House of Habsburg

The House of Habsburg (alternatively spelled Hapsburg in English), also officially called the House of Austria (Haus Österreich in German, Casa de Austria in Spanish), was one of the most influential and distinguished of Europe. The throne of the was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1438 until their extinction in the male line in 1740. The house also produced kings of, , , , and   with their respective colonies, as well as rulers of several principalities in the  and Italy. From the 16th century, following the reign of, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they nevertheless maintained close relations and frequently intermarried.

The House takes its name from, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the , by of , who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandson was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of Habsburg" to his title. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh generation descendant became. He moved the family's power base to the, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918.

A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to vastly expand its domains to include, and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary, and other territories. In the 16th century, the family separated into the, who settled their mutual claims in the.

The House of Habsburg became extinct in the male line in the 18th century. The senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of in 1700 and was replaced by the. The remaining Austrian branch became extinct in the male line in 1740 with the death of. It was succeeded by the descendants of his eldest daughter 's marriage to. The successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Habsburg-Lothringen); because it was often still referred to as the House of Habsburg, historians use the of the Habsburg Monarchy for the countries and provinces that were ruled by the family until 1918. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine continues to exist to this day and its members use the Habsburg name, for example.

The Habsburg Empire had the advantage of size, but multiple disadvantages. There were rivals on four sides, its finances were unstable, the population was fragmented into multiple ethnicities, and its industrial base was thin. Its naval resources were so minimal that it did not attempt to build an overseas empire. It did have the advantage of good diplomats, typified by ; they had a grand strategy for survival that kept the empire going despite wars with the Ottomans, Frederick the Great, Napoleon and Bismarck, until the final disaster of the First World War. Along with the, it was one of the two most powerful an royal families, dominating European politics for nearly five centuries.

Principal roles
Their principal roles (including the roles of their es) were as follows:
 * s (intermittently from 1273 until 1806), ,)
 * (as s from 1278 until 1453; as s from 1453 until 1806/1918; as s from 1804 until 1918)
 * (1864–1867)
 * (1306–1307, 1437–1439, 1453–1457, 1526–1918)
 * and (1526–1918)
 * (1516–1700)
 * (1581–1640)
 * (1772–1918)
 * (1690–1867)

Numerous other titles were attached to the crowns listed above.

Counts of Habsburg
The progenitor of the House of Habsburg may have been, a count in the who lived in the 10th century, and forewith farther back as the early medieval , father of the  from which Habsburg derives. His grandson founded the, after which the Habsburgs are named. The origins of the castle's name, located in what is now the Swiss, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the 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. The Habsburg Castle was the in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, especially countship rights in, and. In the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in and. 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.

Kings of the Romans and consolidation in the Eastern Alps
By the second half of the 13th century, count (1218–1291) had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the  and. Due to these impressive preconditions, on 1 October 1273, Rudolph was chosen as the and received the name.

In a crucial step towards the creation of his own power base in the, Rudolpf led a coalition against king who had taken advantage of the  in order to expand southwards, taking over first the  , and then the  inheritance ( and ). In 1278, Ottokar was defeated and killed in the. 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, 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. The resulting arrangement, known as the "Habsburg-Gorizia equilibrium in the Eastern Alps" lasted for half a decade.

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 and finally by the. However, the weakening of the in this succession struggle enabled them to expand southwards: in 1311, they took over the, and after the death of Henry of Bohemia in 1335, they assumed power in  and in. In 1369, they would succeed in, as well. After the death of in 1374, they gained their first foothold on the, in central  , followed by  in 1382. The original home territories of the Habsburgs, the with Habsburg Castle and much of the other original possessions in what is now Switzerland were lost in the 14th century to the expanding  after the battles of  (1315) and  (1386).

Through the forged  document (1358/59), a special bond was created between the House of Habsburg and Austria. The document, forged at the behest of (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 of the  and  family lines in 1379: the former would maintain Austria proper, while the latter would rule over Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, which became known as, as well as Tyrol and the original Habsburg lands in Swabia, now known as.

By marrying, the daughter of  in 1437, Duke  (1397–1439) of the Albertine line became the ruler of  and , expanding the family's political horizons. The next year, Albert V was crowned as the King of the Romans as. After his early death in war with the Turks in 1439, and after the death of his son 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. With Ladislaus's death, the Albertine line died out, and the Leopoldine line took over all the family possessions.

Holy Roman emperors
In 1440, was chosen by the  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 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.

While in Rome, Frederick III married, 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.

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 . 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 of the Leopoldian line in 1490/1496. Frederick's aim was to make Austria a united country, stretching from the to the  and.

