1.
Duchy of Austria
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After the ruling dukes of the House of Babenberg became extinct, the German king Rudolf I took over the dominion as the first monarch of the Habsburg dynasty in 1276. Thereafter, Austria became the homeland of the dynasty and the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1453, the title of the Austrian rulers, invented by Duke Rudolf IV in the forged Privilegium Maius of 1359, was officially acknowledged by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III. Initially, the duchy was comparatively small in area, roughly comprising the modern-day Austrian state of Lower Austria. As a former border march, it was located on the periphery of the Empire, on the northern and southern shores of the Danube River. In the east, the Imperial border with the Kingdom of Hungary had gradually shifted towards the plains of the Morava River, on the right shore of the Danube, the lower Leitha River marked the Imperial–Hungarian border for centuries. In the south, Austria bordered the Styrian lands which were elevated to a duchy. The Avar Khaganate established in 567 comprised most of the later Austrian march up to the Enns river, temporarily part of Samos Empire from 631 to 658, the territory was under constant attack by the Carolingian forces of Charlemagne from 791 onwards. In 976 Emperor Otto II enfeoffed the Babenberg count Leopold the Illustrious with the Austrian margraviate, a large-scale German settlement along the Danube down to the border with Hungary followed, which ultimatively disrupted the Slavic continuity between the West Slavic and South Slavic lands. Although today closely associated with the Habsburg dynasty, Austria was, until 1246, Margrave Leopold the Generous was a loyal liensman of the Imperial House of Hohenstaufen in the struggle against the Bavarian Welf dynasty. In 1139, after King Conrad III of Germany deposed the Welf duke Henry the Proud, leopolds brother and successor Henry Jasomirgott was enfeoffed with Bavaria in 1141. In 1156 the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa approached a settlement with the Welfs, at the 1156 Imperial Diet in Regensburg, Henry Jasomirgott had to renounce the Bavarian duchy in favour of Henry the Lion. In compensation, the Babenberg margraviate was elevated to an equal duchy, the new Austrian duke took his residence at Vienna at the site of the later Hofburg Palace. He also founded Schottenstift Abbey as the Babenberg proprietary church, settled with Irish monks, the Austrian lands prospered, due to their favourable location on the Danube, as an important trade route from Krems and Mautern via Vienna down to Hungary and the Byzantine Empire. For a short time, the Babenbergs came to be one of the most influential ruling families in the Empire, peaking under the reign of Leopold V the Virtous and Leopold VI the Glorious. They also expanded their territory into the old Bavarian lands west of the Enns River, along the Traun to the city of Linz, in 1191 Duke Leopold V joined the Third Crusade and the Siege of Acre. When the English kingpassed through Austria on his way home, Leopold had him abducted and arrested at Dürnstein Castle. Handed over to Emperor Henry VI, Richard was only released after paying a ransom
2.
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
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Under the rule of Ferdinand I from 1526, the lands of the Boheman Crown became a constituent part of the Habsburg Monarchy. Later they passed to the Austrian Empire and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary, by the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918, the remaining Czech lands became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic. The Bohemian Crown was neither a personal union nor a federation of equal members, rather, the Kingdom of Bohemia had a higher status than the other incorporated constituent countries. There were only some common institutions of the Bohemian Crown. The most important of them was the Bohemian Court Chancellery which was united with the Austrian Chancellery in 1749, the Lands of the Bohemian Crown are called země Koruny české or simply Koruna česká and České země in Czech language, the adjective český referring to both Bohemian and Czech. The German term Länder der Böhmischen Krone is likewise shortened to Böhmische Krone or Böhmische Kronländer, native names include Silesian, Korana Czeskigo Krůlestwa, Lower Sorbian, zemje Českeje krony, and Upper Sorbian, kraje Čěskeje Króny. The denotation lands of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas refers to the Crown of Saint Wenceslas, in the 10th and 11th century the Duchy of Bohemia, together with Moravia and Kłodzko Land were consolidated under the ruling Přemyslid dynasty. Duke Ottokar I gained the royal title in 1198 from the German king Philip of Swabia for his support. The regality was ultimately confirmed by Philips nephew King Frederick II in the Golden Bull of Sicily issued in 1212 and he also achieved the enfeoffment with the Upper Lusatian lands of Bautzen and Görlitz by the German king Louis IV. King Johns eldest son Charles IV was elected King of the Romans in 1346, Charles IV created the Bohemian Crown, together with the incorporated provinces in 1348. The Luxembourg dynasty reached its point, when Charles was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1355. By his Imperial authority he decreed that the united Bohemian lands should endure regardless of dynastic developments, in 1367 he purchased Lower Lusatia from his stepson Margrave Otto V of Brandenburg. With King Wenceslaus, the decline of the Luxembourg dynasty began, nevertheless, the joint rule of the Bohemian Lands outlived the Hussite Wars and the extinction of the Luxembourg male line upon the death of Emperor Sigismund in 1437. In 1479 both kings signed the Treaty of Olomouc, whereby the unity of the Bohemian crown lands was officially retained unchanged, upon the death of King Matthias in 1490, Vladislas ruled the Bohemian crown lands and the Kingdom of Hungary in personal union. Attempts by the Bohemian Protestant estates to build up an autonomous confederation dashed at the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, whereafter the administration was centralised at Vienna. In the modern era, the crown lands of Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia became constituent parts of the Austrian Empire in 1804. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Austrian Silesia with the Hlučín Region is today known as Czech Silesia, with the exception of eastern Cieszyn Silesia which passed to the Second Polish Republic in 1920. The Brandenburg Electorate, acquired by Charles IV from Margrave Otto V in 1373, Charles son Sigismund lost Brandenburg in 1415 to Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg
3.
Duchy of Brabant
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The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
4.
County of Flanders
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The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards the Counts of Flanders were one of the twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres formed one of the most affluent regions in Europe, up to 1477, the area under French suzerainty was located west of the Scheldt River and was called Royal Flanders. Aside from this the Counts of Flanders from the 11th century on also held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, an area called Imperial Flanders. Part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, the county was removed from French to Imperial control after the Peace of Madrid in 1526. In 1795 the remaining territory within the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated by the French First Republic, the former County of Flanders, except for French Flanders, is the only part of the medieval French kingdom that is not part of modern-day France. Flanders and Flemish are likely derived from the Frisian *flāndra and *flāmisk, the Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of Saint Eligius, the Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725 and this work mentions the Flanderenses, who lived in Flandris. The geography of the historic County of Flanders only partially overlaps with present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, though there it extends beyond West Flanders. Some of the county is now part of France and the Netherlands. The arms of the County of Flanders were allegedly created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191, as a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, in reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg. It is curious that the lion as a symbol was mostly used in border territories. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, in Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop. The future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory, during the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, for Flanders in specific these were the Menapii, the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates
5.
Kingdom of Hungary
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The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed from the Middle Ages into the twentieth century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom in about the year 1000, by the 12th century, the kingdom became a European middle power within the Western world. The House of Habsburg held the Hungarian throne after the Battle of Mohács until 1918, from 1867 territories connected to the Hungarian crown were incorporated into Austria-Hungary under the name of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. The monarchy ended with the deposition of the last king Charles IV in 1918, the kingdom was nominally restored during the Regency of 1920–46, ending with the Soviet occupation in 1946. From 1102 it also included Croatia, being in union with it. Today, the feast day of the first king Stephen I is a holiday in Hungary. The Latin forms Regnum Hungariae or Ungarie, Regnum Marianum, or simply Hungaria, were the used in official documents in Latin from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s. The German name Königreich Ungarn was used officially from 1784 to 1790, the Hungarian name was used in the 1840s, and then again from the 1860s to 1946. The non-official Hungarian name of the kingdom was Magyarország, which is still the colloquial, in Austria-Hungary, the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes used to denote the regions of the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarians led by Árpád settled the Carpathian Basin in 895, established Principality of Hungary. The Hungarians led several successful incursions to Western Europe, until they were stopped by Otto I, the principality was succeeded by the Christian Kingdom of Hungary with the coronation of St Stephen I at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. The first kings of the kingdom were from the Árpád dynasty and he fought against Koppány and in 998, with Bavarian help, defeated him near Veszprém. The Catholic Church received powerful support from Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians, Stephen I of Hungary was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1083 and an Orthodox saint in 2000. After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the royalty and the nobles, in 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer Hungary, but they were defeated at Vértes Mountain. The armies of the Holy Roman Empire continued to suffer defeats, before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire, was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary. This period of revolts ended during the reign of Béla I, Hungarian chroniclers praised Béla I for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew, Solomon. The second greatest Hungarian king, also from the dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary. He was also canonized as a saint, however, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his successor Coloman
6.
