Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Lauchstädt

He was born in Merseburg, the fifth but third surviving son of Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg and Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

In order to give his three younger sons a proper land to live, Duke Christian I, before his death assigned to them in each case his own small territories as appanages; however, the allowances of them remained in the Saxe-Merseburg main line and with this, their powers over that lands were strongly limited.

Philipp was completely devoted to his military career as an officer in the Imperial army against King Louis XIV of France and was killed in the Battle of Fleurus (1690).

In Weimar on 9 July 1684 Philipp married firstly with Eleonore Sophie of Saxe-Weimar.

They had two children, neither of whom survived to adulthood: In Bernstadt on 17 August 1688 and eighteen months after the death of his first wife, Philipp married secondly with Louise Elisabeth of Württemberg-Oels.