Ernestine duchies
The other Ernestine duchies were never members of the Imperial Circle, and were subordinate to the five duchies that did belong to the Imperial Circle (for example, the principalities of Meiningen and Hildburghausen were such; that was one reason why Duke of Hildburghausen exchanged his patrimony to that of Altenburg). Ultimately, in the German Confederation, all these became equally sovereign.