On the external front, one of Frederick's main achievements was the (1474–75), in which he forced  to give his daughter  as wife to Frederick's son. The wedding took place on the evening of 16 August 1477 and ultimately resulted in the Habsburgs acquiring control of the. After Mary's early death in 1482, Maximilian attempted to secure the Burgundian heritance to one of his and Mary's children. contested this, using both military and dynastic means, but the Burgundian succession was finally ruled in favour of Philip in the in 1493.

After the death of his father in 1493, Maximilian was proclaimed the new, receiving the name. 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.

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

The foundations for the later empire of were laid in 1515 by the means of a double wedding between Louis, only son of, 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 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 's brother, became the King of Bohemia.

The Habsburg dynasty achieved the position of a true by the time of 's election in 1519, for the first and only time in their history—the "World Emperor" ruling an.

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

Division of the house: Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs
After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg dynasty split into the branch of the (or German Habsburgs) and the branch of the. , King of Bohemia, Hungary, and archduke of Austria in the name of his brother Charles V, became monarch as well as the Habsburg  (designated as successor already ). , son of Charles V, became King of Spain and its colonial empire, and ruler of the of Italy. The Spanish Habsburgs also ruled Portugal for a time (1580–1640).

The and the  were also left in personal union under the, but remained part of the. Furthermore, the Spanish king had claims on Hungary and Bohemia. In the secret, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs settled their mutual claims. The Spanish Habsburgs died out in 1700 (prompting the ), as did the last male of the Austrian Habsburg line in 1740 (prompting the ), and finally the last female of the Habsburg male line in 1780.

Inbreeding
The Habsburgs sought to consolidate their power by the frequent use of s. This resulted in a cumulatively deleterious effect on their. s, or between uncle and niece, were commonplace in the family. A study of 3,000 family members over 16 generations by the suggests that inbreeding directly led to their extinction.

Numerous members of the family show specific facial deformities: an enlarged lower jaw with an extended chin known as 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. 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.

Extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs
The gene pool eventually became so small that the last of the Spanish line, who was severely disabled from birth, perhaps by , possessed a comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister, as did his father, probably because of "remote ".

Extinction of the Austrian Habsburgs
The Austrian branch became extinct in the male line in 1740 with the death of and in the female line in 1780 with the death of his daughter ; it was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the  in the person of her son. The new successor house styled itself formally as (: Habsburg-Lothringen), although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. The heiress of the last Austrian Habsburgs Maria Theresa had married, (both of them were great-grandchildren of Habsburg Emperor , but from different empresses). Their descendants carried on the Habsburg tradition from under the dynastic name Habsburg-Lorraine, although technically a new ruling house came into existence in the Habsburg-ruled territories, the House of Lorraine (see ). It is thought that extensive intra-family marriages within both lines contributed to their extinctions.

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

Emperor of Austria used the official full list of titles: ", Francis the First, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria;, , , , , , ; Archduke of ; Duke of , , , , , , and ; Grand Duke of ; Grand Prince of ; Margrave of ; Duke of , , , Upper and Lower ,  and , , and ; Prince of  and ; Princely Count of Habsburg, , and  and of the ; and Margrave of Upper and Lower  and ".

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

On 11 November 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler, (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, 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 which revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs.

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

The dynasty's motto was "Leave the waging of wars to others! But you, happy Austria, marry; for the realms which  awards to others,  transfers to you."

Ancestors of the Habsburgs
Fragmentary references (see below) cite the Habsburgs as descendants of the early Germanic, probably of , or  origin, who ruled the  in the  (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for who ruled from 662 to 690.

Early Habsburgs
 of the ancestors of the 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. 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. See below for more references.

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

Monarchs of the House of Habsburg
The Habsburg Empire was never composed of a single unified and unitary state as Bourbon France, Hohenzollern Germany, or Great Britain was. It was made up of an accretion of territories that owed their historic loyalty to the head of the house of Habsburg as hereditary lord. The Habsburgs had mostly married the heiresses of these territories, most famously of Spain and the Netherlands. They used their coats of arms then as a statement of their right to rule all these territories. As there were many territories, so their arms were complex and reflected the waxing and waning position of the Habsburgs within European power politics. It was not until the 19th century (see below ) that the arms began to take on their own life as symbols of a state which may have an existence outside of the Habsburg dynasty. A complete listing of the arms can be found at the.

Ancestors

 * (ca. 930–985 / 990) Father of: The chronology of the, 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.  If true, as Guntram was a member of the  family, it would link the Habsburg lineage to this family.
 * of (died 991). Besides Radbot, below, he had sons named, , and Landolf.

