Leopold's reign is known for conflicts with theOttoman Empire in theGreat Turkish War (1683–1699) and rivalry withLouis XIV, a contemporary and first cousin (on the maternal side; fourth cousin on the paternal side), in the west. After more than a decade of warfare, Leopold emerged victorious in the east thanks to the military talents ofPrince Eugene of Savoy. By theTreaty of Karlowitz, Leopold recovered almost all of theKingdom of Hungary, which had fallen under Turkish power in the years after the 1526Battle of Mohács.
Leopold fought three wars against France: theFranco-Dutch War, theNine Years' War, and theWar of the Spanish Succession. In this last, Leopold sought to give his younger sonCharles the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the will of the lateCharles II. Leopold started a war that soon engulfed much of Europe. The early years of the war went fairly well forAustria, with victories atSchellenberg andBlenheim, but the war would drag on until 1714, nine years after Leopold's death, which barely had an effect on the warring states. When peace returned with theTreaty of Rastatt, Austria could not be said to have emerged as triumphant as it had from the war against the Turks.[1]
Born on 9 June 1640 inVienna, Leopold received the traditional program of education in theliberal arts, history, literature, natural science and astronomy. He was particularly interested in music, as his father Emperor Ferdinand III had been. From an early age Leopold showed an inclination toward learning.[2] In addition to his nativeGerman, he became fluent inLatin,Italian, andSpanish.[3] Leopold disdained the German language and preferred to speak and read in Italian, which was the language most often spoken at his court and used in his official correspondence; in 1656 he founded an Italian literary academy in Vienna.[4] Although some historian have noted this disdain of German to be exaggerated.[5]
Likewise he had received comprehensive ecclesiastical training as he had originally been selected for a career in the higher clergy. This plan, though, was dropped upon the 1654 death of his older brother,Ferdinand IV, when Leopold became heir apparent.[6][7] Nonetheless, Leopold's spiritual education had had a manifest impact on him. Leopold remained under the spell of his clerical education andJesuit influence throughout his life. For a monarch he was uncommonly knowledgeable about theology, metaphysics, jurisprudence and the sciences. He also retained his interest inastrology andalchemy which he had developed under Jesuit tutors.[6] A deeply religious and devoted person, Leopold personified thepietas Austriaca, or the loyal Catholic attitude of his house. On the other hand, his piety and education may have caused in him a fatalistic strain which inclined him to reject all compromise on denominational questions, which is not always considered a positive characteristic of a ruler.[8][1]
Young Leopold by anonymous, c. 1660
Leopold was said to have typicalHabsburg physical attributes, such as the prominentHabsburg lower jaw. Short, thin, and of sick constitution, Leopold was cold and reserved in public and socially inept. However, he is also said to have been open with close associates.Coxe described Leopold in the following manner: "His gait was stately, slow and deliberate; his air pensive, his address awkward, his manner uncouth, his disposition cold and phlegmatic."[9] Spielman argues that his long-expected career in the clergy caused Leopold to have "early adopted the intense Catholic piety expected of him and the gentle manners appropriate to a merely supporting role. He grew to manhood without the military ambition that characterized most of his fellow monarchs. From the beginning, his reign was defensive and profoundly conservative."[10]
Elected king ofHungary in 1655, he followed suit in 1656 and 1657 inBohemia andCroatia respectively. In July 1658, more than a year after his father's death, Leopoldwas elected Holy Roman Emperor atFrankfurt in opposition to the FrenchCardinal Mazarin, who sought to place the Imperial Crown on the head ofFerdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria or some other non-Habsburg prince. To conciliateFrance, which had considerable influence in German affairs thanks to theLeague of the Rhine, the newly elected emperor promised not to assist Spain, then atwar with France.[11] This marked the beginning of a nearly 47-year reign characterized by a lasting rivalry with France and its king,Louis XIV. The latter's dominant personality and power completely overshadowed Leopold, even to this day, but Leopold was no less a warrior-king given the greater part of his public life was directed towards the arrangement and furtherance of wars.[12]
