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Augustus II the Strong (; (ポーランド語:August II Mocny); (リトアニア語:Augustas II); 12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733) of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin was Elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus I), Imperial Vicar and became King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (as Augustus II). Augustus' great physical strength earned him the nicknames "the Strong", "the Saxon Hercules" and "Iron-Hand." He liked to show that he lived up to his name by breaking horseshoes with his bare hands and engaging in fox tossing by holding the end of his sling with just one finger while two of the strongest men in his court held the other end.〔Sacheverell Sitwell. ''The Hunters and the Hunted'', p. 60. Macmillan, 1947.〕 In order to be elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Augustus converted to Roman Catholicism. As a Catholic, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece from the Holy Roman Emperor. As Elector of Saxony, he is perhaps best remembered as a patron of the arts and architecture. He established the Saxon capital of Dresden as a major cultural centre, attracting artists from across Europe to his court. Augustus also amassed an impressive art collection and built lavish baroque palaces in Dresden and Warsaw. As King of Poland, his reign was successful. He led the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Great Northern War, which led to the Russian Empire strengthening its influence with the Commonwealth. He achieved internal reforms with his admired wit that led to an enlightenment among Poland at the time, he bolstered royal power in the Commonwealth. Known as being an intellectual he protected to Jagiellonian illuminated order and was on the winning end of the Great Northern War. ==Early life== Augustus was born in Dresden on 12 May 1670, the younger son of the Elector John George III and Anne 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. Augustus married Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth in Bayreuth on 20 January 1693. They had a son, Frederick Augustus II (1696–1763), who succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony and King of Poland as Augustus III.〔.〕 While covorting during the carnival season in Venice, his older brother, the Elector John George IV, contracted smallpox from his mistress Magdalene Sybille of Neidschutz. On 27 April 1694, John George died without legitimate issue and Augustus became Elector of Saxony, as Frederick Augustus I.〔.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Augustus II the Strong」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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