Counts of Habsburg
Before rose to, the Habsburgs were  in what is today southwestern Germany and.


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

Dukes/Archdukes of Austria
In the late, when the Habsburgs expanded their territories in the east, they usually ruled as dukes of the which covered only what is today  (Niederösterreich) and the eastern part of  (Oberösterreich). The Habsburg possessions also included the rest of what was then called (Innerösterreich), i.e. the, and then expanded west to include the  and  in 1335 and the  in 1363. Their original scattered possessions in the southern, south-western Germany and were collectively known as.

The senior Habsburg dynasty generally ruled from Vienna as  ("paramount duke") of the. The Styrian lands had already been ruled in by the  dukes of  since 1192 and were finally seized with the Austrian lands by the Habsburg king  upon his victory in the 1278. In 1335 Rudolph's grandson Duke also received the Carinthian duchy with the adjacent  at the hands of Emperor  as Imperial fiefs.

The Habsburg dukes gradually lost their homelands south of the and  to the expanding. 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 died in 1365, his younger brothers  and  quarrelled about his heritage and in the  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  and most of ), 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 ; 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 in 1406, the Leopoldinian line was further split among his brothers into the Inner Austrian territory under  and a Tyrolean/Further Austrian line under. In 1457 Ernest's son Duke of Inner Austria also gained the Austrian archduchy after his Albertine cousin  had died without issue. 1490 saw the reunification of all Habsburg lines when Archduke of Further Austria and Tyrol resigned in favor of Frederick's son. In 1512, the Habsburg territories were incorporated into the Imperial.

 of Austria, was invented in the , a 14th-century forgery initiated by Duke. Originally, it was meant to denote the "ruler" (thus "Arch-") of the, usually from , in an effort to put the Habsburgs on a par with the s, as Austria had been bypassed as hereditary prince-electors of the empire when the assigned that title to the highest-ranking s. The Holy Roman Emperor  refused to recognize the title.

The archducal title was only officially recognized in 1453 by. 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,, ruler of. Frederick's son and heir, the future, started to use the title, but apparently only after the death of his wife (died 1482), as Archduke never appears in documents issued jointly by Maximilian and Mary as rulers in the  (where Maximilian is still titled "Duke of Austria"). The title appears first in documents issued under the joint rule of Maximilian and (his under-age son) in the Low Countries.

Archduke was initially borne by those dynasts who ruled a, i.e., only by males and their consorts, s being commonly distributed to s. 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 of France was born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria.


 * , son of, 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.
 * (Albrecht I), son of and brother of the above, duke from 1282–1308; was  from 1298–1308. See also.
 * , the oldest son of Albert I, designated duke of Austria and Styria 1298–1307
 * (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 since 1325, but never ruled.
 * , brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria from 1308–1326.
 * (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.
 * (der Fröhliche), brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1339 (together with his brother), duke of Carinthia after 1335.
 * (der Stifter), oldest son of Albert II. Duke of Austria and Styria 1358–1365, Duke of after 1363.

After the death of Rudolph IV, his brothers and  ruled the Habsburg possessions together from 1365 until 1379, when they split the territories in the, Albert keeping the  and Leopold ruling over , , , the , , and.

Albertine line: Dukes of Austria

 * (Albrecht III), duke of Austria until 1395, from 1386 (after the death of Leopold) until 1395 also ruled over the latter's possessions.
 * (Albrecht IV), duke of Austria 1395–1404, in conflict with Leopold IV.
 * (Albrecht V), duke of Austria 1404–1439, from 1438–1439 as . See also.
 * , son of the above, duke of Austria 1440–1457.

Leopoldine line: Dukes of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol (Inner Austria)

 * , duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Further Austria until 1386, when he was killed in the.
 * (Wilhelm), son of the above, 1386–1406 duke in (Carinthia, Styria)
 * , 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

Leopoldine-Inner Austrian sub-line

 * (der Eiserne), 1406–1424 duke of, until 1411 together and competing with his brother Leopold IV.
 * (Friedrich), son of Ernst, became  in 1440. He was duke of Inner Austria from 1424 on. Guardian of  1439–1446 and of  1440–1452. See also.
 * (Albrecht VI), brother of the above, 1446–1463 regent of Further Austria, duke of Austria 1458–1463
 * Ernestine line of, ancestor of -descended from sister of ; also King of Finland 1918

Leopoldine-Tyrol sub-line

 * (Friedrich), brother of Ernst, 1402–1439 duke of Tyrol and Further Austria
 * , 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.

