House of Habsburg

The Habsburg dominions around 1200 in the area of modern-day Switzerland are shown as      Habsburg, among the houses of      Savoy,      Zähringer and      Kyburg

The progenitor of the House of Habsburg may have been Guntram the Rich, a count in the Breisgau who lived in the 10th century, and forthwith farther back as the medieval Adalrich, Duke of Alsace, from the Etichonids from which Habsburg derives. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, after which the Habsburgs are named. The origins of the castle's 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 (hawk castle), or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, as there is a river with a ford nearby. The first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108.[10][11][12] The Habsburg Castle was the family seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, especially countship rights in Zürichgau, Aargau and Thurgau. In the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to gain high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other noble families such as the House of Kyburg.[13][14]

Growth of the Habsburg Empire in Central Europe

By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV (1218–1291) had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance. Due to these impressive preconditions, on 1 October 1273, Rudolph was chosen as the King of the Romans and received the name Rudolph I of Germany.[13]

In a crucial step towards the creation of his own power base in the Eastern Alps, Rudolph led a coalition against king Ottokar II of Bohemia who had taken advantage of the Great Interregnum in order to expand southwards, taking over first the Babenberg (Austria, Styria, Savinja), and then the Spanheim inheritance (Carinthia and Carniola). In 1278, Ottokar was defeated and killed in the Battle of Marchfeld. The lands he had acquired in the previous decades were reverted to the German crown. In 1282, the Habsburgs gained for themselves the rulership of the duchies of Austria and Styria, which they then held for over 600 years, until 1918. The southern portions of Ottokar's former realm, Carinthia, Carniola, and Savinja, were granted to Rudolph's allies from the House of Gorizia. The resulting arrangement, known as the "Habsburg-Gorizia equilibrium in the Eastern Alps" lasted for half a decade.[15][16]

After Rudolph's death, the Habsburgs failed to maintain the Roman kingship. In the 1300s, their attempt to gain the Bohemian crown was frustrated first by Henry of Bohemia and finally by the House of Luxembourg. However, the weakening of the House of Gorizia in this succession struggle enabled them to expand southwards: in 1311, they took over the Savinja, and after the death of Henry of Bohemia in 1335, they assumed power in Carniola and in Carinthia. In 1369, they would succeed his daughter in Tyrol, as well. After the death of Albert III of Gorizia in 1374, they gained their first foothold on the Adriatic, in central Istria (Mitterburg), followed by Trieste in 1382. The original home territories of the Habsburgs, the Aargau with Habsburg Castle and much of the other original possessions in what is now Switzerland were lost in the 14th century to the expanding Swiss Confederacy after the battles of Morgarten (1315) and Sempach (1386).

Through the forged privilegium maius document (1358/59), a special bond was created between the House of Habsburg and Austria. The document, forged at the behest of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339–1365), also attempted to introduce rules to preserve the unity of the family's Austrian lands. In the long term, this indeed succeeded, but Rudolph's brothers ignored the rule, leading to the separation of the Albertian and Leopoldian family lines in 1379: the former would maintain Austria proper, while the latter would rule over Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, which became known as Inner Austria, as well as Tyrol and the original Habsburg lands in Swabia, now known as Further Austria.[13]

By marrying Elisabeth of Luxembourg, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund in 1437, Duke Albert V (1397–1439) of the Albertine line became the ruler of Bohemia and Hungary, expanding the family's political horizons. The next year, Albert V was crowned as the King of the Romans as Albert II. After his early death in war with the Turks in 1439, and after the death of his son Ladislaus Postumus in 1457, the Habsburgs lost Bohemia and Hungary again. National kingdoms were established in these areas, and the Habsburgs were not able to restore their influence there for decades. However, with the extinction of the House of Celje in 1456 and the House of Wallsee-Enns in 1466/1483, the Habsburgs managed to absorb vast secular enclaves within their territories, and create a contiguous domain stretching from the border with Bohemia to the Adriatic sea. Furthermore, with Ladislaus's death in 1457, the Albertine line died out, and the Leopoldian line took over all the family possessions.

Habsburg lands (in green), following the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547; excludes Holy Roman Empire, and the Spanish colonial empire

In 1440, Frederick III was chosen by the electoral college to succeed Albert II as the king. Several Habsburg kings had attempted to gain the imperial throne over the years, but success finally arrived on 19 March 1452, when Pope Nicholas V crowned Frederick III as the Holy Roman Emperor in a grand ceremony held in Rome. In Frederick III, the Pope found an important political ally with whose help he was able to counter the conciliar movement.[13]

While in Rome, Frederick III married Eleanor of Portugal, enabling him to build a network of connections with dynasties in the west and southeast of Europe. Frederick was rather distant to his family; Eleanor, by contrast, had a great influence on the raising and education of Frederick's children and therefore played an important role in the family's rise to prominence. After Frederick III's coronation, the Habsburgs were able to hold the imperial throne almost continuously for centuries, until 1806.[13]

As emperor, Frederick III took a leading role inside the family and positioned himself as the judge over the family's internal conflicts, often making use of the privilegium maius. He was able to restore the unity of the house's Austrian lands, as the Albertinian line was now extinct. Territorial integrity was also strengthened by the extinction of the Tyrolean line|Tyrolean branch of the Leopoldian line in 1490/1496. Frederick's aim was to make Austria a united country, stretching from the Rhine to the Mur and Leitha.[13]

