page_title: Anhalt-Köthen
section_title: Anhalt-Köthen-Pless
hierarchical_section_title: Anhalt-Köthen / History / Anhalt-Köthen-Pless
caption_attribution_description: Wappen Anhalt Cöthen Pless - Tyroff HA.jpg
context_page_description: Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562, when it fell to Prince Joachim Ernest of Anhalt-Zerbst, who merged it into the reunited Principality of Anhalt.
  Anhalt-Köthen was created a second time in 1603, when Anhalt was again divided. In 1806, Anhalt-Köthen was raised to a duchy. With the death of Duke Henry on 23 November 1847, the Anhalt-Köthen line became extinct and its territories were united to Anhalt-Dessau by patent of 22 May 1853. Today, Anhalt-Köthen is mostly remembered as a long-time residence of Johann Sebastian Bach, while he worked for Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen.
context_section_description: In 1765, Frederick Erdmann, the youngest son of Prince Augustus Louis, had received the Silesian state country in the former Duchy of Pless from the hands of his maternal uncle, Count John Erdmann of Promnitz. From that time on, he styled himself as Prince of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless.
  His son, Frederick Ferdinand, inherited the princely title in 1797. Upon the early death in 1818 of Louis Augustus, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Frederick Ferdinand inherited the ducal title of Anhalt-Köthen. He then ceded Pless to his younger brother, Henry.
  Upon Frederick Ferdinand's death in 1830, Henry succeeded him as Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. He left Pless to the youngest brother, Louis, who predeceased him in 1841. With Henry's death in 1847, the Anhalt-Köthen line became extinct, and all territories passed to Duke Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau.
caption: Coat of arms of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless
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