East Frisian coat of arms

The counts and princes of East Frisia from the noble East Frisian family Cirksena descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. The county came into existence when Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich I the son of a local chieftain to the status of Imperial Count in 1464.

The most important ruler from the House of Cirksena was Edzard the Great (1462–1528), under whose leadership the Imperial County of East Frisia reached its greatest extent. During his reign the Reformation spread throughout East Frisia.

In 1654 the Cirksena were elevated to princes by the emperor. Charles Edzard, the last ruler from the House of Cirksena, died without issue during the night of 25/26 May 1744 (reportedly from a glass of buttermilk, which is said to have drunk after a hunt). Immediately thereafter, the county passed to King Frederick II of Prussia.

Medieval chieftains in East Frisia

Counts of East Frisia

House of Cirksena

Table of rulers

Ruler		Born	Reign	Death	Ruling part	Consort	Notes
Ulrich I		1408	1464-1466	26 September 1466	East Frisia	A first wife no children Theda Ukena 1455 six children	First Count of East Frisia. Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich to the status of Imperial Count in 1464.
Regency of Theda Ukena (1466-1480)							Had no descendants. The county went to his brother.
Enno I		1 June 1460	1466-1491	19 February 1491	East Frisia	Unmarried
Edzard I the Great		15 January 1462	1491-1528	14 February 1528	East Frisia	Elisabeth of Rietberg (1470-1512) 1498 three children	Second son of Ulrich I and Theda Ukena.
Enno II		1505	1528-1540	24 September 1540	East Frisia	Anna of Oldenburg 1530 six children	Eldest son of the previous. He had a brother: Johan I of East Frisia: their father, Edzard I had introduced primogeniture in the county of East Frisia, so that Enno II inherited the county alone. Johan had to hold back. Despite his ambitions, he always acknowledged his brother's rights and did not dispute the inheritance. Despite this, Johan is counted as I.
Regency of Anna of Oldenburg (1540-1561)							Sons of Enno II, ruled together, until 1561 under regency of their mother. This coregency implies that the primogenture law issued by their grandfather, Edzard the Great, may have been revoked.
Edzard II		24 June 1532	1540-1599	1 March 1599	East Frisia	Catherine of Sweden 1 October 1559 Stockholm ten children
Johan II		29 September 1538	1540-1591	29 September 1591	East Frisia	Unmarried
Catherine of Sweden		6 June 1539	1599-1610	21 December 1610	East Frisia (at Berum and Norden)	Edzard II 1 October 1559 Stockholm ten children	Inherited from her husband some towns in East Frisia, which she ruled autonomously. After her death, her domains were reabsorbed in the county.
Enno III		30 September 1563	1586-1600 1599-1625	19 August 1625	Rietberg East Frisia	Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg 28 January 1581 three children Anna of Holstein-Gottorp 28 January 1598 three children	Probably inherited Rietberg from his first wife. The Treaty of Berum (1600) formally divided the inheritance of Walburga between her daughters, and Sabina Catharina got the County of Rietberg.
Sabina Catharina		11 August 1582	1600-1618	31 May 1618	Rietberg	John III, Count of Rietberg 3 March 1601 eleven children	Daughter of Walburgis and Enno III, inherited Rietberg from her mother. Married her paternal uncle, so the county stayed in the family.
John III		1566	1618-1625	31 May 1618	Rietberg	Sabina Catharina, Countess of Rietberg 3 March 1601 eleven children	Brother of Enno III, ruled Rietberg after the death of his wife and niece.
Rudolph Christian		2 June 1602	1625-1628	17 April 1628	East Frisia	Unmarried	Son of Enno III, and half-brother of Sabina Catharina. Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother.
