Christian of Anhalt

Christian of Anhalt (born May 11, 1568, Bernburg, Anhalt [Ger.]—died April 17, 1630, Bernburg) was a minor Protestant prince who played a major role in precipitating the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48). Christian entered the service of the Lutheran elector of Saxony and in 1591 led a force of German Protestant troops to support the Calvinist Henry IV in the French Wars of Religion. The following year he converted to Calvinism, and in 1595 Frederick IV,...