The Iberian Union in 1598, under Philip II, King of Spain and Portugal

On the external front, one of Frederick's main achievements was the Siege of Neuss (1474–75), in which he forced Charles the Bold of Burgundy to give his daughter Mary of Burgundy as wife to Frederick's son Maximilian.[13] The wedding took place on the evening of 16 August 1477 and ultimately resulted in the Habsburgs acquiring control of the Low Countries. After Mary's early death in 1482, Maximilian attempted to secure the Burgundian heritance to one of his and Mary's children Philip the Handsome. Charles VIII of France contested this, using both military and dynastic means, but the Burgundian succession was finally ruled in favor of Philip in the Treaty of Senlis in 1493.[17]

After the death of his father in 1493, Maximilian was proclaimed the new King of the Romans, receiving the name Maximilian I. Maximilian was initially unable to travel to Rome to receive the Imperial title from the Pope, due to opposition from Venice and from the French who were occupying Milan, as well a refusal from the Pope due to enemy forces being present on his territory. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself as the "chosen Emperor," and this was also recognized by the Pope due to changes in political alliances. This had a historical consequence in that, in the future, the Roman King would also automatically become Emperor, without needing the Pope's consent. In 1530, Emperor Charles V became the last person to be crowned as the Emperor by the Pope.[17]

Maximilian's rule (1493–1519) was a time of great expansion for the Habsburgs. In 1497, Maximilian's son Philip the Handsome (also known as Phillip the Fair) married Joanna of Castile, also known as Joan the Mad, heiress of Castile, Aragon, and most of Spain. Phillip and Joan had six children, the eldest of whom became emperor Charles V and inherited the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (including their colonies in the New World) as Charles I, Southern Italy, Austria, and the Low Countries.[18]

The foundations for the later empire of Austria-Hungary were laid in 1515 by the means of a double wedding between Louis, only son of Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, and Maximilian's granddaughter Mary; and between her brother Archduke Ferdinand and Vladislaus' daughter Anna. The wedding was celebrated in grand style on 22 July 1515 and has been described by some historians as the First Congress of Vienna due to its significant implications for Europe's political landscape. All the children were still minors, so the wedding was formally completed in 1521. Vladislaus died on 13 March 1516, and Maximilian died on 12 January 1519, but his designs were ultimately successful: on Louis's death in 1526, Maximilian's grandson and Charles V's brother Ferdinand, became the King of Bohemia.

The Habsburg dynasty achieved the position of a true world power by the time of Charles V's election in 1519, for the first and only time in their history—the "World Emperor" ruling an "empire on which the sun never sets".

The Habsburgs' policies against Protestantism led to an eradication of the former throughout vast areas under their control.

The Spanish and Austrian Habsburg European lands, ca 1700

After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg dynasty split into the branch of the Austrian Habsburgs (or German Habsburgs) and the branch of the Spanish Habsburgs.[19] Ferdinand I, King of Bohemia, Hungary,[20] and archduke of Austria in the name of his brother Charles V became suo jure monarch as well as the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor (designated as successor already in 1531). Philip II of Spain, son of Charles V, became King of Spain and its colonial empire, and ruler of the Mezzogiorno of Italy. The Spanish Habsburgs also ruled Portugal for a time (1580–1640).

The Seventeen Provinces and the Duchy of Milan were also left in personal union under the King of Spain, but remained part of the Holy Roman Empire. Furthermore, the Spanish king had claims on Hungary and Bohemia. In the secret Oñate treaty, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs settled their mutual claims. The Spanish Habsburgs died out in 1700 (prompting the War of the Spanish Succession), as did the last male of the Austrian Habsburg line in 1740 (prompting the War of the Austrian Succession), and finally the last female of the Habsburg male line in 1780.

The Habsburgs sought to consolidate their power by frequent consanguineous marriages, resulting in a cumulatively deleterious effect on their gene pool. Health impairments due to inbreeding including epilepsy, insanity and death. The death of King Charles II of Spain, from his disfigurements, led to the War of Spanish Succession.[21]

A study of 3,000 family members over 16 generations by the University of Santiago de Compostela suggests inbreeding may have played a factor in their extinction.[22] However, other scientific studies dispute the ideas of any linkage between fertility and consanguinity.[23]

Numerous members of the family show specific facial deformities: an enlarged lower jaw with an extended chin known as mandibular prognathism or "Habsburg jaw", a large nose with hump and hanging tip ("Habsburg nose"), and an everted lower lip ("Habsburg lip"). The latter two are signs of maxillary deficiency. A 2019 study found that the degree of mandibular prognasthism in the Habsburg family shows a statistically significant correlation with the degree of inbreeding. A correlation between maxillary deficiency and degree of inbreeding was also present but was not statistically significant.[24]

The gene pool eventually became so small that the last of the Spanish line, Charles II, who was severely disabled from birth, perhaps by genetic disorders, possessed a genome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister, as did his father, probably because of "remote inbreeding".[25][22]

The Austrian House of Habsburg became extinct in the male line in 1740 with the death of Charles VI and in the female line in 1780 with the death of his daughter, Maria Theresa; it was succeeded by the last cadet branch of the Habsburg Dynasty, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) becoming the new main branch of the Dynasty, in the person of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II. This new House was created by the marriage between Maria Theresa of Habsburg and Francis Stephan, Duke of Lorraine[26] (both of them were great-grandchildren of Habsburg emperor Ferdinand III, but from different empresses) being this new House a cadet branch of the female line of the House of Habsburg and the male line of the House of Lorraine. It is thought that extensive intra-family marriages within Spanish and Austrian lines contributed to the extinction of the main line.

