| 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 | |
| House | Ascania |
| Father | Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt |
| Mother | Agnes of Barby-Mühlingen |
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 ofAnhalt and, 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 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 inDessau by 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 toDresden and remained there several years as the closest friend of his namesake,Christian I, Elector of Saxony, whoseCalvinist 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 devotedCalvinist and 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 supportedBrandenburg againstLorraine. In 1595 he was appointed Governor of theUpper Palatinate by 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 Union 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 defendBohemia againstHoly Roman EmperorFerdinand II and 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 Mountain in 1620, Christian advised Frederick against making a stand inPrague. In 1621, in response to his affiliation with the Palatines, Christian was put under animperial ban that effectively made him an outlaw within theHoly Roman Empire and stripped him of his lands.
Christian fled first toSweden, and then became a guest of KingChristian IV at 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.
InLohrbach on 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:
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Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Born: 11 May 1568 Died: 17 April 1630 | ||
| Preceded by | Prince of Anhalt with John George I, Bernhard (until 1596), Augustus, Rudolph, John Ernest (until 1601) and Louis 1586–1603 | Succeeded by Principality partitioned in Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Bernburg, Anhalt-Plötzkau, Anhalt-Zerbst and Anhalt-Köthen |
| Preceded by Principality (re-)created | Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg 1603–1630 | Succeeded by |