Ernest Christopher		1 April 1606	1625-1640	31 December 1640	Rietberg	Albertine Marie of St. Martin 10 November 1626 no children	Son of Sabina Catharina and John III. Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother.
Ulrich II		6 July 1605	1628-1648	1 November 1648	East Frisia	Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt 5 March 1631 three children	Brother of Rudolph Christian.
John IV		31 May 1618	1640-1660	7 August 1660	Rietberg	Anna Catharina Ernestine of Salm-Reiferscheid 1647 five children	Brother of Ernest Christopher.
Regency of Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt (1648-1651)							In 1654, the county was raised to a principality. Had no male descendants, and the principality passed to his brother.
Enno Louis		29 October 1632	1648-1660	4 April 1660	East Frisia	Juliana Sophia of Barby-Mühlingen (14 April 1636 - 12 August 1677) 7 November 1656 two children
Regency of Anna Catharina Ernestine of Salm-Reiferscheid (1660-1666)							Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother.
Frederick William		16 September 1650	1660-1677	7 October 1677	Rietberg	Unmarried
George Christian		6 February 1634	1660-1665	6 June 1665	East Frisia	Christine Charlotte of Württemberg 14 May 1662 three children	Brother of Enno Louis.
Regency of Christine Charlotte of Württemberg (1665-1690)
Christian Everhard the Peaceable		1 October 1665	1665-1708	30 June 1708	East Frisia	Eberhadine Sophie of Oettingen-Oettingen (16 August 1666-30 October 1700) 7 November 1656 ten children Anna Juliana of Kleinau (1674-1727) 1701 one child
Francis Adolph William		13 November 1651	1677-1680	15 March 1690	Rietberg	Unmarried	Brother of Frederick William, abdicated to become a canon, but remained regent for his younger brother (despite he was already an adult), and would return for the regency if his niece.
Regency of Canon Francis Adolph William, Count of Rietberg (1680-1685)
Ferdinand Maximilian		8 May 1653	1680-1687	10 June 1687	Rietberg	Johannetta Elizabeth Franziska of Manderscheid-Blankenheim (26 September 1663-29 April 1704) 4 October 1685 Blankenheim one child
Regencies of Canon Francis Adolph William, Count of Rietberg (1687-1690) and Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg and Hermann Werner von Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht (1690-1702, imperial appointment)							Daughter of Ferdinand Maximilian, after her death the county was inherited by the Kaunitz family.
Maria Ernestina Franziska		1 August 1686	1687-1758	1 January 1758	Rietberg	Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz 6 August 1699 sixteen children
George Albert		13 June 1690	1708-1734	12 June 1734	East Frisia	Christine Louise of Nassau-Idstein (31 March 1691 – 13 April 1723) 24 September 1709 Idstein five children Sophie Caroline of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 8 December 1723 Berum no children
Charles Edzard		18 June 1716	1734-1744	25 May 1744	East Frisia	Sophie Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (8 July 1714 - 7 September 1749) 25 June 1734 one child	The son of Georg Albrecht and the last Fürst of East Frisia of the House of Cirksena. He died without issue.After the death of the last Prince of East Frisia, the state was conquered by King Frederick II of Prussia.
East Frisia annexed to Prussia

See also

• List of Countesses of East Frisia

Literature

• Tielke, Dr. Martin (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon für East Frisia, Bd. 1 ISBN 3-925365-75-3 (1993), Bd. 2 ISBN 3-932206-00-2 (1997), Bd. 3 ISBN 3-932206-22-3 (2001) Ostfries. Landschaftliche Verl.- u. Vertriebsges. Aurich
• Martin Jhering: Hofleben in East Frisia. Die Fürstenresidenz Aurich im Jahre 1728, Hannover 2005
• Heinrich Reimers: East Frisia bis zum Aussterben seines Fürstenhauses, Bremen 1925
• Ernst Esselborn: Das Geschlecht Cirksena, Berlin 1945
• F. Wachter: Das Erbe der Cirksena. Ein Stück ostfriesischer Geschichte und des Kampfes um die Vorherrschaft in Norddeutschland., Aurich 1921