the Electorate of Saxony; the lands around Wittenberg, Brehna and Gommern became known as the Kurkreis or "Electoral Circle".
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the remaining Anhalt divisions – Bernburg, Dessau and Köthen – were elevated to duchies by Napoleon while the Electorate of Saxony became a Kingdom; all were part of Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine until 1813.
In 1813 the Kingdom of Prussia occupied large amounts of Saxony's territory in the Battle of Leipzig, including the Electoral Circle (which had been renamed the "Wittenberg Circle" in 1807); in May 1815 a treaty was signed in which Saxony ceded this territory to Prussia. In June 1815 they all became part of the German Confederation. In 1816 Prussia reorganised its annexed territory, merging it with the former Duchy of Magdeburg, Principality of Halberstadt, Principality of Erfurt, the Eichsfeld, and the former Imperial Cities of Mühlhausen and Nordhausen, along with the Altmark and other parts of Brandenburg west of the Elbe, into the Province of Saxony.
In 1863 the Anhalt duchies were finally reunited to form the Duchy of Anhalt. The duchy became part of the Prussian-led North German Confederation in 1867 and finally the German Empire in 1871.
Following Germany's defeat in World War I, Anhalt became the Free State of Anhalt while the Province of Saxony continued as a constituent of the Free State of Prussia (both within the Weimar Republic). During Nazi rule, all of the previous subdivisions, including Anhalt and the Province of Saxony, ceased to exist de facto as they were replaced with Gaue in 1934.
After World War II what had been Anhalt and the Province of Saxony formed the basis of the occupying Soviet administration's state (Land) of Saxony-Anhalt. Along with the other states of East Germany, Saxony-Anhalt was dissolved in 1952 and replaced with various districts (Bezirke); Saxony-Anhalt roughly corresponds to the former Magdeburg and Halle districts. However, the states, including Saxony-Anhalt, came back into being following German reunification in 1990, albeit with different borders than the original East German states.