Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, also known as Christian of Anhalt, (11 May 1568 – 17 April 1630) was a German prince of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

. He was ruling prince of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

and, from 1603, ruling prince of the revived principality of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

. From 1595 he was governor of

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

, and soon became the advisor-in-chief of

Frederick IV, Elector Palatine Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (; 5 March 1574 – 19 September 1610), only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" (; French: ''Frédéric IV le juste''). Life Bor ...

Life

Christian was the second son of

Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt Joachim Ernest of Anhalt (21 October 1536 – 6 December 1586), was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1551, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands. Life Early life Joachim Ernes ...

, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen. Born in

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeb ...

, Christian was trained from 1570 in

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

by Caspar Gottschalk in Latin, Italian, and French. Still a child, he participated in diplomatic missions, among other places, to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

; thus prepared, he developed into an ambitious, urbane diplomat. In the early months of 1586 he went to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and remained there several years as the closest friend of his namesake,

Christian I, Elector of Saxony Christian I of Saxony (29 October 1560 – 25 September 1591) was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth but second surviving son of Augustus, Elector of Saxony a ...

, whose

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

sympathies he shared. It is known that he suffered from alcoholic excesses during his stay at the electoral court. Taking possession of his family lands in December of the same year (1586), Christian remained a devoted

and later served as advisor to

. In 1591 he led the Palatine army in aid of the French king Henry IV. When a dispute for the possession of the

bishopric of Strasbourg The Prince-Bishopric of Strasburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 13th century until 1803. During the late 17th century, most of its territory was annexed by France; this consisted of the areas on the ...

—the so-called Bishops' War—erupted in 1592, he supported

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

against

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. In 1595 he was appointed Governor of the

by Frederick IV and settled in the Bavarian town of

Amberg Amberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate about halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. History The town was first mentioned in 1034 with the name Ammenberg. It became an important trading c ...

. In 1603 the principality of Anhalt was formally divided between Christian and his surviving brothers. He received

, and with this settlement revived the old principality of the same name that had been extinct since 1468. As a diplomat, Christian played an important role in the formation of the

Protestant Union The Protestant Union (), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine in order t ...

in 1608. With the death of the Elector Frederick IV, Christian served his son, Frederick V, and was appointed to command the Protestant forces to defend

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

against

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Ferdinand II and his allies when the Bohemian nobles elected Frederick as their king in 1619. The same year, Christian was accepted in the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''Societas Fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it ...

. When Bohemian forces were defeated at the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620, Christian advised Frederick against making a stand in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1621, in response to his affiliation with the Palatines, Christian was put under an

imperial ban The imperial ban () was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or the '' Reichskammerg ...

that effectively made him an outlaw within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and stripped him of his lands. Christian fled first to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and then became a guest of King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

at his court in Denmark-Norway. He appealed to Emperor Ferdinand for mercy in 1624 and was allowed to return to his principality, where he died six years later.

Marriage and issue

In Lohrbach on 2 July 1595 Christian married Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (b. Bentheim, 4 January 1579 – d. Bernburg, 9 December 1624), daughter of

Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg (10 or 11 October 1554 in Neuenhaus – 11 January 1606 in Tecklenburg) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and Count of Limburg. He ruled as Ar ...

. They had sixteen children: #Frederick Christian (b. and d. Amberg, 2 May 1596). #Amalie Juliane (b. Amberg, 10 September 1597 – d. Neinburg,

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, 11 August 1605). #

Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Christian II of Anhalt-Bernburg (11 August 1599, in Amberg – 22 September 1656, in Bernburg), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the second (but eldest surviving) son of Christi ...

(b. Amberg, 11 August 1599 – d. Bernburg, 22 September 1656). # Eleonore Marie (b. Amberg, 7 August 1600 – d. Strelitz, 17 July 1657), married on 7 May 1626 to

John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg John Albert II (5 May 1590 in Waren – 23 April 1636 in Güstrow) was a duke of Mecklenburg. From 1608 to 1611, he was the nominal ruler of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; the actual ruler being the regent, his great-uncle Charles I. From 1611 to 1621 ...

-Güstrow. #A daughter (b. and d. Amberg, May? 1601). #Sibylle Elisabeth (b. Amberg, 10 February 1602 – d. Strelitz, 15 August 1648). #Anna Magdalene (b. Amberg, 8 March 1603 – d. 30 October 1611). #Anna Sophie (b. Amberg, 10 June 1604 – d. Bernburg, 1 September 1640). #Louise Amalie (b. Amberg, 14 January 1606 – d. Bernburg, 17 October 1635). #Ernest (b. Amberg, 19 May 1608 – d.

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

, 3 December 1632), colonel of a cavalry regiment in Saxon service, fatally wounded at the

Battle of Lützen (1632) The Battle of Lützen, fought on 16 November 1632, is considered one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years' War. Led by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, an Allied army primarily composed of troops from Sweden, Electorate of Sa ...

. #Amöena Juliane (b. Amberg, 13 November 1609 – d. Bernburg, 31 July 1628). #Agnes Magdalene (b. Amberg, 8 October 1612 – d. Wildungen, 17 July 1629). # Frederick, Prince of Anhalt(-Bernburg)-Harzgerode (b. Ensdorf, 16 November 1613 – d.

Plötzkau Plötzkau is a municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and ...

, 30 June 1670). #Sophie Margarete (b. Amberg, 16 September 1615 – d. Dessau, 27 December 1673), married on 14 July 1651 to

John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (17 December 1596 – 15 September 1660), was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1618 to 1660. During his reign the tasks of government were carr ...

. #Dorothea Matilde (b. Amberg, 11 August 1617 – d. Bernburg, 7 May 1656). #Frederick Louis (b. Amberg, 17 August 1619 – d.

Harzgerode Harzgerode is a town in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Harzgerode lies in the lower eastern part of the Harz mountain range on the Selke River, south of Quedlinburg. It is connected to Gernrode and Quedlinburg via ...

, 29 January 1621).

Footnotes

References

* Parker, Geoffrey (ed.) (1997): ''The Thirty Years' War: Second Edition''. Routledge. *Pursell, Brennan C. ''The Winter King''. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003. * Yates, Frances. ''The Rosicrucian Enlightenment''. London; New York: Routledge, 1972. {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg 1568 births 1630 deaths Princes of Anhalt Princes of Anhalt-Bernburg German Calvinist and Reformed Christians German military personnel of the Thirty Years' War People from the Electoral Palatinate Burials at Schlosskirche St. Aegidien (Bernburg) Palatinate nobility