Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand and the Augsburg Peace of 1555

In the 1550s, Ferdinand managed to win some key victories on the imperial scene. Unlike his brother, he opposed Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and participated in his defeat. This defeat, along with his German ways, made Ferdinand more popular than the emperor among Protestant princes. This allowed him to play a critical role in the settlement of the religious issue in the empire.

After decades of religious and political unrest in the German states, Charles V ordered a general Diet in Augsburg at which the various states would discuss the religious problem and its solution. Charles himself did not attend, and delegated authority to his brother, Ferdinand, to "act and settle" disputes of territory, religion and local power. At the conference, which opened on 5 February, Ferdinand cajoled, persuaded and threatened the various representatives into agreement on three important principles promulgated on 25 September:
keywords:existence