Augustus II, 1670–1733, king of Poland (1697–1733) and, as Frederick Augustus I, elector of Saxony (1694–1733). He commanded the imperial army against the Turks (1695–96), but had no success and was replaced by Prince Eugene of Savoy as soon as he competed for the Polish throne, left vacant by the death of John III John III (John Sobieski) (sôbyĕ`skē)
..... Click the link for more information. . By becoming a Catholic and granting the Polish nobility unprecedented privileges he was elected king with the support of the Holy Roman emperor and the pope. With help from Patkul Patkul, Johann Reinhold von (yō`hän rīn`hôlt fən pät`k
..... Click the link for more information. , Augustus allied himself (1699) with Peter I Peter I or Peter the Great, 1672–1725, czar of Russia (1682–1725), major figure in the development of imperial Russia.

Early Life

..... Click the link for more information. of Russia and Frederick IV Frederick IV, 1671–1730, king of Denmark and Norway (1699–1730), son and successor of Christian V . He allied himself (1699) with Augustus II of Poland and Saxony and with Peter I of Russia against Charles XII of Sweden in the Northern War , but was
..... Click the link for more information. of Denmark for an attack on young Charles XII Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he omitted the usual oath and crowned himself.
..... Click the link for more information. of Sweden. In the resulting conflict (see Northern War Northern War, 1700–1721, general European conflict, fought in N and E Europe at the same time that the War of the Spanish Succession was fought in the west and the south.
..... Click the link for more information. ) Augustus invaded Livonia Livonia (lĭvō`nēə)
..... Click the link for more information. with his Saxon troops but was defeated (1702) by Charles XII. The Treaty of Altranstädt (1706) forced him to renounce the Polish crown in favor of Stanislaus I Stanislaus I, 1677–1766, king of Poland (1704–1709, 1733–35) and duke of Lorraine (1735–66). He was born Stanislaus Leszczynski. Early in the Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII of Sweden overran Poland and expelled King Augustus II .
..... Click the link for more information. and to give up his alliance with Russia. After Charles's defeat by the Russians at Poltava (1709), Augustus revived the alliance and recovered Poland. In Poland, where he kept a Saxon force, Augustus was highly unpopular. After his death, the ascension of his son and successor in Saxony, Augustus III Augustus III, 1696–1763, king of Poland (1735–63) and, as Frederick Augustus II, elector of Saxony (1733–63); son of Augustus II , whom he succeeded in Saxony.
..... Click the link for more information. , to the Polish throne was unsuccessfully contested by Stanislaus I, who was backed by France. Among Augustus's many mistresses was Maria Aurora Königsmark Königsmark, Countess Maria Aurora (märē`ä our
..... Click the link for more information. ; her son, Maurice de Saxe Saxe, Maurice, comte de (mōrēs` kôNt də säks)
..... Click the link for more information. , was one of Augustus's innumerable illegitimate offspring. A patron of the arts, Augustus greatly embellished Dresden and created the Meissen Meissen (mīs`ən), city (1994 pop. 33,075), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River.
..... Click the link for more information. china manufactures. He is also called Augustus the Strong.

Augustus II

Polish August Fryderyk

(born May 12, 1670, Dresden, Saxony—died Feb. 1, 1733, Warsaw) King of Poland and elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus I). He ascended to the Polish throne in 1697, having converted to Catholicism to better his chances. Also called Augustus the Strong, he invaded Livonia in 1700, beginning the Second Northern War. Charles XII of Sweden defeated Augustus's army and forced him to abdicate in 1706, but he was restored as king in 1710. Poland declined during Augustus's reign from a major European power to a protectorate of Russia.

Augustus II (redirected from Augustus II the Strong)

Early Life

Augustus II

Augustus II
(redirected from Augustus II the Strong)