Duchy of Lorraine
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The Duchy of Lorraine, originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. It was founded in 959 following the division of Lotharingia into two duchies, Upper and Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France, lorraines predecessor, Lotharingia, was an independent Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King Lothair II. Its territory had originally been a part of Middle Francia, created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a territory stretching from the County of Burgundy in the south to the North Sea. In French, this became known as Lorraine, while in German. In the Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property, thus, in a figurative sense, stuck in the conflict with his rival Hugh the Great, in 942 King Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia. In 953, the German king Otto I had appointed his brother Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia, in 959, Bruno divided the duchy into Upper and Lower Lorraine, this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further up the system, that is, it was inland. Upper Lorraine was first denominated as the Duchy of the Moselle, the usage of Lotharingia Superioris and Lorraine in official documents begins later, around the fifteenth century. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was Frederick I of Bar, Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a Duke of Lothier remained, held by Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of René of Anjou, the name Duchy of Lorraine was adopted again, only retrospectively called Upper Lorraine. At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the County of Luxembourg, the Electorate of Trier, the County of Bar, the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of France remained relatively stable throughout the Middle Ages. In 1301, Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the part of his lands as a fief by King Philip IV of France. In 1475, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold campaigned for the Duchy of Lorraine, in the 1552 Treaty of Chambord, a number of insurgent Protestant Imperial princes around Elector Maurice of Saxony ceded the Three Bishoprics to King Henry II of France in turn for his support. In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine, while the central Imperial authority decayed in the course of the Thirty Years War, Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu urged the occupation of the duchy in 1641
7.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
8.
Second Mexican Empire
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It was created with the support of Napoleon III of France, who attempted to establish a monarchist ally in the Americas. A referendum confirmed the coronation of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the Empire came to an end on June 19,1867, with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I. The rule of Emperor Maximilian was blemished by constant conflict, the two factions had set up parallel governments, the Conservatives in Mexico City controlling central Mexico and the Liberals in Veracruz. The United States government viewed Emperor Maximilian as a French puppet and they demanded the withdrawal of French forces, and France acceded. In 1867, the fell and Maximilian was executed at the orders of Benito Juárez. Maximilian proved to be too liberal for the conservatives, and too conservative for the liberals and he regarded Mexico as his destiny and made many contributions. Before his death, Maximilian adopted the grandsons of the first Mexican emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, Agustín de Iturbide y Green, Napoleon III had more ambitious goals in mind than merely the recovery of Frances debts. Heavily influenced by his wife the Empress Eugenie, he was bent on reviving the Mexican monarchy. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by any of the European powers would have viewed as a challenge to the United States. However, in 1861 the United States was embroiled in its own bloody conflict, the American Civil War, encouraged by the Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation. Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets. To give him encouragement, there was his half brother, the duc de Morny. 1832, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian born on 6 July, the son of Archduke Franz Karl and his wife Sophie in Schönbrunn Palace. 1851, Begins career in the Imperial and Royal Navy with the rank of lieutenant,1856, The construction of his castle of Miramar near the Adriatic port of Trieste began. 1857, Ferdinand Max appointed the governor-general of the northern Italian provinces of Lombardy-Venetia, on 27 July marries the Princess Charlotte of Belgium in Brussels. 1859, On 19 April relieved of his post as governor-general, War breaks out with France and Piedmont-Sardinia. 1861, Napoleon III suggests Maximilian as a candidate for the throne of Mexico,1863, In October a Mexican delegation arrives at Miramar to offer Maximilian and Charlotte the crown. Maximilian makes his acceptance conditional on a plebiscite in his favor
9.
Modena
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Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. One of Ferraris cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself, the University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II dEste in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, the Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar. Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River and their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the citys center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel, the Apennines begin some 10 kilometres from the city, to the south. The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni and these are, Centro storico Crocetta Buon Pastore San Faustino Modena has a humid subtropical climate, with an average annual precipitation of 809 millimetres. Summers are warm and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall and this climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. From 1945 to 1992, Modena had a consecutive series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions, at the April 2006 elections, the city of Modena gave about 50% of its votes to the Democratic Party. The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council which is composed by 35 members elected every five years, Modenas executive body is the City Committee composed by 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor and the mayor. The current mayor of Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member of the Democratic Party of Italy, the territory around Modena was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter, the outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibals arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice, the first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus. The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, in the civil war following Caesars assassination, the city was besieged again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate, cicero called it Mutina splendidissima in his Philippics. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it, as of December 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made
10.
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
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The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchys capital was Florence, Tuscany was nominally a state of the Holy Roman Empire until the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Initially, Tuscany was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its branch in 1737. The Medicis only advancement in the days of their existence was their elevation to royalty, by the Holy Roman Emperor. Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule and his descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma. Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860, following a landslide referendum, in which 95% of voters approved. In 1569, Cosimo de Medici had ruled the Duchy of Florence for 32 years, during his reign, Florence purchased the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa, conquered Siena and developed a well-equipped and powerful naval base on Elba. Cosimo also banned the clergy from holding positions and promulgated laws of freedom of religion. Cosimo also was a supporter of Pope Pius V, who in the light of Florences expansion in August 1569 declared Cosimo Grand Duke of Tuscany. The international reaction to Cosimos elevation was bleak, Queen Catherine of France, though herself a Medici, viewed Cosimo with the utmost disdain. Rumours circulated at the Viennese court that had Cosimo as a candidate for King of England, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King Philip II of Spain reacting quite angrily, as Florence was an Imperial fief and declared Pius Vs actions invalid. However, Maximilian eventually confirmed the elevation with an Imperial diploma in 1576, during the Holy League of 1571, Cosimo fought against the Ottoman Empire, siding with the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy League inflicted a defeat against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto. Cosimos reign was one of the most militaristic Tuscany had ever seen, Cosimo experienced several personal tragedies during the later years of his reign. His wife, Eleanor of Toledo, died in 1562, along with four of his due to a plague epidemic in Florence. These deaths were to him greatly, which, along with illness
11.
Karl von Habsburg
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Born in Starnberg, Germany in 1961, he is the son of Otto von Habsburg and Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, and the grandson of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I. He served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Austrian Peoples Party 1996–1999, like his father, he is known as an advocate for the Pan-European movement. Since 1986, Karl von Habsburg has been president of the Austrian branch of the Paneuropean Union, after studying law for 12 years, in 1992/1993, he hosted a TV game show with Austrian public TV broadcaster ORF, called Who Is Who. In October 1996, he was elected to the European Parliament for the Austrian Peoples Party and his father exacerbated the controversy when he complained that his son was being attacked unfairly and drew a parallel between the name Habsburg and a yellow badge. ÖVP did not nominate Karl von Habsburg again for the 1999 elections, in 2004, Karl von Habsburg paid 37,000 euros to the new World Vision Austria branch. On 19 January 2002, he was appointed Director General of UNPO by the UNPO Steering Committee, since 7 December 2008, he is the President of the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield. In 1961, his father Otto von Habsburg renounced all claims to the Austrian throne, as a necessary legal condition to being allowed to return to Austria. On 30 November 2000, Karls father transferred over to him the position of head and sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece and in 2008 he also became the Grand Master of the Order of St. George. In 2005, Karl von Habsburg filed a lawsuit before Austrias constitutional court after a failed attempt to have former properties of the Habsburg family returned. The familys estates had been expropriated by the First Republic, this had in part been reverted under Austrofascism, the family tried to get their former property returned under rules for victims of the Nazi regime. The attempt failed because the law of expropriation still has constitutional status, on 1 January 2007, his father relinquished his position as the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a status which then devolved on Karl. Karl von Habsburg is one of the three co-founders of BG Privatinvest, a Vienna-based investment company, in December 2010 the company acquired the two most important Bulgarian daily newspapers, Dneven Trud and 24 Chasa. After ongoing conflicts with Bulgarian partners, BG Privatinvest sold the newspapers in April 2011, since 2009, Karl von Habsburg is a shareholder in a media group in the Netherlands, consisting of radio stations, a magazine and a music television channel. Karl von Habsburg was born in Germany and he was baptised in Pöcking, Bavaria, as Archduke Karl of Austria, the name entered in the baptismal records. At the time of his birth, his father was de facto stateless and possessed a Spanish diplomatic passport, like his father and siblings, he was banished from Austria for the first years of his life. The Austrian Republic was later forced to repeal the banishment of him and his family and he has lived in Salzburg, Austria, since 1981. He resides in Casa Austria, formerly called Villa Swoboda, in Anif, Karl and Francesca separated in 2003. The diadem belonged to his wife who intended to wear it at a wedding ceremony
12.
