Meissen and the House of Wettin in 1089. In 1015 Meissen was besieged by the Poles led by future King Mieszko II. In 1241 the city was attacked in the Mongol raid on Meissen. The small Mongol force under Orda Khan defeated the city's defenders and much of the city was destroyed. The Mongols withdrew from Germany after the death of Ögedei Khan, sparing the region from further destruction. The city was at the forefront of the Ostsiedlung, or intensive German settlement of the rural Slavic lands east of the Elbe, and its reception of city rights dates to 1332. The
Alexander, Margrave of Meissen Alexander, Margrave of Meissen Alexander, Prince of Saxe-Gessaphe (German: "Alexander Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe" Polish: "Aleksander książę Sasko-Gessapski"; born "Alexander de Afif" 12 February 1954), is the adopted son and heir of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, and a businessman with Lebanese, Mexican and German roots. Following the death of Maria Emanuel in July 2012 he assumed the headship of the Royal House of Saxony, based on a 1997 agreement that named him heir, but which was repudiated a few years later by a number of signatories. His claim is disputed by his cousin Prince Rüdiger of Saxony. Born in Munich