The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg-)Ansbach (german: Fürstentum Ansbach or ) was a
principality
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall un ...
in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
centered on the
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...
n city of
Ansbach. The ruling
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
princes of the land were known as
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...
s, as their ancestors were margraves (so the principality was a margraviate but not a
march).
History
The principality was established at the death of
Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, on 21 January 1398, when his lands were partitioned between his two sons. The younger son,
Frederick VI, received Ansbach and the elder,
John III, received
Bayreuth. After John III's death on 11 June 1420, the two principalities were reunited under Frederick VI, who had become
Elector Frederick I of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...
in 1415.
Upon Frederick I's death on 21 September 1440, his territories were divided between his sons;
John received the
principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth (german: Fürstentum Bayreuth) or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynas ...
(Brandenburg-Kulmbach),
Frederick received Brandenburg, and
Albert received Ansbach. Thereafter Ansbach was held by
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, t ...
es of the
House of Hohenzollern, and its rulers were commonly called Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
On 2 December 1791, the reigning Prince and Margrave of Ansbach,
Charles Alexander, who had also succeeded to Bayreuth, sold the sovereignty of his principalities to King
Frederick William II of Prussia. The Margrave was middle-aged and childless, and Frederick William was his kinsman as the head of the House of Hohenzollern. The Margrave moved to England with his English second wife. Ansbach was formally annexed on 28 January 1792.
Princes and Margraves of Ansbach
* 1398:
Frederick VI, Burgrave of Nuremberg (from 1415 also
Elector of Brandenburg
This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the H ...
)
* 1440:
Albert Achilles
Albrecht III (9 November 141411 March 1486) was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen '' Achilles'' because of his knightly qual ...
(from 1470 also Elector of Brandenburg)
* 1486:
Frederick I
* 1515:
George ''the Pious''
* 1543:
George Frederick I
* 1603:
Joachim Ernst
* 1625:
Frederick III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Frederick III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1 May 1616, Ansbach – 6 September 1634, Nördlingen) was a German nobleman. He was the eldest son of Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ans ...
* 1634:
Albert II
* 1667:
John Frederick
* 1686:
Christian Albrecht
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
* 1692:
George Frederick II ''the Younger''
* 1703:
William Frederick (before 1686–1723)
* 1723:
Charles William Frederick (1712–1757)
* 1757:
Charles Alexander (to 1791)
See also
*
Ansbach-Bayreuth in the American Revolution
*
Wolf of Ansbach
External links
The Ansbach-Bayreuth Army in Americaat Exulanten.com
on WorldStatesmen.org
*
*
on ''Tacitus Historical Atlas''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansbach
1398 establishments in Europe
1390s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1792 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Britain's German allies during the American Revolution
Franconian Circle
Former states and territories of Bavaria
History of Ansbach
Lists of princes
Lists of nobility
Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire