Augustus was born in Dresden on 12 May 1670, the younger son of John George III, Elector of Saxony and Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark.

As the second son, Augustus had no expectation of inheriting the electorate, since his older brother, John George IV, assumed the post after the death of their father on 12 September 1691.

[3] While in Venice during the carnival season, his older brother, the Elector John George IV, contracted smallpox from his mistress Magdalena Sibylla of Neidschutz.

[4] His church policy within the Holy Roman Empire followed orthodox Lutheranism and ran counter to his new-found religious and absolutist convictions.

According to the Peace of Augsburg, Augustus theoretically had the right to re-introduce Roman Catholicism (see Cuius regio, eius religio), or at least grant full religious freedom to his fellow Catholics in Saxony, but this never happened.

In 1717, it became clear just how awkward the situation was: to realize his ambitious dynastic plans in Poland and Germany, it was necessary for Augustus' heirs to become Roman Catholic.

Victory at Podhajce had the political impact of forcing the Ottoman Empire to return Podolia and Kamieniec Podolski in Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

[9] 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.

He formed an alliance with Frederick IV of Denmark and Peter I of Russia to strip the young King Charles XII of Sweden (Augustus' cousin) of his possessions.

Charles proved an able military commander, however, quickly forcing the Danes out of the war and then driving back the Russians at Narva in 1700, thereby allowing him to focus on the struggle with Augustus.

He defeated another of Augustus' armies under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Adam Heinrich von Steinau at the Battle of Pułtusk in spring 1703, and besieged and captured Toruń.

In 1704 the Swedes installed Stanisław Leszczyński and tied the commonwealth to Sweden, which compelled Augustus to initiate military operations in Poland alongside Russia (an alliance was concluded in Narva in summer 1704).

Following the Battle of Fraustadt, on 1 September 1706, Charles invaded Saxony, forcing Augustus to yield the Polish throne to Leszczyński by the Treaty of Altranstädt (October 1706).

He was handicapped by the mutual jealousy of the Saxons and the Poles, and a struggle broke out in Poland which was only ended when the king promised to limit the number of his army in that country to 18,000 men.

For the remainder of his reign, in an uneasy relationship, Augustus was more or less dependent on Russia (and to a lesser extent, on Austria) to maintain his Polish throne.

He introduced the first public museums, such as the Green Vault in 1723, and started systematic collection of paintings that are now on display in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.

In accordance with the spirit of the baroque age, Augustus invested heavily in the representative splendor of Dresden Castle, his major residence, to advertise his wealth and power.

It was not only the largest troop show in Europe but also one of the most gigantic baroque festivals of its time, showcasing the high level of Saxon art and culture.

In 1701 he rescued the young alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, who had fled from the court of King Frederick I of Prussia, who had expected that he produce gold for him as he had boasted he could.

He realised that the current approaches, which involved mixing fine white substances like crushed egg shells into clay, would not work.

The most famous of the king's children born out of wedlock was Maurice de Saxe, a brilliant strategist who attained the highest military ranks in the Kingdom of France.

In the War of the Polish Succession he remained loyal to his employer Louis XV, who was married to the daughter of Augustus's rival Stanisław I Leszczyński.

The Electress Christiane, who remained Protestant and refused to move to Poland with her husband, preferred to spend her time in the mansion in Pretzsch on the Elbe, where she died.

Augustus officially recognised only a tiny fraction of that number as his bastards (the mothers of these "chosen ones", with the possible exception of Fatima and Henriette Rénard, were all aristocratic ladies):