Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania

Philipp Julius (27 December 1584, Wolgast – 6 February 1625) was duke of Pomerania in the Teilherzogtum Pomerania-Wolgast from 1592 to 1625.

Philipp Julius was the son of Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Pomerania, and Sophia Hedwig, daughter of Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Ernst Ludwig died on 17 July 1592. From 1592 to 1603, Philipp Julius was under the tutelage of his uncle, Bogislaw XIII. During this time, he received his education at the University of Leipzig, and afterwards travelled to nearly all courts from England to Italy. On 25 June 1604, he married Agnes of Brandenburg (1584-1629), daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg and his second wife, Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst.

A month after his marriage, Philipp Julius reached his majority and took on his position as a duke on 21 July 1604. He continued his extensive travelling, visiting England, the Dutch Republic, Denmark, Berlin, Danzig, Courland, and other locations en route. His travelling caused him to be absent for years.

Philipp Julius suffered serious financial difficulties throughout his reign. While not curtailing his own expenses, he limited the travels of the functionaries of his court. Also, most of the ducal domains were leased to third parties, causing a significant worsening of the peasants' situation. The rate of compulsory work the peasants were obliged to doubled during Philipp Julius' reign. Studies revealed that nearly all peasants on the island of Rügen were impoverished or indebted by the time of his death. The duke also attempted to get the Hanseatic towns of Greifswald and Stralsund to assume parts of his debts, triggering heavy conflicts. In 1604, an intervention in Greifswald's inner affairs went in his favour. In 1612, he humiliated the towns when, in disregard of their traditional autonomy, he entered their limits in company of several hundred mercenaries. In 1613, Philipp Julius granted town law to Bergen for a payment of 8,000 Mark.

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