John George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
John George was born in Harzgerode on 9 May 1567 as the eldest son of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen.After the death of his father in 1586, John George inherited the unified principality of Anhalt jointly with his younger brother Christian I and his five half-brothers according to the family law of the House of Ascania, which mandated no division of territories among the heirs.John George received Anhalt-Dessau, as well as the Seniorat; nonetheless, he maintained a regency over all of the newly created principalities until 1606, when his brothers took over the government in their lands.As a ruler, he maintained Reformation policies in his state and vigorously pursued the abolition of the traditional customs and liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.On 24 August 1617 at Schloss Hornstein (later Wilhelmsburg Castle) during the funeral of their sister Dorothea Maria, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, John George and his younger brother Louis of Anhalt-Köthen created the Fruitbearing Society.
Prince of AnhaltJoachim ErnestPrince of Anhalt-DessauJohn CasimirHarzgerodePrincipality of Anhalt-DessauUpper Saxon CircleHoly Roman EmpireDessauCountess Palatine Dorothea of SimmernSophie ElisabethJohn Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-DessauEleonore Dorothea, Duchess of Saxe-WeimarSibylle Christine, Countess of Hanau-Münzenberg and Hanau-LichtenbergGeorge AribertSusanna Margarete of Hanau-LichtenbergGermanHouse of AscaniaJoachim Ernest, Prince of AnhaltprinceprincipalityAnhaltAnhalt-DessauastrologyalchemyJoachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt-ZerbstBernhard VII, Prince of Anhalt-ZerbstChristian IReformationRoman Catholic ChurchDorothea MariaLouis of Anhalt-KöthenFruitbearing SocietyHederslebenHeidelbergDorotheaKaiserslauternSanderslebenJohn Casimir of SimmernFrederick III, Elector PalatineLiegnitzGeorge Rudolph, Duke of LiegnitzEschwegeOtto, Hereditary Prince of Hesse-KasselTecklenburgArnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-LimburgEleonore DorotheaWilliam, Duke of Saxe-WeimarSibylle ChristinePhilip Maurice, Count of Hanau-MünzenbergFrederick Casimir, Count of Hanau-LichtenbergWörlitzRotenburgHerman IV, Landgrave of Hesse-RotenburgSusanna MargareteBabenhausenJohn Philip of Hanau-Lichtenberg