The Treaty of Leipzig was a dynastical treaty that split the House of Wettin, who ruled Saxony and Thuringia into two cadet branches. One, the Albertine branch, would rule Saxony and the other, the Ernestine branch, would rule Thuringia. Wikipedia says that this: "in the long run obstructed the further development of a Central German hegemonic power in favour of Brandenburg-Prussia." We can even see this now, with two states in Germany, Thuringia and Saxony, controlling the land that used to be a united Saxony.

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What if this treaty didn't happen? Would this mean a strong Saxony that would replace Prussia's role in uniting Germany?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Leipzig
 
The point is that Thrungia and Saxony never really formed a sole political ensemble : even when the demesne was managed by Wettin sibship (something that IIRC, was the case since Wettin line got the Electorate of Saxony), the division was still there, supported by centuries of institutional difference. Heck, it was originally meant to be separated, if we see the succession of Frederick I among his sons.
 
The point is that Thrungia and Saxony never really formed a sole political ensemble : even when the demesne was managed by Wettin sibship (something that IIRC, was the case since Wettin line got the Electorate of Saxony), the division was still there, supported by centuries of institutional difference. Heck, it was originally meant to be separated, if we see the succession of Frederick I among his sons.

Possibly, but it was common for lands to be split between sons, and they eventually come together like Styria and Austria. So, what if the same happened with Thuringia and Saxony? If they were united, would they be very powerful in Germany? Could they have been like Prussia?
 
Possibly, but it was common for lands to be split between sons, and they eventually come together like Styria and Austria. So, what if the same happened with Thuringia and Saxony?
That's a good exemple and point, but you'd notice that they were not only mainted in personal union, but within a same entity, as Habsburg power was on the rise.
Wettins, while important, weren't that powerful to be able to enforce an unitary rule in Central Germany. In fact, you already had previous splits of Wettin demesne, as with the Treaty of Altenburg in 11445, between Frederick II and William II that shared the electorate. Why exactly did it happened regularily, that I'm unsure (altough the weakness of Wettin after the wars of the XVth might be an explanation IMO) : thing is, Wettin had a tendency to split their demesnes.

We could imagine a TL where either Albert or Ernst would die early, and therefore maintain a continuity between Saxony and Thuringia, and possibly work from there, but the reason for the divides would still be there.
If they were united, would they be very powerful in Germany?
I don't really think so (for the "very") : the territories were relatively ill-assorted and I think the Reformation would make a bit of mess of the region (arguably less so than the division between Wettin branches between Catholics and Protestants). That said, I couldn't see why the ensemble couldn't be a relatively efficient shield against the constitution of a strong eastern German ensemble if the need arised.
But how it would evolve depends if Turingia-Saxony sides with the emperor or with the protestant princes, IMO.
 
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