TheOttoman Empire often interfered in the affairs of Transylvania, always an unruly state, and this interference brought on a war with theHoly Roman Empire, which after some desultory operations really began in 1663. By a personal appeal to thediet atRegensburg Leopold induced the princes to send assistance for the campaign; troops were also sent by France, and in August 1664, the great Imperial generalRaimondo Montecuccoli gained a notable victory atSaint Gotthard. By thePeace of Vasvár the Emperor made a twenty years' truce with the Sultan, granting more generous terms than his recent victory seemed to render necessary.[1][13][14]
French expansion increasingly threatened the empire, especially the seizure of the strategicDuchy of Lorraine in 1670, followed by the 1672Franco-Dutch War. By mid-June, theDutch Republic teetered at the brink of destruction, which led Leopold to agree to an alliance withBrandenburg-Prussia and the Republic on 25 June.[15] However, he was also facing arevolt in Hungary and viewed French conquests in theRhineland a higher priority than helping the Dutch. His commander,Raimondo Montecuccoli, was ordered to remain on the defensive and avoid a direct conflict. Chaotic logistics made it impossible to maintain the troops and Brandenburg left the war in June 1673 under theTreaty of Vossem.[16][1]
An anti-French Quadruple Alliance was formed in August, consisting of the Dutch Republic,Spain, Emperor Leopold, and theDuke of Lorraine, while in May 1674, theImperial Diet declared it anImperial war. The 1678Treaty of Nijmegen is generally seen as a French victory, although the Alliance succeeded in limiting their gains.[13]
Almost immediately after the conclusion of peace Louis renewed his aggressions on the German frontier through theRéunions policy. Engaged in a serious struggle with the Ottoman Empire, the emperor was again slow to move, and although he joined the Association League against France in 1682 he was glad to make atruce at Regensburg two years later. The whole European position was now bound up with events inEngland, and the tension lasted until 1688, whenWilliam III of Orange won the English crown through theGlorious Revolution and Louis invaded Germany. In May 1689, theGrand Alliance was formed, including the emperor, the kings of England, Spain and Denmark, the Elector ofBrandenburg and others, and a fierce struggle against France was waged throughout almost the whole of Western Europe. In general the several campaigns were favourable to the allies, and in September 1697, England, Spain and the United Provinces made peace with France at theTreaty of Rijswijk.[1][14]
Leopold refused to assent to the treaty, as he considered that his allies had somewhat neglected his interests, but in the following month he came to terms and a number of places were transferred from France to the Holy Roman Empire. The peace with France lasted for about four years and then Europe was involved in theWar of the Spanish Succession. The King of Spain,Charles II, was a Habsburg by descent and was related by marriage to the Austrian branch, while a similar tie bound him to the royalhouse of France. He was feeble and childless, and attempts had been made by the European powers to arrange for a peaceable division of his extensive kingdom. Leopold refused to consent to any partition, and when in November 1700 Charles died, leaving his crown toPhilippe, Duke of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, all hopes of a peaceable settlement vanished. Under the guidance of William III a powerful league, a renewed Grand Alliance, was formed against France; of this the emperor was a prominent member, and in 1703 he transferred his claim on the Spanish monarchy to his second son, ArchdukeCharles. The early course of the war was not favorable to the Imperialists, but the tide of defeat had been rolled back by the great victory ofBlenheim before Leopold died on 5 May 1705.[17][18]
The emperor himself defined the guidelines of the politics.Johann Weikhard of Auersperg was dismissed in 1669 as the leading minister. He was followed byWenzel Eusebius, Prince of Lobkowicz. Both had arranged some connections to France without the knowledge of the emperor. In 1674 Lobkowicz also lost his appointment.[19]
He also expelled Jewish communities from his realm, for example theViennese Jewish community, which used to live in an area called "Im Werd" across the Danube Canal. After the expulsion of the Jewish population, with popular support, the area was renamedLeopoldstadt as a thanksgiving. ButFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, issued an edict in 1677, in which he announced his special protection for 50 families of these expelled Jews.[1]