Austria-Hungary in 1915

Kingdoms and countries of Austria-Hungary: Cisleithania (Empire of Austria[27]): 1. Bohemia, 2. Bukovina, 3. Carinthia, 4. Carniola, 5. Dalmatia, 6. Galicia, 7. Küstenland, 8. Lower Austria, 9. Moravia, 10. Salzburg, 11. Silesia, 12. Styria, 13. Tirol, 14. Upper Austria, 15. Vorarlberg; Transleithania (Kingdom of Hungary[27]): 16. Hungary proper 17. Croatia-Slavonia; 18. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian condominium)

On 6 August 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved under the French emperor Napoleon I's reorganization of Germany. However, in anticipation of the loss of his title of Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria (as Francis I) on 11 August 1804, three months after Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of the French on 18 May 1804.

Emperor Francis I of Austria used the official full list of titles: "We, Francis the First, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria; King of Jerusalem, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Würzburg, Franconia, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola; Grand Duke of Cracow; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Sandomir, Masovia, Lublin, Upper and Lower Silesia, Auschwitz and Zator, Teschen, and Friule; Prince of Berchtesgaden and Mergentheim; Princely Count of Habsburg, Gorizia, and Gradisca and of the Tyrol; and Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria".

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created a real union, whereby the Kingdom of Hungary was granted co-equality with the Empire of Austria, that henceforth didn't include the Kingdom of Hungary as a crownland anymore. The Austrian and the Hungarian lands became independent entities enjoying equal status.[28] Under this arrangement, the Hungarians referred to their ruler as king and never emperor (see k. u. k.). This prevailed until the Habsburgs' deposition from both Austria and Hungary in 1918 following defeat in World War I.

An ethno-linguistic map of Austria–Hungary, 1910

On 11 November 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler, Charles I of Austria (who also reigned as Charles IV of Hungary) issued a proclamation recognizing Austria's right to determine the future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs. Two days later, he issued a separate proclamation for Hungary. Even though he did not officially abdicate, this is considered the end of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1919, the new republican Austrian government subsequently passed a law banishing the Habsburgs from Austrian territory until they renounced all intentions of regaining the throne and accepted the status of private citizens. Charles made several attempts to regain the throne of Hungary, and in 1921 the Hungarian government passed a law that revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs.

The Habsburgs did not formally abandon all hope of returning to power until Otto von Habsburg, the eldest son of Charles I, on 31 May 1961 renounced all claims to the throne.

Fragmentary references (see below) cite the Habsburgs as descendants of the early Germanic Etichonider, probably of Frankish, Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Eticho (also known as Aldarich) who ruled from 662 to 690.

Family tree of the ancestors of the Habsburg family, largely before becoming Holy Roman Emperors and (Arch)Dukes of Austria. This family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg from 920 to 1308.[30] Otto II was probably the first to take the Habsburg Castle name as his own, adding "von Habsburg" to his title and creating the House of Habsburg.[31] See below for more references.

Guntram the Rich[29] Count in Breisgau c. 920–973 member of Etichonider family

Lanzelin of Klettgau and Altenburg

Werner I Bishop of Strasbourg c. 978/980–1028

Radbot of Klettgau built Habsburg Castle Count of Habsburg c. 985–1045

Werner I the Pious[32] Count of Habsburg c. 1025/1030–1096

Otto II Count of Habsburg 1096–1111

Werner II Count of Habsburg 1111–1167

Otto III Bishop of Constance 1166–1174

Albert III Count of Habsburg 1167–1199

Rudolf II Count of Habsburg 1199–1232

Albert IV Count of Habsburg 1232–1239

Rudolf III Count of Habsburg 1232 Count of Laufenburg 1232–1249

Rudolf IV (I) Count of Habsburg 1240–1291 King of Germany 1273–1291 Duke of Austria and Styria 1278–1282 Duke of Carinthia 1276–1286

Eberhard I Count of Kiburg 1249–1284

Gottfried I Count of Laufenburg 1249–1271

Albert I Duke of Austria, Styria and Carniola 1282–1308 Holy Roman Emperor 1298–1308

Rudolf II Duke of Swabia 1282–1290 Duke of Austria 1282–1283

Kiburg Line 1284–1414

Laufenburg Line 1271–1408

John the Parricide (murdered his uncle Albert I)

House of Austria see below

Similarly, this family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine who survived to adulthood:

• Guntram the Rich (ca. 930–985 / 990) Father of:[34] The chronology of the Muri Abbey, burial place of the early Habsburgs, written in the 11th century, states that Guntramnus Dives (Guntram the Rich), was the ancestor of the House of Habsburg. Many historians believe this indeed makes Guntram the progenitor of the House of Habsburg. However, this account was 200 years after the fact, and much about him and the origins of the Habsburgs is uncertain.[29] If true, as Guntram was a member of the Etichonider family, it would link the Habsburg lineage to this family.
• Lanzelin of Altenburg (died 991). Besides Radbot, below, he had sons named Rudolph I, Wernher, and Landolf.

Arms of the Counts of Habsburgs. The Habsburgs all but abandoned this for the arms of Austria. It only reappeared in their triarch family arms in 1805.