Emperor of Austria
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The emperors retained the title of Archduke of Austria. The wives of the emperors bore the title of empress, while members of the family the title archduke or archduchess. Members of the House of Austria, the Habsburg dynasty, had for centuries been elected as Holy Roman Emperor, thus the term Austrian emperor may occur in texts dealing with the time before 1804, when no Austrian Empire existed. In these cases the word Austria means the composite monarchy ruled by the dynasty, a special case was Maria Theresa, she bore the imperial title as the consort of Francis I, but she herself was the monarch of the Austrian Hereditary Lands including Bohemia and Hungary. Therefore, on 11 August 1804 he created the new title of Emperor of Austria for himself, for two years, Francis carried two imperial titles, being Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and by the Grace of God Emperor Francis I of Austria. This led Francis II/I on 6 August 1806 to declare the Reich dissolved, from 1806 onwards, Francis was Emperor of Austria only. He had three successors—Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I and Charles I—before the Empire broke apart in 1918, a coronation ceremony was never established, the heir to the throne became emperor the moment his predecessor died or abdicated. The symbol of the Austrian Emperor was the private crown dating back to Rudolf II. The Austrian Emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse, the function of the emperor was styled like a secular papacy. Therefore, it was the goal to demonstrate the highest majesty and dignity of the monarch to his subjects and to other monarchs. His and his entourages life was governed by strict rules all the time. The members of the House of Habsburg were ranked as princes and princesses of the blood imperial and their permanent address and their travels abroad had to be agreed to by the Emperor. Otherwise the marriage would be one to the hand, called a morganatic marriage. To manage the political implications of the Imperial house since 1867 the Emperor, Minister des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Äußeren, the I. &R. Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of the Exterior, one of the three ministers common to Austria and Hungary. Under Francis I, Klemens Wenzel had covered these and many other agenda, bearing the title Haus-, the Emperors household, his personal officers and the premises where they worked were called Hof. The highest officials managing the Court were the Grand Master of the Court, the Grand Marshal of the Court, the Grand Chamberlain, whoever wanted to meet the Emperor himself had to apply to the Obersthofmeisteramt. Francis Joseph I expected soldiers to appear in uniform at his court and he never shook hands with visitors, in letters he never addressed his subjects as Sir or Mr. The Emperors court managed e. g. R, hofoperntheater, the Imperial Crypt below the Capuchin Church and Monastery in Vienna, where three of the four Emperors of Austria have been buried
13.
Emperor of Mexico
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The Emperor of Mexico was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, the monarchy was soon replaced by the First Republic of Mexico. Mexico briefly reverted into a monarchy in the 1860s, during the Second Mexican Empire, in both instances of Empire, the reigning Emperor was forcibly deposed and then executed. History of Mexico Empress of Mexico Imperial Crown of Mexico Mexican Imperial Orders List of heads of state of Mexico
14.
Archduke of Austria
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Austria was ruled by the House of Babenberg until 1246 and by the House of Habsburg from 1282 to 1918. The March of Austria, also known as Marcha Orientalis, was first formed in 976 out of the lands that had once been the March of Pannonia in Carolingian times. The oldest attestation dates back to 996, where the written name ostarrichi occurs in a document transferring land in present-day Austria to a Bavarian monastery, in 1156, the Privilegium Minus elevated the march to a duchy, independent of the Duchy of Bavaria. In 1282 he invested his sons with the Duchies of Austria and Styria, the Privilegium Maius, fabricated by Rudolf in 1359, attempted to invest the Dukes of Austria with the special position of an Archduke. This title was used by Ernest the Iron and other Dukes but not recognized by other princes of the Holy Roman Empire until Frederick V became Emperor. Claiming the title Duke of Austria, he resided in Vienna from 1485 to his death in 1490, the Austrian territories were reunited in 1493. In 1564 the Austrian territories were divided among Emperor Ferdinands sons, Lower and Upper Austria passed to Ferdinands 1st son Maximilian, Rudolf, Matthias. The territories therefore passed to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinands 3rd son Charles after Alberts abdication on 9 October 1619, however, in practice, the new successor house styled itself as Habsburg-Lorraine. All Habsburgs living today are in the descendants of Maria Theresa. In 1804 Francis I adopted the new title Emperor of Austria, in 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved. In 1918, following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the Republic of Austria was established, following World War II, the current Republic of Austria was established in 1945, even though Austria remained under the control and protection of Allied and Soviet Forces between 1945–1955. The current head of state is the President of Austria, however, in practice, every law still needs to be signed by the President however. Otto von Habsburg, son of Charles I, was the head of the Habsburg house from 1922 and he is the current head of the imperial family. History of Austria Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 List of Austrian consorts List of heirs to the Austrian throne List of Federal Presidents of Austria List of Chancellors of Austria
15.
King of the Romans
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King of the Romans was the title used by the German king following his election by the princes from the time of Emperor Henry II onward. The title was predominantly a claim to become Holy Roman Emperor and was dependent upon coronation by the Pope, the title originally referred to any elected king who had not yet been granted the Imperial Regalia and title of Emperor at the hands of the Pope. Later it came to be used solely for the apparent to the Imperial throne between his election and his succession upon the death of the Emperor. The territory of East Francia was not referred to as the Kingdom of Germany or Regnum Teutonicum by contemporary sources until the 11th century, during this time, the kings claim to coronation was increasingly contested by the papacy culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the derogatory term Teutonicorum Rex in order to imply that Henrys authority was merely local, Henry continued to regularly use the title Romanorum Rex until he finally was crowned Emperor by Antipope Clement III in 1084. Henrys successors imitated this practice, and were also called Romanorum Rex before, candidates for the kingship were at first the heads of the Germanic stem duchies. As these units broke up, rulers of principalities and even non-Germanic rulers were considered for the position. The only requirements generally observed were that the candidate be a male, a Catholic Christian. The kings were elected by several Imperial Estates, often in the city of Frankfurt after 1147. They were the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne as well as the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Saxon duke, after the Investiture Controversy, Charles intended to strengthen the legal status of the Rex Romanorum beyond Papal approbation. Consequently, among his successors only Sigismund and Frederick III were still crowned Emperors in Rome, the Golden Bull remained effective as constitutional law until the Empires dissolution in 1806. After his election, the new king would be crowned as King of the Romans, though the ceremony was no more than a symbolic validation of the election result, it was solemnly celebrated. The details of Ottos coronation in 936 are described by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae, the kings received the Imperial Crown from at least 1024, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 1198 the Hohenstaufen candidate Philip of Swabia was crowned Rex Romanorum at Mainz Cathedral, at some time after the ceremony, the king would, if possible, cross the Alps, to receive coronation in Pavia or Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy. Finally, he would travel to Rome and be crowned Emperor by the Pope, in such cases, the king might retain the title King of the Romans for his entire reign. At this time Maximilian also took the new title King of the Germans or King in Germany, the following were ruling Kings of the Romans, i. e. men who ruled the Kingdom without subordination to another King but who had not yet been crowned Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy, no person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Emperor. However, the Emperor could, and often did, have an elected to succeed him after his death
16.