In governing his own lands Leopold found his chief difficulties in Hungary, where unrest was caused partly by his desire to crushProtestantism and partly by the so-calledMagnate conspiracy. A rising was suppressed in 1671 and for some years Hungary was treated with great severity. In 1681, after another rising, some grievances were removed and a less repressive policy was adopted, but this did not deter the Hungarians from revolting again.[18] Austrian forces occupied the castle ofTrebišov in 1675, but in 1682Imre Thököly captured it and then fled from continuous Austrian attacks, so they blew the castle up, leaving it in ruins. They fled as supposedly Hungarian rebel troops under the command of Imre Thököly, cooperating with the Turks, and sacked the city ofBielsko in 1682. In 1692, Leopold gave up his rights to the property, giving his rights by donation to TheresiaKeglević.[20][21]
Espousing the cause of the rebels SultanMehmed IV sent an enormous army into Austria early in 1683; this advanced almost unchecked toVienna, which was besieged from July to September, while Leopold took refuge atPassau. Realizing the gravity of the situation somewhat tardily, some of the German princes, among them the electors ofSaxony andBavaria, led their contingents to theImperial Army, which was commanded by the emperor's brother-in-law,Charles, Duke of Lorraine, but the most redoubtable of Leopold's allies was the King of Poland,John III Sobieski, who was already dreaded by the Turks.[18]
On 12 September 1683, the allied army fell upon the enemy, who was completely routed, and Vienna was saved. The Imperial forces, among whomPrince Eugene of Savoy was rapidly becoming prominent, followed up the victory with others, notably one nearMohács in 1687 and another atZenta in 1697, and in January 1699, SultanMustafa II signed theTreaty of Karlowitz by which he ceded almost the whole of Hungary (includingSerbs in Vojvodina) to theHabsburg monarchy.[18] As the Habsburg forces retreated, they withdrew 37,000Serb families under PatriarchArsenije III Čarnojević of theSerbian Patriarchate of Peć. In 1690 and 1691 Emperor Leopold I had conceived through a number of edicts (Privileges) the autonomy of Serbs in his dominions, which would last and develop for more than two centuries until its abolition in 1912. Before the conclusion of the war, however, Leopold had taken measures to strengthen his hold upon this country. In 1687, theDiet of Hungary inPressburg (now Bratislava) changed the constitution; the right of the Habsburgs to succeed to the throne without election was admitted and the emperor's elder sonJoseph I was crowned hereditary King of Hungary.[22][23]
ThePeace of Westphalia in 1648 had been a political defeat for the Habsburgs. It ended the idea thatEurope was a single Roman Catholic empire; governed spiritually by thePope and temporally by theHoly Roman Emperor. Moreover, the treaty was devoted to parceling out land and influence to the "winners", the anti-Habsburg alliance led by France and Sweden. However, the Habsburgs did gain some benefits out of theThirty Years' War; the Protestant aristocracy in Habsburg territories had been decimated, and the ties between Vienna and the Habsburg domains in Bohemia and elsewhere were greatly strengthened. These changes would allow Leopold to initiate necessary political and institutional reforms during his reign to develop somewhat of an absolutist state along French lines. The most important consequences of the war was in retrospect to weaken the Habsburgs as emperors but strengthen them in their own lands. Leopold was the first to realize this altered state of affairs and act in accordance with it.[24][17]
The reign of Leopold saw some important changes made in the constitution of the Empire.[25] In 1663 the Imperial Diet entered upon the last stage of its existence, and became a body permanently in session at Regensburg.[18] This perpetual diet would become a vital tool for consolidation of Habsburg power under Leopold.[26]
In 1692, the Duke ofHanover was raised to the rank of an elector, becoming the ninth member of the electoral college. In 1700, Leopold, greatly in need of help for the impending war with France, granted the title ofKing in Prussia to the Elector ofBrandenburg. The net result of these and similar changes was to weaken the authority of the emperor over the princes of the empire and to compel him to rely more and more upon his position as ruler of the Austrian archduchies and of Hungary and Bohemia.[27][18]
Leopold was a man of industry and education, and during his later years, he showed some political ability. Regarding himself as an absolute sovereign, he was extremely tenacious of his rights. Greatly influenced by theJesuits, he was a staunch proponent of theCounter-Reformation. In person, he was short, but strong and healthy. Although he had no inclination for a military life, he loved outdoors exercise, such as hunting and riding.[18] He also had a taste and talent for music andcomposed several Oratorios and Suites of Dances.
