Austria's Historical Leadership: Past And Present Rulers

The history of Austria's rulers is a long and complex one, stretching back to the early medieval period.

From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. After this, from 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the Archduchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Habsburg.

Some of the most notable rulers of Austria include:

- Maria Theresa, the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions, celebrated for her wide-ranging reforms that modernised Austria.

- Franz Joseph I, whose long reign saw significant industrial, cultural, and political transformations, as well as the modernisation of the empire and the challenges of burgeoning nationalist movements.

- Rudolf II, best remembered for his patronage of the arts and sciences, with his court in Prague becoming a cultural hub.

- Maximilian I, known as The Marriage Emperor, who significantly expanded Habsburg influence through strategic marriages and laid the groundwork for the future European dominance of the Habsburgs.

- Leopold I, whose reign was crucial in consolidating Habsburg power in Europe and included successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire.

The House of Babenberg

The earliest known Babenberg ruler was Count Poppo, first mentioned as a ruler in the Gau of Grabfeld, a historic region in northeastern Franconia, in 819 AD. Poppo was possibly a descendant of the Robertian count Cancor of Hesbaye. One of his sons, Henry, served as princeps militiae under King Louis the Younger, and another, Poppo II, was margrave in Thuringia from 880 to 892.

The leaders of the Babenbergs were the sons of Duke Henry, who called themselves after their castle of Babenburg on the upper Main river, around which their possessions centred. The city of Bamberg was built around this ancestral castle.

In 976, Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria, marking the beginning of the Babenberg rule over the Margraviate of Austria, and later the Duchy of Austria. The Babenbergs' power was modest until the 12th century when they began to dominate the Austrian nobility.

The Babenberg line included:

• Leopold I (976-994)
• Henry I (994-1018)
• Adalbert (1018-1055)
• Ernest (1055-1075)
• Leopold II (1075-1095)
• Leopold III (1095-1136)
• Leopold IV (1136-1141)
• Henry II Jasomirgott (1141-1177)
• Leopold V (1177-1194)
• Frederick I (1194-1198)
• Leopold I (1198-1230)
• Henry II (1223-1228)
• Henry III (1228-1236)
• Frederick II (1230-1246)

With the death of Duke Frederick II in 1246, the male line of the Babenbergs ended, and their power declined rapidly. The Duchies of Austria and Styria were then ruled by the House of Habsburg until 1918.

The House of Habsburg

In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, was elected King of the Romans. He took advantage of the extinction of the Babenbergs and of his victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia at the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278 to appoint his sons as Dukes of Austria and move the family's power base to Vienna. From then on, the Habsburg dynasty gained the name of "House of Austria" and ruled until 1918.

The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740, and, as the Habsburg-Lorraines, from 1765 until its dissolution in 1806. The house also produced kings of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Lombardy-Venetia and Galicia-Lodomeria, with their respective colonies; rulers of several principalities in the Low Countries and Italy; and numerous Prince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire. In the 19th century, the Habsburgs became emperors of Austria and, later, of Austria-Hungary.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges. However, they are also known for their practice of rarely marrying outside the dynasty. This led to a high rate of infant mortality and a host of other health problems, including the distinctive "Habsburg jaw".

The last Habsburg ruler, Charles I, issued a proclamation recognising Austria's right to determine the future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs in 1918. In 1919, the new republican Austrian government passed a law banishing the Habsburgs from Austrian territory until they renounced all intentions of regaining the throne.

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine

The first member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule over the Holy Roman Empire was Joseph II, a sovereign raised during the Enlightenment. By the new ideals he brought, he implemented many reforms, most of which were to the detriment of the clergy. Upon his death in 1790, he was succeeded by his brother Leopold II, who in 1791 invited Europe's powers to help the French royal family stifle the ideals of the revolution without military intervention.

In 1792, Leopold II's son Francis II was crowned emperor in Frankfurt. After the beheading of the French sovereigns, he – along with the other European sovereigns – created the First Coalition against Revolutionary France. The coalition initially recorded some success but soon began to withdraw, especially in Italy, where the Austrians were repeatedly defeated by the Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte.

With the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, the Duchy of Milan was handed over to France, while the Austrians gained Veneto, Istria and Dalmatia. This pact was followed by others that reduced the dominion of the Habsburgs to Austria, Bohemia and Hungary. Francis II was also forced to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire, but he had already proclaimed himself Emperor of Austria, in order to retain his imperial status.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, also known as the Ausgleich, was a deal between Emperor Franz Joseph and Hungary, not between Hungary and the rest of the empire. It gave Hungary full internal autonomy and a responsible ministry, while the empire remained a single great state for war and foreign affairs purposes. The empire was thus a real union between Cisleithania (the northern and western parts of the former Austrian Empire) and Transleithania (the Kingdom of Hungary). Following the 1867 reforms, the Austrian and Hungarian states were co-equal in power, conducting unified diplomatic and defence policies.

The Austrian Empire

During its existence, the Austrian Empire was the third most populous monarchy in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom. It was also the third-largest empire in Europe geographically, after the Russian and First French Empires.

The Kingdom of Hungary was administered separately from the rest of the empire, with its own institutions. After Austria was defeated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was adopted, joining the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria to form Austria-Hungary.

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