King of Croatia
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The details of the arrival of the Croats are scarcely documented, c.626, Croats migrate from White Croatia at the invitation of Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius. Between c.641 and c.689 Radoslav converts Croatia to Christianity, in his letter from 925, Pope John X refers to Tomislav as Rex Chroatorum - King of the Croatians. All Croatian rulers after Tomislav held the title of king, from 1102, the reigning King of Hungary is ruler of Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and Dalmatia in agreement with the Croatian nobles. Croatia is governed on his behalf by a Ban and a Sabor, after the World War I and the breakup off of Austria-Hungary, Croatia joined a newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Following a brief period of self-rule, that became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats. The name of the kingdom was changed in 1929 amid unitarianist reforms to King of Yugoslavia, during this period, in 1941 Croatia was occupied by the Axis powers along with the rest of Yugoslavia. During the German occupation of Yugoslavia, a puppet-state under Italian protection called the Independent State of Croatia was created with its leader Ante Pavelić. Soon after the creation of the state its government passed three laws on the creation of the crown of Zvonimir, which made the country a kingdom, three days later the Rome treaties were signed. Italian prince Aimone, Duke of Spoleto was designated King of Croatia
17.
King of Hungary
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The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918. Before 1000 AD, Hungary was not recognized as a kingdom, the first King of Hungary, Stephen I. was crowned on 25 December 1000 with the crown Pope Sylvester II had sent him and with the consent of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. Following King Stephen Is coronation, all the monarchs of Hungary used the title King, from the 13th century a certain process was established to confirm the legitimacy of the King. This meant a level of protection to the integrity of the Kingdom such as that for example stealing the Holy Crown of Hungary was no longer enough to become legitimate King. The King Charles I of Hungary was crowned in May 1301 with a crown in Esztergom by the Archbishop of this city. In this time the Holy Crown wasnt used and he was crowned in Buda by the archbishop of Esztergom, however his third coronation was finally in 1310, in the city of Székesfehérvár, with the Holy Crown and effectuated by the archbishop of Esztergom. Then the Kings coronation was considered absolutely legitimate, a similar situation occurred with the Matthias Corvinus, when he negotiated to get back the Holy Crown which was in the possession of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Then after obtaining it he was legitimately crowned, as in all the traditional monarchies, the heir descended through the male line from a previous King of Hungary. In accordance with Hungarian tradition, this right passed to younger brothers, before passing to the son of the previous King. The founder of the first Hungarian royal house was Árpád, who led his people into the Carpathian Basin in 895 and his descendants, who ruled for more than 400 years, included Saint Stephen I, Saint Ladislaus I, Andrew II, and Béla IV. The same happened later with John Zápolya, who was elected in 1526 after the death of Louis II in the battle of Mohács. After this, the House of Habsburg inherited the throne, over the centuries, the Kings of Hungary acquired or claimed the crowns of several neighboring countries, and they began to use the royal titles connected to those countries. The title Apostolic King was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758, the title of King of Slavonia referred to the territories between the Drava and the Sava Rivers. That title was first used by Ladislaus I and it was also Ladislaus I who adopted the title King of Croatia in 1091. Coloman added the phrase King of Dalmatia to the style in 1105. The title King of Rama, referring to the claim to Bosnia, was first used by Béla II in 1136 and it was Emeric who adopted the title King of Serbia. The phrase King of Galicia was used to indicate the supremacy over Halych, while the title King of Lodomeria referred to Volhynia, in 1233, Béla IV began to use the title King of Cumania which expressed the rule over the territories settled by the Cumans at that time. The phrase King of Bulgaria was added to the style by Stephen V
18.
Grand Duke of Tuscany
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The rulers of Tuscany have varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. These were originally counts of Lucca who extended their power over the neighbouring counties, frederick of Antioch, 1246–50 After this, Tuscany was splintered between the competing republics of Florence, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Pistoia and Lucca. Since the 14th century, Florence gained dominance over Pistoia, Arezzo, Pisa, Lucca was an independent republic until the Napoleonic period in the 19th century. Tuscany was annexed by France, 1807–1814, napoleons sister Elisa Bonaparte was given the honorary title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany, but did not actually rule over the region. Leopoldo II was driven from Tuscany by revolution from 21 February to 12 April 1849 and he abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinando IV, on 21 July 1859, but Ferdinando IV was never recognized in Tuscany, and was deposed by the provisional government on 16 August. Tuscany was annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia, on 22 March 1860
19.
Duke of Brabant
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The Duke of Brabant was formally the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, the Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant. This was an Imperial fief which was assigned to Count Henry III of Leuven shortly after the death of the preceding Count of Brabant, Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small its name was applied to the country under control of the Dukes from the 13th century on. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia, formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Dukes of Brabant became also Duke of Limburg, the title fell to the Dukes of Burgundy in 1430. Counts of Leuven, Counts of Brussels and Landgraves of Brabant, Henry III, already Count of Leuven and Brussels from 1078. The oldest Son/daughter becomes automatically the duke/duchess of Brabant when his/her father becomes King of the Belgians, when the Duke of Brabant loses his father, or when he abdicates, his title goes to the next in line, and he becomes the new King of the Belgians. Unlike the office of King of the Belgians, you do not have to reach the age of 18 to become Duke of Brabant, however, if a Duke of Brabant does not reach the age of 18, he cannot ascent to the Throne of Belgium. When the prince becomes duke of Brabant, this takes precedence of the other titles. When the Duke of Brabant marries legally, after permission of the King, the last Duke of Brabant became King in 2013, and passed the title to his oldest child. The current Duchess, Crown Princess Elisabeth was in 2013 only 12 years old when she became duchess, Leopold II Leopold, son of Leopold II - the only prince who died a Duke of Brabant. Leopold III Baudouin Philippe Elisabeth Coat of arms of Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant Dukes of Brabant family tree Charters of the Duchy of Brabant Counts of Louvain, genealogical note
20.
Duke of Lorraine
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The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions. The first rulers of the region were kings of the Franks whose kingdom was called Lotharingia, the Latin construction Lotharingia evolved over time into Lorraine in French, Lotharingen in Dutch and Lothringen in German. After the Carolingian kingdom was absorbed into its neighbouring realms in the ninth century. In 880, the Treaty of Ribemont gave the whole of Lotharingia to Louis the Younger, Charles the Bald Louis the Younger Charles the Fat Arnulf of Carinthia Zwentibold Louis the Child Charles the Simple In 925, Lotharingia was subsumed into East Francia. Gebhard Reginar Gilbert Henry Otto Conrad Bruno In 959, Lorraine was divided into two districts, Upper and Lower, each being given to a margrave or vice-duke under Bruno. Upon Brunos death in 965, that of Lower Lorraine, whose margrave had died, was vacant until 977. In that year Charles was appointed duke of Lower Lorraine and Frederick I was elevated duke in Upper Lorraine, the two duchies remained separate, following separate pathways, except for the brief period between 1033 and 1044. Note that the numbering of the varies between sources. Frederick I Thierry I Frederick II Frederick III Gothelo, godfrey, the Bearded Junior branch of the previous rulers of Ardennes–Metz, known as the House of Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine continued carrying the title as titular Dukes of Lorraine. Lorraine Lorraine Lorraine Titles of the dukes of Lorraine from contemporary documents with bibliography Putnam, alsace and Lorraine, From Cæsar to Kaiser,58 B. C. -1871 A. D
21.
Duchy of Bar
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The County of Bar, from 1354 the Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the pays de Barrois and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. Part of the county, the so-called Barrois mouvant, became a fief of the Kingdom of France in 1301, the Barrois non-mouvant remained a part of the Empire. From 1480, it was united to the imperial Duchy of Lorraine, both imperial Bar and Lorraine were ceded to France in 1738. With the death of the last duke, Stanislaus Leszczynski, in 1766, the county of Bar originated in the frontier fortress of Bar that Duke Frederick I of Upper Lorraine built on the bank of the river Ornain around 960. The fortress was originally directed at the counts of Champagne, who had made incursions into Fredericks allodial lands, Frederick also confiscated some lands from the nearby Abbey of Saint-Mihiel and settled his knights on it. The original Barrois was thus a mixture of the dukes allodial lands, on the death of Duke Frederick III in 1033, these lands passed to his sister, Sophia, who was the first person to associate the comital title with Bar, styling herself Countess of Bar. Sophias descendants, of the House of Montbéliard, expanded Bar by usurpation, conquest, purchase and its population was francophone and culturally French, and the counts were involved in French politics. Count Reginald II married Agnes, a sister of the queen of France and his son, Henry I, died on the Third Crusade in 1190. From 1214 to 1291 Bar was ruled by Henry II and Theobald II, in the Treaty of Bruges of 1301 Henry was forced to recognise all of his county west of the river Meuse as a fief of France. This was the origin of the Barrois mouvant, a territory that was turned into a fief was said to have moved and entered the mouvance of its suzerain and it was subject to the Parliament of Paris. The Treaty of Bruges did not represent any expansion of French territory, the territory to the west of the Meuse was French since the Treaty of Verdun of 843, but in 1301 it became a direct fief of the crown, including its allodial parts. In 1354 the Count of Bar took the title and was thereafter recognised as a Peer of France. Père Anselme believed that Count Robert had been created a duke by King John II of France in preparation for the marriage to Johns daughter. The rulers of Bar were not created dukes by imperial appointment, the only title Count Robert received by imperial grant in 1354 was that of Margrave of Pont-à-Mousson. This margraviate was bestowed by the Dukes of Bar on their heirs apparent. In that same year the emperor raised the County of Luxembourg into a duchy, Bar passed to his great-nephew, René I, who was married to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. In 1431 the couple inherited Lorraine, on Renés death in 1480, Bar passed to his daughter Yolanda and her son, René II, who was already Duke of Lorraine. In 1482 he conquered the prévôté of Virton, a part of the Duchy of Luxembourg, in 1484 Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, regent for King Charles VIII of France, formally installed him in the Duchy of Bar
22.
