Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg

Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg,also known asChristian of Anhalt,(11 May 1568 – 17 April 1630) was a German prince of theHouse of Ascania.He was ruling prince ofAnhaltand, from 1603, ruling prince of the revived principality ofAnhalt-Bernburg.From 1595 he was governor ofUpper Palatinate,and soon became the advisor-in-chief ofFrederick IV, Elector Palatine.

Christian I
Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
Christian of Anhalt, 1609
Born	11 May 1568 Bernburg
Died	17 April 1630(1630-04-17)(aged 61) Bernburg
Spouse	Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg
Issue Detail	Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Eleonore Marie Frederick, Prince of Anhalt(-Bernburg)-Harzgerode
House	Ascania
Father	Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt
Mother	Agnes of Barby-Mühlingen

Life

Christian was the second son ofJoachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt,by his first wife Agnes, daughter ofWolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen.Born inBernburg,Christian was trained from 1570 inDessauby Caspar Gottschalk in Latin, Italian, and French. Still a child, he participated in diplomatic missions, among other places, toConstantinople;thus prepared, he developed into an ambitious, urbane diplomat.

In the early months of 1586 he went toDresdenand remained there several years as the closest friend of his namesake,Christian I, Elector of Saxony,whoseCalvinistsympathies 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 devotedCalvinistand later served as advisor toFrederick IV, Elector Palatine.In 1591 he led the Palatine army in aid of the French kingHenry IV.When a dispute for the possession of thebishopric of Strasbourg—the so-calledBishops' War—erupted in 1592, he supportedBrandenburgagainstLorraine.In 1595 he was appointed Governor of theUpper Palatinateby Frederick IV and settled in the Bavarian town ofAmberg.

In 1603 the principality of Anhalt was formally divided between Christian and his surviving brothers. He receivedBernburg,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 theProtestant Unionin 1608. With the death of the Elector Frederick IV, Christian served his son,Frederick V,and was appointed to command the Protestant forces to defendBohemiaagainstHoly Roman EmperorFerdinand IIand his allies when the Bohemian nobles elected Frederick as their king in 1619. The same year, Christian was accepted in theFruitbearing Society.When Bohemian forces were defeated at theBattle of White Mountainin 1620, Christian advised Frederick against making a stand inPrague.In 1621, in response to his affiliation with the Palatines, Christian was put under animperial banthat effectively made him an outlaw within theHoly Roman Empireand stripped him of his lands.

Christian fled first toSweden,and then became a guest of KingChristian IVat his court inDenmark-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

InLohrbachon 2 July 1595 Christian marriedAnna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg(b.Bentheim,4 January 1579 – d. Bernburg, 9 December 1624), daughter ofArnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg.They had sixteen children:

1. Frederick Christian (b. and d. Amberg, 2 May 1596).
2. Amalie Juliane (b. Amberg, 10 September 1597 – d.Neinburg,Hannover,11 August 1605).
3. Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg(b. Amberg, 11 August 1599 – d. Bernburg, 22 September 1656).
4. Eleonore Marie(b. Amberg, 7 August 1600 – d.Strelitz,17 July 1657), married on 7 May 1626 toJohn Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
5. A daughter (b. and d. Amberg, May? 1601).
6. Sibylle Elisabeth (b. Amberg, 10 February 1602 – d. Strelitz, 15 August 1648).
7. Anna Magdalene (b. Amberg, 8 March 1603 – d. 30 October 1611).
8. Anna Sophie (b. Amberg, 10 June 1604 – d. Bernburg, 1 September 1640).
9. Louise Amalie (b. Amberg, 14 January 1606 – d. Bernburg, 17 October 1635).
10. Ernest (b. Amberg, 19 May 1608 – d.Naumburg,3 December 1632), colonel of a cavalry regiment in Saxon service, fatally wounded at theBattle of Lützen (1632).
11. Amöena Juliane (b. Amberg, 13 November 1609 – d. Bernburg, 31 July 1628).
12. Agnes Magdalene (b. Amberg, 8 October 1612 – d.Wildungen,17 July 1629).
13. Frederick, Prince of Anhalt(-Bernburg)-Harzgerode(b.Ensdorf,16 November 1613 – d.Plötzkau,30 June 1670).
14. Sophie Margarete (b. Amberg, 16 September 1615 – d. Dessau, 27 December 1673), married on 14 July 1651 toJohn Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.
15. Dorothea Matilde (b. Amberg, 11 August 1617 – d. Bernburg, 7 May 1656).
16. Frederick Louis (b. Amberg, 17 August 1619 – d.Harzgerode,29 January 1621).

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.ISBN0-415-26769-2