Treaty of Leipzig

The agreement perpetuated the division of the Wettin lands into a Saxon and a Thuringian part, which in the long run obstructed the further development of a Central German hegemonic power in favour of Brandenburg-Prussia.

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.

Albert chose the eastern territory of the former Margraviate of Meissen, while Ernest acquired most of the Thuringian regions in the west.

In the course of the Protestant Reformation the Ernestine and Albertine branches of the Wettin dynasty found themselves on opposing sides of the 1546/47 Schmalkaldic War.