Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (22 June 1583 in Cölln an der Spree – 7 March 1625 in

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

) was a German nobleman. He ruled as

margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...

from 1603 to 1625, succeeding his cousin George Frederick and succeeded by his son Frederick III.

Life

Youth

Joachim Ernst was the son of the elector John George of

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 ...

and his third wife,

Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (15 September 1563 – 8 November 1607) was Electress of Brandenburg by marriage to John George, Elector of Brandenburg. Early life Elizabeth was a daughter of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt (1536–1585), from ...

. He travelled in England and Scotland in 1599.''HMC Salisbury Hatfield'', vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 236. He took over in 1603, the government of the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach, after the old line of Franconian

Hohenzollerns The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

died out with the death of George Fredrick the Elder of the Ansbach-Jägerndorf branch. Joachim Ernst founded the younger branch of Ansbach line of the Franconian Hohenzollerns.

Succession rules

His predecessor, George Frederick had settled the succession of his two Franconian possessions (Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach) in the

House Treaty of Gera The House Treaty of Gera was a house law of the House of Hohenzollern on the succession in Brandenburg and in the Franconian territories at the end of the sixteenth century binding rules. The Treaty and came about because Elector John George of ...

of 1598. In accordance with the provisions of this treaty, Margrave Joachim Ernst ruled Brandenburg-Ansbach and his brother

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

ruled neighboring Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Christian later moved his capital to Bayreuth, thereby changing its name to Brandenburg-Bayreuth).

Protestant Union

In the religious conflicts of the early 17th Century, Joachim Ernst tended to be in the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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 ...

camp and he also supported the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

struggle for independence. He took an active part in bringing about the Protestant Alliance 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 ...

, which was founded in 1608 on his territory, in the secularized monastery at Auhausen, near

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

. He served Elector Johann Sigismund during the War of the Julich Succession, and negotiated the Treaty of Dortmund. He favored a militant approach to the conflict. The Union was, however, dissolved again in 1621, after the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, in view of the military superiority of the imperial camp. After the dissolution of the Union, Joachim Ernst was held responsible for the outbreak of war by his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

opponents and he then completely distanced himself from his former allies.

Marriage and issue

In 1612, he married

Sophie of Solms-Laubach Sophie of Solms-Laubach (15 May 1594 – 16 May 1651), was a German regent, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach by marriage to Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Joachim Ernst, and regent during the minority of her son from 1625 until ...

(1594–1651). They had five children: *

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

(1614–1646) : married in 1641 Margrave

Erdmann August of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Erdmann August, Hereditary Prince of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (8 October 1615 – 6 February 1651), was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Hereditary prince (German: ''Erbprinz'') of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. He was the seventh of the nine childr ...

(1615–1651) * Frederick III (1616–1634), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach * Albert (26 March 1617) died at birth. * Albert II (1620–1667), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach : married firstly in 1642 Princess Henriette Louise of Württemberg-Mömpelgard (1623–1650) : married secondly in 1651 Countess Sophia Margaret of Oettingen-Oettingen (1634–1664) : married thirdly in 1665 Princess

Christine of Baden-Durlach Christine of Baden-Durlach (22 April 1645 – 21 December 1705) was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and his wife Christina Magdalena of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken. Her first marriage was t ...

(1645–1705) * Christian (10 September 1623 – 15 April 1633) died in childhood.

Ancestors

References

* Gerhard Taddey: ''Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte'', Stuttgart, 1998, * M. Spindler, A. Kraus: ''Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts'', München, 1997, * Hans-Jörg Herold: ''Markgraf Joachim Ernst von Brandenburg-Ansbach als Reichsfürst'', Göttingen, 1973, (Issue 10 of the ''Schriftenreihe der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'') *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1583 births 1625 deaths Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach House of Hohenzollern Burials at Heilsbronn Abbey Sons of prince-electors 17th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire