Albert I, Duke of Saxony

Albert I (c. 1175–1260), younger son of Duke Bernhard III of Saxony, inherited the Saxon duchy in 1212 when his father's lands were divided, while his elder brother Henry took Anhalt.

He supported Emperor Otto IV against the Hohenstaufen and on 22 July 1227 commanded the imperial left flank at the Battle of Bornhöved, confirming his lordship over the counts of Holstein. Albert died at Lehnin Abbey on 7 October 1260; in 1296 his son Albert II and the three sons of his late son John I partitioned Saxony into Lauenburg and Wittenberg.