Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (30 January 1581 in Cölln – 30 May 1655 in Bayreuth) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (later renamed "Brandenburg-Bayreuth"). He was the eldest of eleven children born to John George, Elector of Brandenburg by his third wife Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst. Life. The death of the childless George Frederick the Elder in 1603 marked the extinction of the original Franconian line of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach. Christian inherited Kulmbach and his younger brother Joachim Ernst received Ansbach. This land  partition had already been legitimized in 1598 by the House Treaty of Gera, which was prepared for this purpose. Christian's assumption of the government of Kulmbach took place at the same time as that of Joachim Ernst in Ansbach. In 1604 Christian moved the seat of power from Kulmbach to Bayreuth and Plassenburg, however Kulmbach was retained as a regional fortress. From that moment, the principality changed its name from Brandenburg-Kulmbach to Brandenburg-Bayreuth. In 1606 Christian was elected Colonel (German: "Kreisobrist") of the Franconian Circle. He was also one of the founders of the Protestant Union and  formed an alliance during the Thirty Years' War with Sweden. Emperor Ferdinand II tried to depose him as ruler of Bayreuth in 1635; however, he continued in office. Family and children. In Plassenburg on 29 April 1604, Christian married Marie, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. They had nine children: