Albert, Duke of Prussia
Channel: all the knowledge of the universe PRINCIPIA
Date: 2021-12-02

Albert, Duke of Prussia, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1514 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Dukes_of_Prussia
#Protestant_monarchs
#1490_births
#1568_deaths
#16th-century_Dukes_of_Prussia
#Converts_to_Lutheranism_from_Roman_Catholicism
#German_people_of_Lithuanian_descent
#German_people_of_Polish_descent
#German_Lutherans
#Grand_Masters_of_the_Teutonic_Order
Albert of Prussia （German: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568） was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism,
became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secularized state that emerged from the former Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights.
Albert was the first European ruler to establish Lutheranism, and thus Protestantism, as the official state religion of his lands.
He proved instrumental in the political spread of Protestantism in its early stage, ruling the Prussian lands for nearly six decades （1510–1568）.
A member of the Brandenburg-Ansbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern, Albert became Grand Master, where his skill in political administration and leadership ultimately succeeded in reversing the decline of the Teutonic Order.
But Albert, who was sympathetic to the demands of Martin Luther, rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire by converting the Teutonic state into a Protestant and hereditary realm,
the Duchy of Prussia, for which he paid homage to his uncle, Sigismund I, King of Poland.
That arrangement was confirmed by the Treaty of Kraków in 1525.
Albert pledged a personal oath to the King and in return was invested with the duchy for himself and his heirs.
Albert's rule in Prussia was fairly prosperous.
Although he had some trouble with the peasantry, the confiscation of the lands and treasures of the Catholic Church enabled him to propitiate the nobles and provide for the expenses of the newly established Prussian court.
He was active in imperial politics, joining the League o...