Duchy of Thuringia

Duchy (Landgraviate) of Thuringia
Herzogtum (Landgrafschaft) Thüringen
631/32–1440
Coat of arms of Landgrave Albert II, 1265 of Thuringia
Coat of arms of
Landgrave Albert II, 1265
StatusFrankish duchy,
then State of the Holy Roman Empire
CapitalErfurt
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentFeudal Duchy
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Frankish invasion
c. 531
• Duchy established
631/32
• Re-established as Landgraviate
1111/12
1247
• Split off Hesse
1264
• To Saxony
1440
1445
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Thuringii
Landgraviate of Hesse
Electorate of Saxony

The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia,[1] established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogastisburg. It was recreated in the Carolingian Empire and its dukes were appointed by the king until it was absorbed by the Saxon dukes in 908. From about 1111/12 the territory was ruled by the Landgraves of Thuringia as Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. When Frederick IV, the last independent ruler of Thuringia died in 1440, the territory passed to his nephew, the Saxon elector Frederick II.

  1. ^ Bjork, Robert, ed. (2010-01-01). The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. Thuringia. doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662624.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-866262-4.