Duchy of Luxemburg
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The Duchy of Luxemburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, in 1411, Sigismund of Luxembourg lost the duchy to his niece Elisabeth because he defaulted on a loan. Elizabeth later sold the duchy to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good of the House of Valois-Burgundy, who paid her off in 1444. The male line of the dukes of Burgundy died out in 1477 when Philips son Charles the Bold died at the Battle of Nancy, leaving Mary of Burgundy, his only child, as his heiress. After his death, Mary married Archduke Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg, the Burgundian Netherlands then came under the rule of the House of Habsburg, beginning the period of the Habsburg Netherlands. With the abdication in 1555 of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, during this time, the remaining southern provinces were referred to as the Spanish Netherlands. The area remained under Austrian rule until the French Revolution, when it was taken over by France in 1795, Luxembourg lost a small amount of its territory to Prussia in 1813. The resulting personal union between Luxembourgs throne and the Dutch throne continued until 1890, unlike the Netherlands, however, Luxembourg was part of the German Confederation established in 1815, and a garrison of the Kingdom of Prussia was stationed there. The first known reference to the territory was made by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, the historical region of Luxembourg belonged to the Roman province of Belgica Prima. After the invasion of the Germanic tribes from the East, Luxembourg became part of the Frankish Empire, by the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it became part of the Lotharingian province of Middle Francia. According to the Treaty of Ribemont in 880, it had fallen to East Francia. By the 959 partition of Lotharingia, the Luxembourg region had passed to Duke Frederick I of Upper Lorraine of the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty, in 963, Count Siegfried, probably a younger brother of Duke Frederick I, purchased some land from Abbot Wikerus of Saint Maximins in Trier. This land was centered on a fort by the Old High German name of Lucilinburhuc. In the following years, Count Siegfried had a new castle built on the site of these ruins and this castle dominated a stretch of the old Roman road linking Reims, Arlon, and Trier, and opened some prospects for trade and taxation. Despite this new construction, it seems that Siegfried and his successors did not make the castle their primary residence. The history of Luxembourg proper began with the construction of this castle, in the following years, a small town and market grew around the new castle. The first inhabitants were probably servants of Count Siegfried and clergy of Saint Michaels church and this settlement soon received additional protection by the construction of a first, partial city wall and moat. In addition to the town near Bock Fiels and the Roman road
23.
Duke of Ferrara and of Modena
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Emperor Frederick III elevated the Italian family of Este, Lords of Ferrara, to Dukes of Modena and Reggio in 1452, and Dukes of Ferrara in 1471. In 1597, they lost the succession of Ferrara itself to the Papal States and they continued to rule the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in the Emilia until 1796, when it became part of Napoleon Bonapartes Cispadane Republic. In 1814 the duchy was restored under the Habsburg grandson of the last Este Duke, the line of Marquesses of Este rises in 1039 with Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan. The name Este is related to the city where the came from. The family was founded by Adalbert the Margrave, who might have been the true first Margrave of Milan of this family. In 1209 Azzo VI is named the first Marquess of Ferrara, and the passed to his descendants. Later, were created the Marquisates of Modena and Reggio. King Ludwig III Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria Franz, Duke of Bavaria Heir apparent, Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria List of Modenese consorts List of Ferrarese consorts
24.
Count of Flanders
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The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. The title was held for a time by the Holy Roman Emperor, during the French Revolution in 1790, the county of Flanders was annexed to France and the peerage ceased to exist. In the 19th century, the title was appropriated by Belgium, the most recent holder died in 1983. Although the early rulers, starting with Arnulf I, were referred to as margraves or marquesses. Since then, the rulers of Flanders have only referred to as Counts. The Counts of Flanders enlarged their estate through a series of diplomatic marriages, the counties of Hainaut, Namur, Béthune, Nevers, Auxerre, Rethel, Burgundy, and Artois were all acquired in this manner. However, the County of Flanders suffered the fate in turn. As a result of the marriage of Countess Margaret III with Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, the county, the Counts of Flanders were also associated with the Duchy of Brittany prior to its union with France. In c 1323, Joan, the daughter of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, joanna of Flanders, the granddaughter of Count Robert III and daughter of his son, Count Louis I, married John Montfort. It was through this alliance that the Duchy of Brittany was eventually joined to the throne of France, baldwin I Iron Arm, married Judith and was granted lands and honours, which would evolve into the County of Flanders. In 1246, King Louis IX of France awarded Flanders to William, when the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the Low Countries, including Flanders, went to Philip II of Spain, of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. The fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon, in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht settled the succession and the County of Flanders went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. The Emperor Francis II relinquished his claim to the Low Countries in the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, in modern times, from 1840 onward, the substantive title Count of Flanders has been granted to two younger sons of the Kings of the Belgians. The second of these died in 1983, and the title not be conferred again. It is a title which is only nominally and ceremonially used. Genealogy of the counts of Flanders
25.
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, from 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine. In 1737, Lorraine became managed by France under terms resulting from the War of the Polish Succession, Francis and the House of Lorraine received the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the peace treaty that ended that war. Francis was born in Nancy, Lorraine, the oldest surviving son of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and he was connected with the Habsburgs through his grandmother Eleonor, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III. He was very close to his brother and sister Anne Charlotte, Emperor Charles VI favored the family, who, besides being his cousins, had served the house of Austria with distinction. He had designed to marry his daughter Maria Theresa to Francis older brother Leopold Clement, on Leopold Clements death, Charles adopted the younger brother as his future son-in-law. Francis was brought up in Vienna with Maria Theresa with the understanding that they were to be married, and a real affection arose between them. At the age of 15, when he was brought to Vienna, he was established in the Silesian Duchy of Teschen, Francis succeeded his father as Duke of Lorraine in 1729. In 1731 he was initiated into freemasonry by John Theophilus Desaguliers at a specially convened lodge in The Hague at the house of the British Ambassador, Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. During a subsequent visit to England, Francis was made a Master Mason at another specially convened lodge at Houghton Hall, Maria Theresa arranged for Francis to become Lord Lieutenant of Hungary in 1732. He was not excited about this position, but Maria Theresa wanted him closer to her, in June 1732 he agreed to go to Pressburg. A preliminary peace was concluded in October 1735 and ratified in the Treaty of Vienna in November 1738, in March 1736 the Emperor persuaded Francis, his future son-in-law, to secretly exchange Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. France had demanded that Maria Theresas fiancé surrender his ancestral Duchy of Lorraine to accommodate the deposed King of Poland, the Emperor considered other possibilities before announcing the engagement of the couple. If something were to go wrong, Francis would become governor of the Austrian Netherlands, as a result, Elisabeth sons could claim by right of being a descendant of Margherita. On January 31,1736 Francis had agreed to marry Maria Theresa, especially his mother Élisabeth Charlotte dOrléans and his brother Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine were against the loss of Lorraine. On February 1, Maria Theresa sent Francis a letter, she would withdraw from her future reign and they married on 12 February in the Augustinian Church, Vienna. The wedding was held on February 14,1736, the treaty between the Emperor and Francis was signed on 4 May 1736. In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by 6,000 Austrians, on 24 January 1737 Francis received Tuscany from his father-in-law
26.
