Margraviate of Meissen
In 1423 Ernest's and Albert's grandfather, Margrave Frederick IV of Meissen had received the Saxon Electorate from the hands of the Luxembourg emperor Sigismund. The Electorate — formerly the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg — together with the incorporated Margraviate of Meissen and the Thuringian landgraviate formed the united Wettin lands. After the death of Frederick in 1464, his lands were ruled jointly by his two sons, until 1485, when they were partitioned between them.