'''Albert Alcibiades''' ({{lang-de|Albrecht Alcibiades}}; [[March 28]] [[1522]]- [[January 8]] [[1557]]) was a [[Margrave]] of [[Principality of Bayreuth|Brandenburg-Kulmbach]], also known as Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Because of his bellicose nature Albert received the [[cognomen]] ''[[Alcibiades]]'' after his death; during his lifetime Albert was known as ''Bellator'' (the Warlike). He was a member of the [[Franconia]]n branch of the [[House of Hohenzollern]].

== Biography ==

Albert was born at [[Ansbach]] and, having lost his father [[Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Casimir]] in 1527, he came under the guardianship of his uncle [[George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]], a strong adherent of [[Protestantism]]. In 1541 he received [[Bayreuth]] as his share of the family lands, but, as the chief town of his principality was [[Kulmbach]], he is sometimes referred to as the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

His restless and turbulent nature marked him out for a military career; and having collected
a small band of soldiers, he assisted Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in his war with France in 1543. The [[Peace of Crepy-en-Laonnois]] in September 1544 deprived him of this employment, but he had won a considerable reputation, and when Charles was preparing to attack the [[Schmalkaldic League]], he took pains to win Albert's assistance. Sharing in the attack on the Saxon electorate, Albert was taken prisoner at [[Rochlitz]] in March 1547 by Elector [[John Frederick, Elector of Saxony|John Frederick]] of Saxony, but was released as a result of the emperor's victory at the [[Battle of Mühlberg]] in the succeeding April.

He then followed the fortunes of his friend Elector [[Maurice, Elector of Saxony|Maurice]] of Saxony, deserted Charles, and joined the league which proposed to overthrow the emperor by an alliance with King [[Henry II of France]]. He took part in the subsequent campaign, but when the [[Peace of Passau]] was signed in August 1552 he separated himself from his allies and began a crusade of plunder in [[Franconia]]. Having extorted a large sum of money from the citizens of [[Nuremberg]], he quarrelled with his supporter, the French king, and offered his services to the emperor. Charles, anxious to secure such a famous fighter, gladly assented to Albert's demands and gave the imperial sanction to his possession of the lands taken from the bishops of [[Bishopric of Würzburg|Würzburg]] and [[Bishopric of Bamberg|Bamberg]]; and his conspicuous bravery was of great value to the emperor on the retreat from [[Metz]] in January 1553.

When Charles left Germany a few weeks later, Albert renewed his depredations in Franconia. These soon became so serious that a league was formed to crush him, and Maurice of Saxony led an army against his former comrade. The rival forces met at [[Battle of Sievershausen|Sievershausen]] on [[July 9]] [[1553]], and after a combat of unusual ferocity Albert was put to flight. [[Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], then took command of the troops of the league, and after Albert had been placed under the imperial ban in December 1553 he was defeated by Duke Henry, and compelled to flee to France. He there entered the service of Henry II of France and had undertaken a campaign to regain his lands when he died at [[Pforzheim]] on [[January 8]] [[1557]].

He is defined by [[Thomas Carlyle]] as "a failure of a Fritz," with "features" of a [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]] in him, "but who burnt away his splendid qualities as a mere temporary shine for the able editors, and never came to anything, full of fire, too much of it wildfire, not in the least like an Alcibiades except in the change of fortune he underwent".

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{{s-hou|[[House of Hohenzollern]]|28 March|1522|8 January|1557}}
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{{succession box|title=[[Margrave of Bayreuth]]|before=[[Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Casimir]]|after=[[George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|George Frederick]]|years=[[1527]]/[[1541]]-[[1553]]}}
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==References==
*{{1911}}

[[Category:1522 births]]
[[Category:1557 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Hohenzollern]]
[[Category:Margraves of Bayreuth]]

[[de:Albrecht Alcibiades (Brandenburg-Kulmbach)]]
[[ja:アルブレヒト・アルキビアデス]]