Augustus II (1670-1733), called Augustus the Strong, was elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Better known for his extravagance and promiscuity than for political shrewdness, he failed in his modest attempts to create a strong and independent Poland.

On May 12, 1670, Augustus was born Frederick August of Wettin, in Dresden, the second son of the Saxon elector John George III . He was trained for a military career. His powerful physique and apparently insatiable sexual appetite earned him the title "the Strong." He succeeded as elector of Saxony when his older brother, John George IV , died without heirs in 1694. The next 2 years he spent commanding the armies of the Hapsburg Empire against the Turks in Hungary. He proved an inept and unimaginative commander.

When King John III Sobieski of Poland died in June 1696, Frederick August entered the international competition for the Polish throne. He renounced his Protestant faith, to...