Before Rudolph rose to German king, the Habsburgs were Counts of Baden in what is today southwestern Germany and Switzerland.[34]

• Radbot of Klettgau, built the Habsburg Castle (c. 985 – 1035). Besides Werner I, he had two other sons: Otto I, who would become Count of Sundgau in the Alsace, and Albrecht I. Founded the Muri Abbey, which became the first burial place of members of the House of Habsburg. It is possible that Radbot founded the castle Habichtsburg, the residence of the House of Habsburg, but another possible founder is Werner I.[35]
• Werner I, Count of Habsburg (1025/1030–1096). Besides Otto II, there was another son, Albert II, who was reeve of Muri from 1111–1141 after the death of Otto II.
• Otto II of Habsburg; first to name himself as "of Habsburg"[31] (died 1111) Father of:
• Werner II of Habsburg (around 1135; died 1167) Father of:
• Albrecht III of Habsburg (the Rich), died 1199. Under him, the Habsburg territories expanded to cover most of what is today the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Father of:
• Rudolph II of Habsburg (b. c. 1160, died 1232) Father of:
• Albrecht IV of Habsburg, (died 1239 / 1240); father of Rudolph IV of Habsburg, who would later become king Rudolph I of Germany. Between Albrecht IV and his brother Rudolph III, the Habsburg properties were split, with Albrecht keeping the Aargau and the western parts, the eastern parts going to Rudolph III. Albrecht IV was also a mutual ancestor of Sophia Chotek and of her husband Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

The arms of Austria, originally belonging to the Babenberg dukes. They became all but synonymous with the Habsburgs, as the Habsburgs all but abandoned their own arms for these.

In the late Middle Ages, when the Habsburgs expanded their territories in the east, they usually ruled as dukes of the Duchy of Austria which covered only what is today Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) and the eastern part of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich). The Habsburg possessions also included the rest of what was then called Inner Austria (Innerösterreich), i.e. the Duchy of Styria, and then expanded west to include the Duchy of Carinthia and Carniola in 1335 and the Count of Tirol in 1363. Their original scattered possessions in the southern Alsace, south-western Germany and Vorarlberg were collectively known as Further Austria.

The senior Habsburg dynasty generally ruled Lower Austria from Vienna as archduke ("paramount duke") of the Duchy of Austria. The Styrian lands had already been ruled in personal union by the Babenberg dukes of Austria since 1192 and were finally seized with the Austrian lands by the Habsburg king Rudolph I of Germany upon his victory in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld. In 1335 Rudolph's grandson Duke Albert II of Austria also received the Carinthian duchy with the adjacent March of Carniola at the hands of Emperor Louis the Bavarian as Imperial fiefs.

The Habsburg dukes gradually lost their homelands south of the Rhine and Lake Constance to the expanding Old Swiss Confederacy. Unless mentioned explicitly, the dukes of Austria also ruled over Further Austria until 1379, after that year, Further Austria was ruled by the Princely Count of Tyrol. Names in italics designate dukes who never actually ruled.

When Albert's son Duke Rudolf IV of Austria died in 1365, his younger brothers Albert III and Leopold III quarrelled about his heritage and in the Treaty of Neuberg of 1379 finally split the Habsburg territories: The Albertinian line would rule in the Archduchy of Austria proper (then sometimes referred to as "Lower Austria" (Niederösterreich), but comprising modern Lower Austria and most of Upper Austria), while the Leopoldian line ruled in the Styrian, Carinthian and Carniolan territories, subsumed under the denotation of "Inner Austria". At that time their share also comprised Tyrol and the original Habsburg possessions in Swabia, called Further Austria; sometimes both were collectively referred to as "Upper Austria" (Oberösterreich) in that context, also not to be confused with the modern state of that name.

After the death of Leopold's eldest son William in 1406, the Leopoldinian line was further split among his brothers into the Inner Austrian territory under Ernest the Iron and a Tyrolean/Further Austrian line under Frederick IV. In 1457 Ernest's son Duke Frederick V of Inner Austria also gained the Austrian archduchy after his Albertine cousin Ladislaus the Posthumous had died without issue. 1490 saw the reunification of all Habsburg lines when Archduke Sigismund of Further Austria and Tyrol resigned in favor of Frederick's son Maximilian I. In 1512, the Habsburg territories were incorporated into the Imperial Austrian Circle.

Map of showing the constituent lands of the Archduchy of Austria: the Duchy of Austria comprising Upper Austria centred around Linz and Lower Austria centered around Vienna, Inner Austria comprising duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and the lands of the Austrian Littoral centered on Graz, and Further Austria comprising mostly the Sundgau territory with the town of Belfort in southern Alsace, the adjacent Breisgau region east of the Rhine, and usually the County of Tyrol. The part between Further Austria and the duchy of Austria was the Archbishopric of Salzburg.

Archduke of Austria, was invented in the Privilegium Maius, a 14th-century forgery initiated by Duke Rudolf IV of Austria. Originally, it was meant to denote the "ruler" (thus "Arch-") of the Duchy of Austria, usually from Vienna, in an effort to put the Habsburgs on a par with the Prince-electors, as Austria had been bypassed as hereditary prince-electors of the empire when the Golden Bull of 1356 assigned that title to the highest-ranking Imperial princes. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV refused to recognize the title.

The archducal title was only officially recognized in 1453 by Emperor Frederick III.[36] Emperor Frederick III himself used just "Duke of Austria", never Archduke, until his death in 1493. The title was first granted to Frederick's younger brother, Albert VI of Austria (died 1463), who used it at least from 1458.

In 1477, Frederick III also granted the title archduke to his first cousin, Sigismund of Austria, ruler of Further Austria. Frederick's son and heir, the future Emperor Maximilian I, started to use the title, but apparently only after the death of his wife Mary of Burgundy (died 1482), as Archduke never appears in documents issued jointly by Maximilian and Mary as rulers in the Low Countries (where Maximilian is still titled "Duke of Austria"). The title appears first in documents issued under the joint rule of Maximilian and Philip (his under-age son) in the Low Countries.