Reuniting of Habsburg possessions
Sigismund had no children and adopted, 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 after the death of, who resided in  and styled himself duke of Austria from 1485–1490.

King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperors prior to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions

 * , emperor 1273–1291 (never crowned)
 * , emperor 1298–1308 (never crowned)
 * , emperor 1438–1439 (never crowned) -ancestor of Empress
 * , emperor 1440–1493

Kings of Hungary and Bohemia prior to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions

 * , king of Hungary and Bohemia (1437–1439)
 * , king of Hungary (1444–1457) and Bohemia (1453–1457)

Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria
The title of Austria, the one most famously associated with the Habsburgs, was invented in the, a 14th-century forgery initiated by Duke. Originally, it was meant to denote the ruler of the (thus 'Arch')duchy of, in an effort to put that ruler on par with the s, as Austria had been passed over in the , when the ships had been assigned. Holy Roman Emperor refused to recognize the title. , 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 and his descendants unilaterally assumed the title "archduke". This title was only officially recognized in 1453 by his son,, when the s had (permanently) gained control of the office of the. Emperor Frederick III himself used just Duke of Austria, never Archduke, until his death in 1493.

Frederick's son and heir, the future, started to use the title, but apparently only after the death of his wife (died 1482) as the title never appears in documents of joint Maximilian and Mary rule in the  (where Maximilian is still titled Duke of Austria). The title appears first in documents of joint Maximilian and (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.


 * , emperor 1508–1519
 * , emperor 1519–1556, his arms are explained in an

Titular Dukes of Burgundy, Lords of the
The reigning duke of Burgundy,, 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, current , the real center of his power. Frederick was concerned about Burgundy's expansive tendencies on the western border of his, and to forestall military conflict, he attempted to secure the marriage of Charles's only daughter, , to his son Maximilian. After the (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. Mary and the Habsburgs lost the to France, but managed to defend and hold onto the rest what became the 17 provinces of the. After Mary's death in 1482, Maximilian acted as regent for his son:


 * (1482–1506)
 * (1506–1555)
 * , regent (1507–1515) and (1519–1530)
 * , dowager queen of Hungary, sister of Charles V, governor of the Netherlands, 1531–1555
 * , illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Duchess of Parma, and mother of, governor 1559–1567
 * , illegitimate son of Charles V, victor of Lepanto, governor of the Netherlands, 1576–1578
 * , son of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Netherlands, 1578–1592

The Netherlands were frequently governed directly by a, who was a collateral member of the Habsburgs. By the 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 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 and ) as the  and  until they were conquered by French Revolutionary armies in 1795. The one exception to this was the period of (1601–1621), when shortly before died on 13 September 1598, he renounced his rights to the Netherlands in favor of his daughter  and her fiancé,, a younger son of Emperor. 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 s and, 1601-1621

King of England

 * ( King, with 1554–1558)

Spanish Habsburgs: Kings of Spain, Kings of Portugal (1581–1640)
The were more a personal union of possessions of the Habsburg king and dynast, who was King of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Valencia, sometime of Portugal, Naples and Sicily, Duke of Milan, and Lord of the Americas, as well as Duke of Brabant, Count of Flanders and Holland, Duke of Luxemburg (i.e. all the ). A listing of a number of the titles can be seen  The dynast (head of the Spanish Habsburgs, i.e. the King, showed this wide range of claims in his arms.  There are many more variants of these arms in the  as well as, , , and .  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).  In Spain they were known as the ", and illegitimate sons were known as "de Austria" (see  and ).


 * , second son of, founded the Spanish Habsburgs in 1496 by marrying , 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:
 * 1516–1556, aka Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; divided the House into Austrian and Spanish lines The meanings of his arms are analyzed.
 * 1556–1598, also of Portugal 1581–1598 and Philip I of England with his wife  1554–1558. The meanings of his arms are analyzed ..
 * , also of Portugal 1598–1621
 * 1621–1665, also of Portugal 1621–1640
 * 1665–1700

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

Austrian Habsburgs: Holy Roman Emperors, Kings of Hungary and Bohemia, Archdukes of Austria
The main junior line of the house ruled the, as well as the and the. The dynasty however was split up again in 1564 among the children of deceased Emperor. The Inner Austrian line founded by Archduke prevailed again, when his son and successor as regent of  (i.e. the, the  with , the , the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, and the , ruled from )  in 1619 became Archduke of Austria and  as well as  and  in 1620. The Further Austrian/Tyrolean line of Ferdinand's brother Archduke survived until the death of his son  in 1665, whereafter their territories ultimately returned to common control with the other Austrian Habsburg lands. Inner Austrian s went on to rule until the days of Empress in the 18th century.


