| Elias I | |
|---|---|
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| Portrait of Elias I, 1560 | |
| Duke of Brandenburg | |
| Reign | 1531-1565 |
| Coronation | 13 November 1565 in Berlin |
| Predecessor | John III |
| Successor | Henry II |
| Born | 12 January 1512 Köpenick, Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 7 April 1592 Berlin, Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire |
| Spouse | (1) Sarah of Livonia |
| Issue |
Henry II |
| House | Přemyslid dynasty |
| Father | John III |
| Mother | Constance von Jenagotha |
| Religion | Jungism |
Elias I (12 January 1512 - 7 April 1592) was Duke of Brandenburg from 1565 until his death in 1592. Elias succeeded his father John III and was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, becoming the third Duke of Brandenburg.
As Duke of Brandenburg, Elias remained a proponent of the Reformation, but was far less zealous than his predecessors. He invited Jungist theologians and scholars to his court, and controversially allowed Kafkanist reformers a place at court to debate and write under his protection, leading to a fear of Cypto-Kafkanism spreading among the Brandenburger clergy. His interest in scholasticism and theology also pushed him to found Brandenburg's first protestant academy, the University of Berlin, more commonly known as the Eliasia.
Elias' reign was fairly prosperous, and he maintained peace in Brandenburg for the majority of his reign. He repaired relations with his kinsmen Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Jaromir III of Bohemia after the Brothers' Quarrel, but otherwise stayed out of major religious conflicts brewing across the Empire. Later in life Elias hoped to invigorate Brandenburg's army, fearing the might of the growing Catholic League led by Leopold III of Habsburg. He proposed Bohemia make closer ties to the emergent, Jungist nation of Eastern Hungary that undermined the Catholic Kingdom of Hungary, and took an interest in the Kingdom of Sweden as a potential ally.
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