Treaty of Vienna (1738)
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Written in latin, the Treaty of Vienna or Peace of Vienna was signed on 18 November 1738. It was one of the last international treaties written in Latin and it ended the War of the Polish Succession. By the terms of the treaty, Stanisław Leszczyński renounced his claim on the Polish throne and recognized Augustus III, as compensation he received instead the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar, which was to pass to France upon his death. Francis Stephen, who was the Duke of Lorraine, was indemnified with the vacant throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, France also agreed to the Pragmatic Sanction in the Treaty of Vienna. In another provision of the treaty, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were ceded by Austria to Duke Charles of Parma and Piacenza, the younger son of King Philip V of Spain. Charles, in turn, had to cede Parma to Austria, and to give up his claims to the throne of Tuscany in favor of Francis Stephen
27.
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Amalie Theresa was born on 6 April 1807 at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Hofburg, Vienna and died the next day. Her mother fell ill after giving birth to her and died less than a week afterwards, as a daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, she was born with the title Archduchess of Austria and the style Imperial and Royal Highness
28.
Peace of Pressburg (1805)
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The fourth Peace of Pressburg was signed on 26 December 1805 between Napoleon and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II as a consequence of the French victories over the Austrians at Ulm and Austerlitz. A truce was agreed on December 4, and negotiations for the treaty began. The treaty was signed in Pressburg, at time in Hungary, by Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein. Beyond the clauses establishing peace and amity and the Austrian withdrawal from the Third Coalition, the gains of the previous treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville were reiterated and Austrian holdings in Italy and Bavaria were ceded to France. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies, the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. Augsburg, previously an independent Free Imperial City, was ceded to Bavaria, as a minor compensation, Austria received the Electorate of Salzburg. Emperor Francis II also recognized the titles assumed by the Electors of Bavaria and Württemberg. An indemnity of 40 million francs to France was also provided for in the treaty
29.
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
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Marie Louise was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death. She was Napoleons second wife and, as such, Empress of the French from 1810 to 1814, a series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1810, Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europes leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. With Napoleon, she bore a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, later Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleons fortunes changed dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition, the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau handed over the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise. She ruled the duchies until her death, Marie Louise married morganatically twice after Napoleons death in 1821. Her second husband was Count Adam Albert von Neipperg, an equerry she met in 1814 and she and Neipperg had three children. After Neippergs death, she married Count Charles-René de Bombelles, her chamberlain, in 1834, Marie Louise died in Parma in 1847. Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria and his wife, Maria Theresa of Naples. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year later as Francis II, Marie Louise was a great granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through both her parents, as they were first cousins. She was also a granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples. Marie Louises formative years were during a period of conflict between France and her family and she was brought up to detest France and French ideas. Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Maria Carolinas Kingdom of Naples had also come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, the Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary and later Galicia before returning to Vienna in 1806 and her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria. To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages, in addition to her native German, she became fluent in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage, less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his first cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este, who was four years older than Marie Louise
30.
Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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Leopold II was Grand Duke of Tuscany. He married twice, first to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, by the latter, he begat his eventual successor, Ferdinand. Leopold was recognized contemporarily as a monarch, authorizing the Tuscan Constitution of 1848. The Grand Duke was deposed briefly by a government in 1849, only to be restored the same year with the assistance of Austrian troops. Leopold attempted a policy of neutrality with regard to the Second Italian War of Independence, the Grand Ducal family left for Bologna, in Papal territory. Tuscany was occupied by soldiers of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia for the duration of the conflict, Ferdinand was not, however, any more acceptable to the revolutionaries in control of Florence, and his accession was not proclaimed. Instead, the government proclaimed the deposition of the House of Habsburg. Born in Florence, Leopold II was the son of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Luisa Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies and his maternal grandparents were Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Marie Caroline of Austria. He succeeded his father on 18 June 1824, during the first twenty years of his reign he devoted himself to the internal development of the state. But Austrian influence prevented him from doing more, even had he wished to do so, the granting of the Neapolitan and Piedmontese constitutions was followed by that of Tuscany, composed by Gino Capponi. His speech on their departure was uncompromisingly Italian and Liberal, soldiers, he said, the holy cause of Italian freedom is being decided to-day on the fields of Lombardy. Already the citizens of Milan have purchased their liberty with their blood, honour to the arms of Italy. The Tuscan contingent fought bravely, though unsuccessfully, at Curtatone, Capponi resigned, and Leopold agreed reluctantly to a Montanelli-Guerrazzi ministry, which in its turn had to fight against the extreme republican party. New elections in the autumn of 1848 returned a constitutional majority, the utmost confusion prevailed in Florence and other parts of Tuscany. On 18 February 1849 a republic was proclaimed and on same day Leopold sailed for Gaeta. A third parliament was elected and Guerrazzi appointed dictator, but there was great discontent, and the defeat of Charles Albert at Novara caused consternation among the Liberals. Leopold accepted, although he said nothing about the foreign invasion, on 24 May the latter appointed G Baldasseroni prime minister, on the 25th the Austrians entered Florence and on 28 July Leopold himself returned. On their advice he formally revoked the constitution, political trials were held, Guerrazzi and many others being condemned to long terms of imprisonment, and although in 1855 the Austrian troops left Tuscany, Leopolds popularity was gone
31.
Maximilian I of Mexico
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Maximilian was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire. He was a brother of the Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I. After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he accepted an offer by Napoleon III of France to rule Mexico, France had invaded Mexico in the winter of 1861, as part of the War of the French Intervention. Seeking to legitimize French rule in the Americas, Napoleon III invited Maximilian to establish a new Mexican monarchy for him. With the support of the French army, and a group of conservative Mexican monarchists hostile to the administration of new Mexican President Benito Juárez. Once there, he declared himself Emperor of Mexico on 10 April 1864, the Empire managed to gain recognition by major European powers including Britain, Austria, and Prussia. The United States however, continued to recognize Juarez as the president of Mexico. Maximilian never completely defeated the Mexican Republic, Republican forces led by President Benito Juárez continued to be active during Maximilians rule, with the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the United States began more explicit aid of President Juárezs forces. Matters worsened for Maximilian after the French armies withdrew from Mexico in 1866 and his self-declared empire collapsed, and he was captured and executed by the Mexican government in 1867. His wife, Charlotte of Belgium, had left for Europe earlier to try to support for her husbands regime, after his execution, however. Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and he was baptized the following day as Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph. The first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, The King of Hungary and his father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving son of The Emperor of Austria, during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg. His mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, despite their different personalities, the marriage was fruitful, and after four miscarriages, four sons—including Maximilian—would reach adulthood. The existence of an affair between Sophie and the Duke, and any possibility that Maximilian was conceived from such a union, are widely dismissed by historians. Adhering to traditions inherited from the Spanish court during Habsburg rule, afterwards, his education was entrusted to a tutor. Most of Maximilians day was spent in study, the thirty-two hours per week of classes at age 7 steadily grew until it reached fifty-five hours per week by the time he was 17. The disciplines were diverse, ranging from history, geography, law and technology, to languages, military studies, fencing, in addition to his native German, he eventually learned to speak Hungarian, Slovak, English, French, Italian and Spanish
32.
Charles I of Austria
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Charles I was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, and he spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy until his death in 1922. Following his beatification by the Catholic Church in 2004, he has become known as Blessed Charles of Austria. Charles was born 17 August 1887 in the Castle of Persenbeug in Lower Austria and his parents were Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. At the time, his granduncle Franz Joseph reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, as a child, Archduke Charles was reared a devout Roman Catholic. He spent his early years wherever his fathers regiment happened to be stationed, later on he lived in Vienna and he was privately educated, but, contrary to the custom ruling in the imperial family, he attended a public gymnasium for the sake of demonstrations in scientific subjects. In 1907, he was declared of age and Prince Zdenko Lobkowitz was appointed his chamberlain, in the next few years he carried out his military duties in various Bohemian garrison towns. In 1911, Charles married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma and they had met as children but did not see one another for almost ten years, as each pursued their education. In 1909, his Dragoon regiment was stationed at Brandýs nad Labem in Bohemia and it was during one of these visits that Charles and Zita became reacquainted. Due to Franz Ferdinands morganatic marriage in 1900, his children were excluded from the succession, as a result, the Emperor severely pressured Charles to marry. Zita not only shared Charles devout Catholicism, but also a royal lineage. Zita later recalled, Charles became heir presumptive after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, only at this time did the old Emperor take steps to initiate the heir-presumptive to his crown in affairs of state. But the outbreak of World War I interfered with this political education, Charles spent his time during the first phase of the war at headquarters at Teschen, but exercised no military influence. Charles then became a Feldmarschall in the Austro-Hungarian Army, in the spring of 1916, in connection with the offensive against Italy, he was entrusted with the command of the XX. Corps, whose affections the heir-presumptive to the throne won by his affability, the offensive, after a successful start, soon came to a standstill. Shortly afterwards, Charles went to the front as commander of an army operating against the Russians and Romanians. Charles succeeded to the thrones in November 1916, after the death of his grand-uncle, on 2 December 1916, he assumed the title of Supreme Commander of the whole army from Archduke Friedrich. His coronation as King of Hungary occurred on 30 December, in 1917, Charles secretly entered into peace negotiations with France
33.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
34.
