Augustus II The Strong (in German August II der Starke, in Polish August II Mocny) (May 12, 1670 - February 1, 1733) was Elector of Saxony from 1694 to 1733 and King of Poland from 1697 to 1704 and again from 1709 to 1733.

Royal titles

• Official Latin version: Augustus Secundus, Dei Gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russie, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniae, Kijoviae, Volhyniae, Podoliae, Smolensciae, Severiae, Czerniechoviaeque, nec non haereditarius dux Saxoniae et princeps elector etc.

• English translation: August II, by God's grace King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia (Ukraine), Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, Kyiv, Volhynia, Podolia, Smolensk, Siewierz and, Czernichow, and also hereditary duke of Saxony and prince elector, etc.

Biography

Born in Dresden, Saxony, Frederick Augustus was the son of John George III and Princess Anne Sophie of Denmark . In 1694, upon the death of his elder brother John George IV, he became Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I. Following the death of the Polish king John III Sobieski, Augustus converted to Catholicism and was elected king of Poland in 1697 with the help and support of Russia and Austria. He also had financial support from a successful Jewish banker, Berend Lehmann. The legality of the election was questioned by some Poles.

An ambitious ruler, Augustus hoped to make the Polish throne hereditary within his family, and to use his resources as Elector of Saxony to impose some order on the chaotic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, he was soon distracted from his internal reform projects by the possibility of external conquest. He formed an alliance with Frederick IV of Denmark and Peter I of Russia to despoil the young king Charles XII of Sweden of his possessions. Poland's reward was to be the Swedish territory of Livonia. Charles proved to be an able military commander, however, quickly forcing the Danes out of the war and then temporarily driving back the Russians at Narva, allowing him to focus on the struggle with Augustus. Charles defeated Augustus at Riga on June 17, 1701, forcing the Polish-Saxon army to withdraw from Livonia, and followed this up by an invasion of Poland, seizing Warsaw on May 14, 1702, defeating the Polish-Saxon army again at Kliszow , and seizing Cracow. Another Augustan army was defeated at Pultusk in the spring of the next year, and Charles besieged and captured Thorn.

By this time, Augustus was certainly ready for peace, but Charles felt that he would be more secure if he could establish a more pliable candidate on the Polish throne. The Swedes installed Stanislas Leszczyński in 1704, and Charles invaded Saxony itself in 1706, forcing Augustus to give up the Polish throne to Stanislas by the Treaty of Altranstadt .

After the Swedish defeat in the Battle of Poltava, he returned to the throne under Russian auspices in 1709. For the remainder of his reign, he was more or less dependent on Russia (and, to a lesser extent, Austria) to maintain his position as King, although it was an uneasy relationship. Augustus died in 1733. Although he was unsuccessful in his attempt to make the Polish kingdom hereditary, his eldest son, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, followed him as King of Poland as Augustus III, although he had to be installed by a Russian army in the War of the Polish Succession.

Augustus II was called Augustus the Strong for his bearlike strength and also for his numerous offspring. It is sometimes written that he sired 365 children. Although this figure would be extremely difficult to verify, Augustus II did father a very large number of illegitimate children, the most famous of whom was Maurice de Saxe (his son by Aurora von Königsmarck ), the brilliant French military commander.

He successfully set out to discover the secret of the "White Gold", as the porcelain he produced in Dresden and Meissen was called. He also gathered many of the best architects and painters from all over Europe in Dresden, and his rule marks the beginning of Dresden's development as a leading centre of technology and art. Augustus's body was buried in Poland --all but his heart, which is in Dresden castle.