Archduke was initially borne by those dynasts who ruled a Habsburg territory, i.e., only by males and their consorts, appanages being commonly distributed to cadets. But these "junior" archdukes did not thereby become independent hereditary rulers, since all territories remained vested in the Austrian crown. Occasionally a territory might be combined with a separate gubernatorial mandate ruled by an archducal cadet.

From the 16th century onward, archduke and its female form, archduchess, came to be used by all the members of the House of Habsburg (e.g., Queen Marie Antoinette of France was born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria.

• Rudolph II, son of Rudolph I, duke of Austria and Styria together with his brother 1282–1283, was dispossessed by his brother, who eventually would be murdered by one of Rudolph's sons.
• Albert I (Albrecht I), son of Rudolph I and brother of the above, duke from 1282–1308; was Holy Roman Emperor from 1298–1308. See also below.
• Rudolph III, the oldest son of Albert I, designated duke of Austria and Styria 1298–1307
• Frederick the Handsome (Friedrich der Schöne), brother of Rudolph III. Duke of Austria and Styria (with his brother Leopold I) from 1308–1330; officially co-regent of the emperor Louis IV since 1325, but never ruled.
• Leopold I, brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria from 1308–1326.
• Albert II (Albrecht II), brother of the above, duke of Further Austria from 1326–1358, duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1358, duke of Carinthia after 1335.
• Otto the Jolly (der Fröhliche), brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1339 (together with his brother), duke of Carinthia after 1335.
• Rudolph IV the Founder (der Stifter), oldest son of Albert II. Duke of Austria and Styria 1358–1365, Duke of Tirol after 1363.

After the death of Rudolph IV, his brothers Albert III and Leopold III ruled the Habsburg possessions together from 1365 until 1379, when they split the territories in the Treaty of Neuberg, Albert keeping the Duchy of Austria and Leopold ruling over Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Windic March, Tirol, and Further Austria.

• Albert III (Albrecht III), duke of Austria until 1395, from 1386 (after the death of Leopold) until 1395 also ruled over the latter's possessions.
• Albert IV (Albrecht IV), duke of Austria 1395–1404, in conflict with Leopold IV.
• Albert V (Albrecht V), duke of Austria 1404–1439, Holy Roman Emperor from 1438–1439 as Albert II. See also below.
• Ladislaus Posthumus, son of the above, duke of Austria 1440–1457.

• Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Further Austria until 1386, when he was killed in the Battle of Sempach.
• William (Wilhelm), son of the above, 1386–1406 duke in Inner Austria (Carinthia, Styria)
• Leopold IV, son of Leopold III, 1391 regent of Further Austria, 1395–1402 duke of Tyrol, after 1404 also duke of Austria, 1406–1411 duke of Inner Austria

• Ernest the Iron (der Eiserne), 1406–1424 duke of Inner Austria, until 1411 together and competing with his brother Leopold IV.
• Frederick V (Friedrich), son of Ernst, became emperor Frederick III in 1440. He was duke of Inner Austria from 1424 on. Guardian of Sigismund 1439–1446 and of Ladislaus Posthumus 1440–1452. See also below.
• Albert VI (Albrecht VI), brother of the above, 1446–1463 regent of Further Austria, duke of Austria 1458–1463
• Ernestine line of Saxon princes, ancestor of George I of Great Britain-descended from sister of Frederick III; also Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse King of Finland 1918

• Frederick IV (Friedrich), brother of Ernst, 1402–1439 duke of Tyrol and Further Austria
• Sigismund, also spelled Siegmund or Sigmund, 1439–1446 under the tutelage of the Frederick V above, then duke of Tyrol, and after the death of Albrecht VI in 1463 also duke of Further Austria.

Sigismund had no children and adopted Maximilian I, son of duke Frederick V (emperor Frederick III). Under Maximilian, the possessions of the Habsburgs would be united again under one ruler, after he had re-conquered the Duchy of Austria after the death of Matthias Corvinus, who resided in Vienna and styled himself duke of Austria from 1485–1490.

• Rudolph I, emperor 1273–1291 (never crowned)
• Albert I, emperor 1298–1308 (never crowned)
• Albert II, emperor 1438–1439 (never crowned) -ancestor of Empress Catherine II of Russia
• Frederick III, emperor 1440–1493

• Albert, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1437–1439)
• Ladislaus V Posthumus, king of Hungary (1444–1457) and Bohemia (1453–1457)

The title Archduke of Austria, the one most famously associated with the Habsburgs, was invented in the Privilegium Maius, a 14th-century forgery initiated by Duke Rudolf IV of Austria. Originally, it was meant to denote the ruler of the (thus 'Arch') duchy of Austria, in an effort to put that ruler on par with the Prince-electors, as Austria had been passed over in the Golden Bull of 1356, when the electorships had been assigned. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV refused to recognize the title. Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria, who died in 1457, was never in his lifetime authorized to use it, and accordingly, not he nor anyone in his branch of the dynasty ever used the title.

Duke Ernest the Iron and his descendants unilaterally assumed the title "archduke". This title was only officially recognized in 1453 by his son, Emperor Frederick III, when the Habsburgs had (permanently) gained control of the office of the Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor Frederick III himself used just Duke of Austria, never Archduke, until his death in 1493.

