Gedeon II, Duke of Thuringia (Merveilles des Morte)

Gedeon II
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Duke of Thuringia
Reign	1572-
Coronation	30 July 1572 in Erfurt
Predecessor	Issachar I
Successor	Xaver
Born	10 June 1543 Erfurt, Thuringia, Rätian Union, Holy Roman Empire
Spouse	Louise of Luxembourg Elisabeth von Ortenburg
Issue	Xaver
House	House of Jenagotha
Father	Issachar I
Mother	Agnes Edmundina de la Marck
Religion	Jungism

Gedeon II (10 June 1543 - ) was Duke of Thuringia from 1572 until his death, succeeding his father Issachar I. Gedeon II would be the first Duke of Thuringia born in the Rätian Union, and grew up during its rise to prominence.

From a young age Gedeon showed an interest in the military, as well as in literature. He became fascinated with the story of his namesake, the ancient prophet Gideon. He became a thinwhitedukist from a young age, but differed from many of the leading politicians of the time in his belief that military expansionism to spread the reformation was just and needed. Gedeon would lead a detachment of volunteers during the Trier War to much acclaim, although the war ended unsuccessfully for the Jungists.

Politically he sided with leaders such as William von Halle, who also pushed for expansion of the Union. Gedeon protested against the election of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, believing that the Jungists should strike to preserve the imperial title, and that the Catholics had stolen the election. Gedeon was often blocked by his local assemblies, causing him to withdraw from politics in protest. In what became known as the "Long Rätia", Gedeon ruled in Thuringia for almost two decades independently of the state's parliamentary systems, and in return the Apostles of Thuringia blocked funding to the Duke's pursuits.

During the Forty Years' War, Gedeon was initially blocked from intervening by the rest of the Thuringian province, and was forced to supply mercenaries to the cause out of his own pocket. Only in 1601 was the Thuringian Rätia reassembled, and the nobility of the province agreed to supply Gedeon with an army and funds in exchange for concessions to them, namely the outlawing of the disbandment of the rätia. Subsequently Gedeon became one of the province's leading military commanders and sought to become Holy Roman Emperor after the abdication of Joktan, although this failed.

Ancestry

Ancestry of Gedeon II, Duke of Thuringia

Family of Gedeon II, Duke of Thuringia (Merveilles des Morte)

Ancestors of Gedeon II, Duke of Thuringia (Merveilles des Morte) 16. Thin White Duke of Thuringia 8. Hugh the Heir, Duke of Thuringia 17. Johanna of Thuringia 4. Gedeon I, Duke of Thuringia 18. Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria 9. Mary of Bavaria 19. Agnes Přemyslid, Count Dowager of Nassau 2. Issachar I, Duke of Thuringia 20. Frederick V, Margrave of Meissen 10. Frederick VI, Margrave of Meissen 21. Catherine of Brunswick 5. Philippina of Meissen 22. Thin White Duke of Thuringia 11. Agnes of Thuringia (Direct Jenagotha) 23. Maria of Sommerschenburg 1. Gedeon II, Duke of Thuringia 24. Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor 12. Edmund Alwin, Elector of Saxony 25. Catherine Beaufort 6. Edmund, Duke of Saxe-Jessen 26. Wolfgang the Wanderer 13. Clementia of Thuringia (Wolfgangian Jenagotha) 27. Louise of Saxony 3. Agnes Edmundina of Saxony 28. William of Talstein, Imperial Guard 14. Henry IX, Holy Roman Emperor 29. Agnes of Saalfield 7. Agnes of Thuringia (Apostolic Jenagotha) 30. George Frederick II von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg 15. Elizabeth von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg 31. Dorothea Reuss of Gera