House of Guise
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The House of Guise was a French noble family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion. The House of Guise was founded as a branch of the House of Lorraine by Claude of Lorraine, first Duke of Guise. The familys high rank was due not to possession of the Guise dukedom but to their membership in a sovereign dynasty, claudes daughter, Mary of Guise, married King James V of Scotland and was mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1558, the Dauphin Francis married Mary, Queen of Scots, when the young man became king after his fathers death in 1559, the queens uncles, the Duke of Guise and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine, controlled French politics during his short reign. The House of Guise claimed descent from Charlemagne, and harbored pretensions to the French crown, in the reign of Francis II they attained supreme power, and sought to convert it to true kingship by eradicating the House of Bourbon, the legal successors to the throne of France. The leading Bourbon princes, Antoine, King of Navarre and Louis, to oppose the Bourbons, the Guises made themselves champions of the Catholic faith and allied themselves with Philip II of Spain. Conflict with the Protestant movement prompted the Amboise conspiracy, in which the Huguenots, the Guise family brutally put down the conspiracy. After King Francis death they opposed the more tolerant policy of the Regent, Catherine de Medici, the Duke Francis helped to defeat the Huguenots at the Battle of Dreux, but he was assassinated shortly afterward, in 1563. His son, Henry of Guise, became the third Duke of Guise and he helped plan the infamous St. Bartholomews Day Massacre of the Huguenots and formed the Catholic League. Guise began the war by declaring the unacceptability of Navarre as King of France, immensely ambitious, in 1588 Guise, with Spanish support, instigated a revolt against the king, taking control of the city of Paris and becoming the de facto ruler. Leadership of the Catholic League fell to their brother, Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, who was commander of the armed forces of the Catholic League. The Catholic League was eventually defeated, but for the sake of the country King Henry IV bought peace with Mayenne, and in January 1596 a treaty was signed that put an end to the League. After this, the House of Guise receded from its prominent position in French politics, and the senior line, the vast estates and title were disputed and diverted by various relatives, although several junior branches of the family perpetuated the male line until 1825. Their principal title, Duke de Guise in 1688 was awarded to a branch of the House of Bourbon, the title, with one exception, was not used by pretenders to throne of France. One of its heads, Prince Jean, Duke of Guise nonetheless took it as his title of pretence to the crown of France. By the end of the 1880s, a series of republican Presidents during the relatively young French Third Republic ended any hope of a monarchy, see Duke of Guise for a list. See Duchess of Guise for a list of their wives, Charles of Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine Charles II of Guise-Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf Mary of Guise, Queen Consort & Regent of Scots Legitimists Herbermann, Charles, ed
35.
Austria-Este
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The House of Habsburg-Este, holders of the title of Archduke of Austria-Este, is a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and also descends from the House of Este. It was created in 1771 with the marriage between Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice dEste, only daughter of the Duke of Modena, Ercole III dEste. After the death of Ercole III in 1803, that branch of the Este familys male line ended, in 1814, French rule in Italy ended. Modena was to be returned to his daughter Maria Beatrice and her son Francis of Austria-Este after Ercoles death, Ercole died in 1803 and Breisgau was indeed inherited by his daughter and her husband, but they lost it in 1805 to the expanding Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1859, the principality lost its independence and was incorporated into the newly united Kingdom of Italy, and Francis V, Francis V, Duke of Modena withdrew to his estates in Austria. After the death of his mother in 1840, Francis was considered the heir to the English and Scottish thrones by the Jacobites. When Francis died at Vienna on November 20,1875, his family became extinct in the male line and his heir general and heir-of-the-blood was his niece, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, who then was married with Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. The heir-general of the Estes continues in their descendants, and the present heir is Franz, although the first heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was not a descendant of the last Este duchess, Mary Beatrice of Modena), he took the name Austria-Este. e. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, but he was assassinated 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo before becoming emperor. Through his mother Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Robert happened to be a descendant of Duke Ercole III of Modena as well, on Roberts death his eldest son, Archduke Lorenz, born 1955, by his wife, Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta, succeeded him in that role. He is married to Princess Astrid of Belgium, the daughter of King Albert II of Belgium. Since the throne of Belgium is heritable by females, Princess Astrid is an heir of Belgium immediately after the issue of King Philippe of Belgium, as such, her husband Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, was in 1995 elevated to the additional title of Prince of Belgium. The children of the couple are, since 1991, titled Archduke of Austria-Este, the eldest of these is Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, born 1986
36.
Hohenberg family
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As their marriage was a morganatic one, none of their children were in the line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Still, they represent the senior line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1909, the Emperor raised Sophie to the senior title of Herzogin von Hohenberg with the superior style of Hoheit. Since that title had been granted ad personam, it expired upon Sophies assassination in 1914, in 1917, Emperor Charles of Austria granted the eldest son of Francis Ferdinand and Sophie the title of Duke with the style of Highness. The other members of the family retained the titles of Prince or Princess with the style of Serene Highness. Thus, Maximilian became the first Duke of Hohenberg, with the dukedom being hereditary according to primogeniture in the male line, following the collapse of the monarchy, the Austrian nobility, along with hereditary titles and such nobiliary particles as von, were abolished by law in 1919. In 1938, several members of the family who were opposed to Adolf Hitler were arrested by the Nazis and sent to Dachau concentration camp, most notably Maximilian and his brother Ernst. The current head of the family, Georg, was ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Holy See during part of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II and he is also a Knight of the Golden Fleece. The Hohenberg family still owns Artstetten Castle in Lower Austria, former residences of the family include Konopiště château in Bohemia. Artstetten Castle was selected to provide the theme for an Austrian 10 euro commemorative coin. The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family, there are two portraits on the left, showing Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. The head of the house is titled as Herzog von Hohenberg, his wife as Herzogin von Hohenberg, each of his sons as Fürst von Hohenberg. All members of the family are styled as Durchlaucht, except for the Duke and Duchess of Hohenberg, Sophie, previously Princess of Hohenberg from the time of her marriage in 1900. Maximilian, 1st Duke, eldest son of Sophie, with issue, franz, 2nd Duke, eldest son of Maximilian, with issue. Georg, 3rd Duke, second son of Maximilian, with issue, the line of succession to the title of Duke of Hohenberg is as follows
37.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
38.
Maria Theresa
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Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, by marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. She started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. Upon the death of her father, Saxony, Prussia, Bavaria, Prussia proceeded to invade the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia, sparking a nine-year conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession, and subsequently conquered it. Maria Theresa would later try to reconquer Silesia during the Seven Years War. Of the sixteen, ten survived to adulthood and she had eleven daughters and five sons. She criticised and disapproved of many of Josephs actions, Maria Theresa understood the importance of her public persona and was able to simultaneously evoke both esteem and affection from her subjects. However, she refused to allow religious toleration and contemporary travelers thought her regime was bigoted and superstitious. As a young monarch who fought two wars, she believed that her cause should be the cause of her subjects. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg and grandmother Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg, were her godmothers and her father was the only surviving male member of the House of Habsburg and hoped for a son who would prevent the extinction of his dynasty and succeed him. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a disappointment to him. Charles sought the other European powers approval for disinheriting his nieces and they exacted harsh terms, in the Treaty of Vienna, Great Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company in return for its recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged, little more than a year after her birth, Maria Theresa was joined by a sister, Maria Anna, and another one, named Maria Amalia, was born in 1724. The portraits of the family show that Maria Theresa resembled Elisabeth Christine. The Prussian ambassador noted that she had blue eyes, fair hair with a slight tinge of red, a wide mouth. Unlike many other members of the House of Habsburg, neither Maria Theresas parents nor her grandparents were closely related to each other, Maria Theresa was a serious and reserved child who enjoyed singing and archery. She was barred from riding by her father, but she would later learn the basics for the sake of her Hungarian coronation ceremony. The imperial family staged opera productions, often conducted by Charles VI and her education was overseen by Jesuits
39.