Frederick's son and heir, the future Emperor Maximilian I, started to use the title, but apparently only after the death of his wife Mary of Burgundy (died 1482) as the title never appears in documents of joint Maximilian and Mary rule in the Low Countries (where Maximilian is still titled Duke of Austria). The title appears first in documents of joint Maximilian and Philip (his under-age son) rule in the Low Countries. It only gained currency with Charles V and the descendants of his brother, the Emperor Ferdinand.

• Maximilian I, emperor 1508–1519
• Charles V, emperor 1519–1556, his arms are explained in an article about them

The reigning duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was the chief political opponent of Maximilian's father Frederick III. Charles controlled not only Burgundy (both dukedom and county), but the wealthy and powerful Southern Netherlands, current Flanders, the real center of his power. Frederick was concerned about Burgundy's expansive tendencies on the western border of his Holy Roman Empire, and to forestall military conflict, he attempted to secure the marriage of Charles's only daughter, Mary of Burgundy, to his son Maximilian. After the Siege of Neuss (1474–75), he was successful.

The wedding between Maximilian and Mary took place on the evening of 16 August 1477, after the death of Charles.[37] Mary and the Habsburgs lost the Duchy of Burgundy to France, but managed to defend and hold onto the rest what became the 17 provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. After Mary's death in 1482, Maximilian acted as regent for his son:

• Philip the Handsome (1482–1506)
• Charles V (1506–1555)
• Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, regent (1507–1515) and (1519–1530)
• Mary of Hungary, dowager queen of Hungary, sister of Charles V, governor of the Netherlands, 1531–1555
• Margaret of Parma, illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Duchess of Parma, and mother of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, governor 1559–1567
• Don John of Austria, illegitimate son of Charles V, victor of Lepanto, governor of the Netherlands, 1576–1578
• Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, son of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Netherlands, 1578–1592

The Netherlands were frequently governed directly by a regent or governor-general, who was a collateral member of the Habsburgs. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 Charles V combined the Netherlands into one administrative unit, to be inherited by his son Philip II. Charles effectively united the Netherlands as one entity. The Habsburgs controlled the 17 Provinces of the Netherlands until the Dutch Revolt in the second half of the 16th century, when they lost the seven northern Protestant provinces. They held onto the southern Catholic part (roughly modern Belgium and Luxembourg) as the Spanish and Austrian Netherlands until they were conquered by French Revolutionary armies in 1795. The one exception to this was the period of (1601–1621), when shortly before Philip II died on 13 September 1598, he renounced his rights to the Netherlands in favor of his daughter Isabella and her fiancé, Archduke Albert of Austria, a younger son of Emperor Maximilian II. The territories reverted to Spain on the death of Albert in 1621, as the couple had no surviving offspring, and Isabella acted as regent-governor until her death in 1633:

• the Archdukes Albert and Isabella, 1601-1621

• Philip II of Spain (Jure uxoris King, with Mary I of England 1554–1558)

Coat of arms of Spanish Habsburgs (1581–1621 Version) showing the shield as kings of Portugal. Portugal regained its independence in 1640, and when Spain acknowledged this in 1668, it was removed.

Habsburg Spain was a personal union between the Crowns of Castile and Aragon; Aragon was itself divided into the Kingdoms of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Majorca, Naples, Sicily, Malta and Sardinia.[38] From 1581, they were kings of Portugal until they renounced this title in the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon. They were also Dukes of Milan, Lord of the Americas, and holder of multiple titles from territories within the Habsburg Netherlands. A full listing can be seen here.

This wide range of claims was illustrated in their coat of arms. There are many more variants of these arms in the Habsburg Armory, Spanish Section as well as coat of arms of the King of Spain, coat of arms of Spain, coat of arms of the Prince of Asturias, and coats of arms of Spanish Monarchs in Italy. The Spanish Habsburgs also kept up the Burgundian court tradition of the dynast being known by a "nickname" (e.g. the Bold, the Prudent, the Bewitched).[39] In Spain they were known as the ""Casa de Austria", and illegitimate sons were known as "de Austria" (see Don Juan de Austria and Don Juan José de Austria).

• Philip I of Castile the Handsome,[39] second son of Maximilian I, founded the Spanish Habsburgs in 1496 by marrying Joanna the Mad, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Philip died in 1506, leaving the thrones of Castile and Aragon to be inherited and united into the throne of Spain by his son:
• Charles I 1516–1556, aka Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; divided the House into Austrian and Spanish lines The meanings of his arms are analyzed here.
• Philip II the Prudent[39] 1556–1598, also Philip I of Portugal 1581–1598 and Philip I of England with his wife Mary I of England 1554–1558. The meanings of his arms are analyzed here. .
• Philip III the Pious,[39] also Philip II of Portugal 1598–1621
• Philip IV the Great[39] 1621–1665, also Philip III of Portugal 1621–1640
• Charles II the Bewitched ( "El Hechizado")[39] 1665–1700

The War of the Spanish Succession took place after the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line, to determine the inheritance of Charles II.

The abdications of Charles V in 1556 ended his formal authority over Ferdinand and made him suo jure ruler in Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, as well as Holy Roman Emperor. This inheritance was itself split in 1564 among the children of deceased Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg.

The Inner Austrian line founded by Archduke Charles II prevailed again, when his son and successor as regent of Inner Austria (i.e. the Duchy of Styria, the Duchy of Carniola with March of Istria, the Duchy of Carinthia, the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, and the Imperial City of Trieste, ruled from Graz) Ferdinand II in 1619 became Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor as well as King of Bohemia and Hungary in 1620. The Further Austrian/Tyrolean line of Ferdinand's brother Archduke Leopold V survived until the death of his son Sigismund Francis in 1665, whereafter their territories ultimately returned to common control with the other Austrian Habsburg lands. Inner Austrian stadtholders went on to rule until the days of Empress Maria Theresa in the 18th century.