Perhaps due to inbreeding among his progenitors, the hereditary Habsburg jaw was most prominent in Leopold. Because his jaw was depicted unusually large on a 1670 silver coin, Leopold was nicknamed "the Hogmouth"; however, most collectors do not believe the coin was an accurate depiction.[citation needed]
On 12 December 1666, he marriedMargaret Theresa of Spain (1651–1673), daughter of KingPhilip IV of Spain, who was both his niece and his first cousin. She was depicted inDiego Velázquez' paintings sent from the court of Madrid to Leopold as he waited in Vienna for his fiancée to grow up. Leopold and Margaret Theresa had four children, all but one short-lived:
Like his father, Leopold was a patron of music and a composer himself.[28] He continued to enrich the court's musical life by employing and providing support for distinguished composers such asAntonio Bertali,Giovanni Bononcini,Johann Kaspar Kerll,Ferdinand Tobias Richter,Alessandro Poglietti, andJohann Fux. Leopold's surviving works show the influence of Bertali and Viennese composers in general (in oratorios and other dramatic works), and ofJohann Heinrich Schmelzer (in ballets and German comedies). His sacred music is perhaps his most successful, particularlyMissa angeli custodis, aRequiem Mass for his first wife, andThree Lections, composed for the burial of his second wife.[29] Much of Leopold's music was published with works by his father, and described as "works of exceeding high merit."[30][31]
HungarianThaler of Leopold I minted in 1692. Latin inscription: Obverse,LEOPOLDVS D[EI] G[RATIA] RO[MANORVM] I[MPERATOR] S[EMPER] AVG[VSTVS] GER[MANIAE] HV[NGARIAE] BO[HEMIAE] REX; Reverse,ARCHIDVX AVS[TRIAE] DVX BVR[GVNDIAE] MAR[CHIO] MOR[AVIAE] CO[MES] TY[ROLIS] 1692, "Leopold, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, Ever Augustus, King of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia; Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Margrave of Moravia, Count of Tyrol 1692"
Silver coin of Leopold I, 3Kreuzer, dated 1670. The Latin inscription reads (obverse):LEOPOLDVS D[EI] G[RATIA] R[OMANORVM] I[MPERATOR] S[EMPER] A[VGVSTVS] G[ERMANIAE] H[VNGARIAE] B[OHEMIAE] REX (reverse):ARCHID[VX] AVS[TRIAE] DVX B[VRGVNDIAE] CO[MES] TYR[OLIS] 1670. In English: "Leopold, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, always August, King of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Tyrol, 1670."
^Hanlon, Gregory. "The Twilight Of A Military Tradition: Italian Aristocrats And European Conflicts, 1560-1800." Taylor and Francis: January 2002. Kindle Edition: location 5157-5171.
^Das Königreich Ungarn: Ein topograph.-hist.-statistisches Rundgemälde, d. Ganze dieses Landes in mehr denn 12,400 Artikeln umfassend, Band 3, Seite 271, J.C. von Thiele, 1833.
^Henryk Rechowicz: Bielsko-Biała. Zarys Rozwoju miasta i powiatu. Katowice: Wydawnictwo "Śląsk", 1971.
^Dalberg-Acton, John Emerich Edward; et al. (1912).The Cambridge Modern History: Volume V: The Age of Louis XIV. New York: The MacMillan Company. p. 341.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Crankshaw, Edward (1971).The Habsburgs: Portrait of a Dynasty. New York: The Viking Press.
Frey, Linda; Frey, Marsha (1978). "A Question of Empire: Leopold I and the War of Spanish Succession, 1701–1715".Austrian History Yearbook.14:56–72.doi:10.1017/s0067237800009061.S2CID143446372.
Frey, Linda; Frey, Marsha (1978). "The Latter Years of Leopold I and his Court, 1700–1705: A Pernicious Factionalism".Historian.40 (3):479–491.doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1978.tb01904.x.
Goloubeva, Maria (2000).The Glorification of Emperor Leopold I in Image, Spectacle and Text. Mainz: Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte. Abteilung für Universalgeschichte, 184
Kampmann, Christoph (2012). "The English Crisis, Emperor Leopold, and the Origins of the Dutch Intervention in 1688".Historical Journal.55 (2):521–532.doi:10.1017/S0018246X1200012X.S2CID162523435.
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from the first archdukes. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919.
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![Hungarian Thaler of Leopold I minted in 1692. Latin inscription: Obverse, LEOPOLDVS D[EI] G[RATIA] RO[MANORVM] I[MPERATOR] S[EMPER] AVG[VSTVS] GER[MANIAE] HV[NGARIAE] BO[HEMIAE] REX; Reverse, ARCHIDVX AVS[TRIAE] DVX BVR[GVNDIAE] MAR[CHIO] MOR[AVIAE] CO[MES] TY[ROLIS] 1692, "Leopold, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, Ever Augustus, King of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia; Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Margrave of Moravia, Count of Tyrol 1692"](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHungary-thaler-leopold-1692.png)
![Silver coin of Leopold I, 3 Kreuzer, dated 1670. The Latin inscription reads (obverse): LEOPOLDVS D[EI] G[RATIA] R[OMANORVM] I[MPERATOR] S[EMPER] A[VGVSTVS] G[ERMANIAE] H[VNGARIAE] B[OHEMIAE] REX (reverse):ARCHID[VX] AVS[TRIAE] DVX B[VRGVNDIAE] CO[MES] TYR[OLIS] 1670. In English: "Leopold, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, always August, King of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Tyrol, 1670."](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCoin_of_Leopold_I_3_Kreuzer_1670.jpg)