War of the Austrian Succession
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The War of the Austrian Succession involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresas succession to the Habsburg Monarchy. The war included King Georges War in British America, the War of Jenkins Ear, the First Carnatic War in India, the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. Austria was supported by Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, the enemies of France, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia. France and Prussia were allied with the Electorate of Bavaria, the war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. But the peace was soon to be shattered, when Austrias desire to recapture Silesia intertwined with the political changes in Europe. In 1740, after the death of her father, Charles VI, Maria Theresa succeeded him as Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria and Duchess of Parma. The complications involved in a female Habsburg ruler had been long foreseen, problems began when King Frederick II of Prussia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and invaded Silesia on 16 December 1740, using the 1537 Treaty of Brieg as a pretext. For much of the century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let its colonies defend themselves, or would offer only minimal help, similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any ruler of France. At the end of the war, France gave back its European conquests, the British—by inclination as well as for pragmatic reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent. For the War of the Austrian Succession, the British were allied with Austria, by the time of the Seven Years War, they were allied with its enemy, Prussia. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute the war in the colonies once it became involved in the war. The British pursued a strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports. They would harass enemy shipping and attack enemy outposts, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort and this plan worked better in North America than in Europe, but set the stage for the Seven Years War. Prince Frederick had been only 28 years of age on 31 May 1740 when his father, Frederick William I died, neither Frederick nor his father had ever been fond of Austria and its various snubs against Prussia. Emperor Charles VI had made provision for the succession of his daughter, in support of his invasion of Silesia, Frederick also used a questionable interpretation of a treaty between the Hohenzollerns and the Piasts of Brieg as pretext. In particular, Frederick feared that Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was preparing to seize Silesia for himself to unite Saxony and Poland. The only recent combat experience of the Prussian Army was their participation in the War of the Polish Succession, accordingly, the Prussian Army had an uninspiring reputation and was counted as one of the many minor armies of the Holy Roman Empire
40.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
41.
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I and he was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. He has been ranked, with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia and his policies are now known as Josephinism. He died with no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, Joseph was born in the midst of the early upheavals of the War of the Austrian Succession. His real education was given to him through the writings of Voltaire and the Encyclopédistes and he married Princess Isabella of Parma in October 1760, a union fashioned to bolster the 1756 defensive pact between France and Austria. Joseph loved his bride, Isabella, finding her both stimulating and charming, and she sought, with care to cultivate his favor. The marriage of Joseph and Isabella resulted in the birth of a daughter, Isabella was fearful of pregnancy and early death. Her own pregnancy proved difficult as she suffered symptoms of pain, illness. She remained bedridden for six weeks after their daughters birth, almost immediately on the back of their newfound parenthood, the couple then endured two consecutive miscarriages—an ordeal particularly hard on Isabella—followed quickly by another pregnancy. Pregnancy was again provoking melancholy, fears and dread in Isabella, progressively ill with smallpox and strained by sudden childbirth and tragedy, Isabella died the following week. This marriage proved unhappy, albeit brief, as it lasted only two years. Though Maria Josepha loved her husband, she felt timid and inferior in his company, lacking common interests or pleasures, the relationship offered little for Joseph, who confessed he felt no love for her in return. He adapted by distancing himself from his wife to the point of near total avoidance, seeing her only at meals, Maria Josepha, in turn, suffered considerable misery in finding herself locked in a cold, loveless union. Four months after the anniversary of their wedding, Maria Josepha grew ill. Joseph neither visited her during her illness nor attended her funeral, though he expressed regret for not having shown her better kindness. One thing the union did provide him was the possibility of laying claim to a portion of Bavaria. In 1770, at the age of seven, Josephs only surviving child, Maria Theresa, became ill with pleurisy, the loss of his daughter was deeply traumatic for him and left him profoundly grief-stricken and scarred. He was made a member of the council of state
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Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Leopold II was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism. In 1753, he was engaged to Maria Beatrice dEste, heiress to the Duchy of Modena, the marriage never materialised, Maria Beatrice instead married Leopolds brother, Archduke Ferdinand. On the death of his brother, Charles, in 1761, it was decided that he should succeed to his fathers grand duchy of Tuscany. This settlement was the condition of his marriage on 5 August 1764 with Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Charles III of Spain, on the death of his father, Francis I, he succeeded to the grand duchy. Leopold was famous in Florence for his numerous extra-marital affairs, among his lovers was Countess Cowper, wife of the 3rd Earl Cowper, who in compensation for being cuckolded was given honours by Leopolds brother, Joseph II. For five years, he exercised little more than nominal authority, in 1770, he made a journey to Vienna to secure the removal of this vexatious guardianship and returned to Florence with a free hand. During the twenty years which elapsed between his return to Florence and the death of his eldest brother Joseph II in 1790, he was employed in reforming the administration of his small state. As he had no army to maintain, and as he suppressed the small naval force kept up by the Medici, Leopold was never popular with his Italian subjects. His disposition was cold and retiring, but his steady, consistent, and intelligent administration, which advanced step by step, brought the grand duchy to a high level of material prosperity. His ecclesiastical policy, which disturbed the deeply rooted convictions of his people and he was unable to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the lay power. However, his abolition of capital punishment was the first permanent abolition in modern times, Leopolds concept of this was based on respect for the political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative. However, Leopold developed and supported social and economic reforms. Smallpox inoculation was made available, and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold also introduced reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of those deemed mentally ill. On 23 January 1774, the legge sui pazzi was established, a few years later Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the Bonifacio Hospital. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, Vincenzo Chiarugi and he and Joseph II were tenderly attached to one another and met frequently both before and after the death of their mother. The portrait by Pompeo Batoni in which appear together shows that they bore a strong personal resemblance to one another
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Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
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Habsburg Monarchy
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The Monarchy was a composite state composed of territories within and outside the Holy Roman Empire, united only in the person of the monarch. The dynastic capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, from 1804 to 1867 the Habsburg Monarchy was formally unified as the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 to 1918 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two entities were never coterminous, as the Habsburg Monarchy covered many lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire, the monarchy had no official name. The entity had no official name, Austrian Empire, This was the official name. Note that the German version is Kaisertum Österreich, i. e. the English translation empire refers to a territory ruled by an emperor, Austria-Hungary, This was the official name. An unofficial popular name was the Danubian Monarchy also often used was the term Doppel-Monarchie meaning two states under one crowned ruler, Crownlands or crown lands, This is the name of all the individual parts of the Austrian Empire, and then of Austria-Hungary from 1867 on. The Hungarian parts of the Empire were called Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen or Lands of Holy Stephens Crown, the Bohemian Lands were called Lands of the St. Wenceslaus Crown. Burgenland came to Austria in 1921 from Hungary, Salzburg finally became Austrian in 1816 after the Napoleonic wars. Vienna, Austrias capital became a state January 1,1922, after being residence, Upper and Lower Austria, historically, were split into Austria above the Enns and Austria below the Enns. Upper Austria was enlarged after the Treaty of Teschen following the War of the Bavarian Succession by the so-called Innviertel, formerly part of Bavaria. Hereditary Lands or German Hereditary Lands or Austrian Hereditary Lands, In a narrower sense these were the original Habsburg Austrian territories, i. e. basically the Austrian lands, in a wider sense the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were also included in the Hereditary lands. The term was replaced by the term Crownlands in the 1849 March Constitution, within the Habsburg Monarchy, each province was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. An even greater attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the revolutions of 1848. For the first time, ministers tried to transform the monarchy into a bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary, in particular, ceased to exist as a separate entity, in this system, the Kingdom of Hungary was given sovereignty and a parliament, with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed, it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy, instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. Austria-Hungary collapsed under the weight of the various unsolved ethnic problems that came to a head with its defeat in World War I, to these were added in 1779 the Inn Quarter of Bavaria, and in 1803 the Bishoprics of Trent and Brixen
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