• Charles V, emperor 1519–1556 (divided the House into Austrian and Spanish lines)
• Ferdinand I, emperor 1556–1564 (→Family Tree)
• Maximilian II, emperor 1564–1576
• Rudolf II, emperor 1576–1612
• Matthias, emperor 1612–1619
• Ferdinand II, emperor 1619–1637
• Ferdinand III, emperor 1637–1657 (→Family Tree)
• Leopold I, emperor 1658–1705
• Josef I, emperor 1705–1711
• Charles VI, emperor 1711–1740
• Maria Theresa of Austria, Habsburg heiress and wife of emperor Francis I Stephen, reigned as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia 1740–1780.

The War of the Austrian Succession took place after the extinction of the male line of the Austrian Habsburg line upon the death of Charles VI. The direct Habsburg line itself became totally extinct with the death of Maria Theresa of Austria, when it was followed by the House of Lorraine, styled of Habsburg-Lorraine.

• Francis I Stephen, emperor 1745–1765 (→Family Tree)
• Joseph II, emperor 1765–1790
• Leopold II, emperor 1790–1792 (→Family Tree)
• Francis II, emperor 1792–1806 (→Family Tree)

Queen Maria Christina of Austria of Spain, great-granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor above. Wife of Alfonso XII of Spain and mother of Alfonso XIII of the House of Bourbon. Alfonso XIII's wife Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was descended from King George I of Great Britain from the Habsburg Leopold Line {above}.

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained Austria and attached possessions after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire; see below.

A son of Leopold II was Archduke Rainer of Austria whose wife was from the House of Savoy; a daughter Adelaide, Queen of Sardina was the wife of King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia and King of Italy. Their Children married into the Royal Houses of Bonaparte; Saxe-Coburg and Gotha {Bragança} {Portugal}; Savoy {Spain}; and the Dukedoms of Montferrat and Chablis.

Small Coat of Arms of the Austrian Empire adopted by Francis I in 1804. On the center is the Small (personal) Coat of arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine adopted by Emperor Francis I. It shows (left to right) the arms of Habsburg, which had all but been abandoned in favor of Austria when the Habsburgs acquired Austria, the Arms of Austria, and the Arms of Lorraine.

• Francis I, Emperor of Austria 1804–1835: formerly Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor

(→Family Tree)

• Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria 1835–1848
• Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria 1848–1916.
• Charles I, Emperor of Austria 1916–1918. He died in exile in 1922. His wife was of the House of Bourbon-Parma.

• Francis Stephen 1737–1765 (later Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor)

Francis Stephen assigned the grand duchy of Tuscany to his second son Peter Leopold, who in turn assigned it to his second son upon his accession as Holy Roman Emperor. Tuscany remained the domain of this cadet branch of the family until Italian unification.

• Peter Leopold 1765–1790 (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor)
• Ferdinand III 1790–1800, 1814–1824 (→Family Tree)
• Leopold II 1824–1849, 1849–1859
• Ferdinand IV 1859–1860

• Ferdinand IV 1860–1908
• Archduke Joseph Ferdinand, Prince of Tuscany 1908–1942
• Archduke Peter Ferdinand, Prince of Tuscany 1942–1948
• Archduke Gottfried, Prince of Tuscany 1948–1984
• Archduke Leopold Franz, Prince of Tuscany 1984–1993
• Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany 1993–present

The duchy of Modena was assigned to a minor branch of the family by the Congress of Vienna. It was lost to Italian unification. The Dukes named their line the House of Austria-Este, as they were descended from the daughter of the last D'Este Duke of Modena.

• Francis IV 1814–1831, 1831–1846 (→Family Tree)
• Francis V 1846–1848, 1849–1859

• Francis V (1859–1875)
• Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este & Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary (1875–1914)
• Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este (1914–1917)
• Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (1917–1996)
• Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este (1996–Present)

Dona Maria Leopoldina of Austria (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was an archduchess of Austria, Empress consort of Brazil and Queen consort of Portugal.

• Marie Louise of Austria 1810–1814

The duchy of Parma was likewise assigned to a Habsburg, but did not stay in the House long before succumbing to Italian unification. It was granted to the second wife of Napoleon I of France, Maria Luisa Duchess of Parma, a daughter of the Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was the mother of Napoleon II of France. Napoleon had divorced his wife Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie (better known to history as Josephine de Beauharnais) in her favor.

• Maria Luisa 1814–1847 (→Family Tree)

Coat of Arms of the Mexican Empire adopted by Maximilian I in 1864

Maximilian, the adventurous second son of Archduke Franz Karl, was invited as part of Napoleon III's manipulations to take the throne of Mexico, becoming Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. The conservative Mexican nobility, as well as the clergy, supported this Second Mexican Empire. His consort, Charlotte of Belgium, a daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and a princess of the House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, encouraged her husband's acceptance of the Mexican crown and accompanied him as Empress Carlota of Mexico. The adventure did not end well. Maximilian was shot in Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, in 1867 by the republican forces of Benito Juárez.

• Maximilian I (1864–1867) (→Family Tree)

• Albert, king of Hungary 1437–1439
• Ladislaus V Posthumus, King of Hungary 1444–1457

• Ferdinand I, king of Hungary 1526–1564
• Maximilian I, king of Hungary 1563–1576
• Rudolf I, king of Hungary 1572–1608
• Matthias II, king of Hungary 1608–1619
• Ferdinand II, king of Hungary 1618–1637
• Ferdinand III, king of Hungary 1625–1657
• Ferdinand IV, king of Hungary 1647–1654
• Leopold I, king of Hungary 1655–1705
• Joseph I, king of Hungary 1687–1711
• Charles III, king of Hungary 1711–1740
• Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary 1741–1780

• Joseph II, king of Hungary 1780–1790
• Leopold II, king of Hungary 1790–1792
• Francis, king of Hungary 1792–1835
• Ferdinand V, king of Hungary and Bohemia 1835–1848
• Francis Joseph I, king of Hungary 1867–1916
• Charles IV, king of Hungary 1916–1918

• Rudolph I, king of Bohemia 1306–1307

• Albert, king of Bohemia 1438–1439
• Ladislaus Posthumus, king of Bohemia 1453–1457

• Ferdinand I, king of Bohemia 1526–1564
• Maximilian I, king of Bohemia 1563–1576
• Rudolph II, king of Bohemia 1572–1611
• Matthias, king of Bohemia 1611–1618
• Ferdinand II, king of Bohemia 1620–1637
• Ferdinand III, king of Bohemia 1625/37–1657
• Ferdinand IV, king of Bohemia 1647–1654 (joint rule)
• Leopold I, king of Bohemia 1655–1705
• Joseph I, king of Bohemia 1687–1711
• Charles VI, king of Bohemia 1711–1740
• Maria Theresa, queen of Bohemia 1743–1780

• Joseph II, king of Bohemia 1780–1790
• Leopold II, king of Bohemia 1790–1792
• Francis II, king of Bohemia 1792–1835
• Ferdinand V, king of Bohemia 1835–1848
• Francis Joseph, king of Bohemia 1848–1916
• Charles I, king of Bohemia 1916–1918

In 1915, in the middle of World War I, Austria-Hungary adopted a heraldic composition uniting the shield that was used in the Hungarian part, also known as the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, with a new version of the medium shield of the Austrian part as depicted above in the section on the mainline of the Emperors of Austria.

Before 1915, the arms of the different territories of the Austrian part of the Empire (heraldry was added to some areas not shown in the previous version and to the left to the Hungarian part) appeared together in the shield positioned on the double-headed eagle coat of arms of the Austrian Empire as an inescutcheon. The eagle was inside a shield with a goldfield. The latter shield was supported by two griffins and was topped by the Austrian Imperial Crown (previously these items were included only in the large shield). Then, shown in the center of both arms of dominion, as an inescutcheon to the inescutcheon, is the small shield, i.e. personal arms, of the Habsburgs. All this was surrounded by the collar Order of the Golden Fleece.[43][44]

Middle Coat of arms of the Austrian part of the Empire in 1915. It shows as a center shield (inescutcheon) the personal arms of Habsburg-Lorraine over the arms of dominions of the Habsburg lands. It usually had the personal arms of Habsburg-Lorraine in the center.

In the heraldic composition of 1915, the shields of the two foci of the empire, Austria and Hungary, were brought together. The griffin supporter on the left was added for Austria and an angel on the right as a supporter for Hungary. The center featured the personal arms of the Habsburgs (Habsburg, Austria, and Lorraine). This small shield was topped with a royal crown and surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, below which was the Military Order of Maria Theresa, below which was the collars of the Orders of St. Stephen's and Leopold. At the bottom was the motto that read "AC INDIVISIBILITER INSEPARABILITER" ("indivisible and inseparable"). Other simplified versions did not have the supports depicted, and the simple shields of Austria and Hungary. These were the arms of the Empire of Austria with an inescutcheon of Austria, and the Arms of Hungary (with chequer of Croatia at the tip).

Middle Common Coat of Arms of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1915 showing most of the larger possessions of the Austrian Empire (left shield) and the Kingdom of Hungary (right shield). The personal arms of the Habsburg-Lorraine are in the center. The collection of territories that acknowledged the head of the Habsburgs as personal ruler shown by this representation put the Empire at a distinct disadvantage in comparison with the unified nation-states that it shared the continent of Europe with.

Austrian Lands
Shield	Partition	Territory
	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX	Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Kingdom of Bohemia Kingdom of Dalmatia Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia Duchy of Salzburg Margraviate of Moravia County of Tirol Duchy of Bukovina Province of Vorarlberg Margraviate of Istria County of Gorizia (part of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca) County of Gradisca (also part of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca) Province of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Conjoined) Imperial Free City of Trieste Archduchy of Lower Austria Archduchy of Upper Austria Duchy of Styria Duchy of Carniola Duchy of Carinthia Archduchy of Austria

Territories of the crown of St. Stephen
Shield	Partition	Territory
	I II III IV V VI VII	Kingdom of Dalmatia (Legally Hungarian) Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Slavonia Grand Principality of Transylvania Province of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Conjoined) City of Fiume and its district Kingdom of Hungary

Personal Shield of the Dynasty
Shield	Partition	Significance
	I II III	Count of Habsburg Archduke of Austria Duke of Lorraine

Arms of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1867–1915)	Arms of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1915–1918)	Small Arms of Austria (Cisleithania) (1805–1918)
Simple Arms of Cisleithania (1915–1918)	Personal Arms of the Emperor Franz Josef (1848–1916)	Simple Arms of the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the empire (1915–1918)

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  Hofburg Palace, Vienna
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  Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
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  Prague Castle
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  Buda Castle
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  El Escorial