 * , emperor 1519–1556 (Maintained legal authority over his brother Ferdinand I, archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary. Divided the House of Habsburg into Spanish and Austrian branches in 1556, when Ferdinand became monarch and Emperor.)
 * , emperor 1556–1564
 * , emperor 1564–1576
 * , emperor 1576–1612
 * , emperor 1612–1619
 * , emperor 1619–1637
 * , emperor 1637–1657
 * , emperor 1658–1705
 * , emperor 1705–1711
 * , emperor 1711–1740
 * , Habsburg heiress and wife of emperor, reigned as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of and  1740–1780.

The took place after the extinction of the male line of the Austrian Habsburg line upon the death of. The direct Habsburg line itself became totally extinct with the death of, when it was followed by the , styled  of Habsburg-Lorraine.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Holy Roman Emperors, Kings of Hungary and Bohemia, Archdukes of Austria
Queen of Spain, great-granddaughter of  above. Wife of of Spain and mother of  of the. Alfonso XIII's wife was descended from King  from the Habsburg Leopold Line {above}.
 * , emperor 1745–1765 (→)
 * , emperor 1765–1790
 * , emperor 1790–1792 (→)
 * , emperor 1792–1806 (→)

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 whose wife was from the ; a daughter  was the wife of King  of, , and  and. Their Children married into the Royal Houses of ; {Bragança} {Portugal};  {Spain}; and the Dukedoms of  and.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Emperors of Austria
(→)
 * , Emperor of Austria 1804–1835: formerly Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
 * , Emperor of Austria 1835–1848
 * , Emperor of Austria 1848–1916.
 * , Emperor of Austria 1916–1918. He died in exile in 1922. His wife was of the.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Grand dukes of Tuscany

 * 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.


 * 1765–1790 (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor)
 * 1790–1800, 1814–1824 (→)
 * 1824–1849, 1849–1859
 * 1859–1860

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Tuscany line, post monarchy

 * 1860–1908
 * 1908–1942
 * 1942–1948
 * 1948–1984
 * 1984–1993
 * 1993–present

House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Austria-Este): Dukes of Modena
The duchy of was assigned to a minor branch of the family by the. It was lost to. 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.


 * 1814–1831, 1831–1846 (→)
 * 1846–1848, 1849–1859

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Modena line, post monarchy

 * (1859–1875)
 * (1875–1914)
 * (1914–1917)
 * (1917–1996)
 * (1996–Present)

=== House of Habsburg-Lorraine: of,  of  and  of  === (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was an of,  of  and  of.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Empress consort of France

 * Marie Louise of Austria 1810–1814

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Duchess of Parma
The duchy of Parma was likewise assigned to a Habsburg, but did not stay in the House long before succumbing to. It was granted to the second wife of, Maria Luisa Duchess of Parma, a daughter of the , who was the mother of. Napoleon had divorced his wife Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie (better known to history as ) in her favour.


 * 1814–1847 (→)

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperor of Mexico
Maximilian, the adventurous second son of Archduke Franz Karl, was invited as part of 's manipulations to take the throne of, becoming Emperor. The conservative, as well as the clergy, supported this. His consort,, a daughter of King and a princess of the , encouraged her husband's acceptance of the Mexican crown and accompanied him as. The adventure did not end well. Maximilian was shot in, , in 1867 by the republican forces of.


 * (1864–1867) (→)

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Heads of the House of Habsburg (post-monarchy)
Charles I was expelled from his domains after World War I and the empire was abolished.


 * (1918–1922) (→)
 * (1922–2007)
 * , guardian, (1922–1930)
 * , (2007–present)

see

Kings of Hungary
The kingship of remained in the Habsburg family for centuries; but as the kingship was not strictly inherited (Hungary was an elective monarchy until 1687) and was sometimes used as a training ground for young Habsburgs, as "Palatine" of Hungary, the dates of rule do not always match those of the primary Habsburg possessions. Therefore, the kings of Hungary are listed separately.

Albertine line: Kings of Hungary

 * , king of Hungary 1437–1439
 * , King of Hungary 1444–1457

Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Hungary

 * , king of Hungary 1526–1564
 * , king of Hungary 1563–1576
 * , king of Hungary 1572–1608
 * , king of Hungary 1608–1619
 * , king of Hungary 1618–1637
 * , king of Hungary 1625–1657
 * , king of Hungary 1647–1654
 * , king of Hungary 1655–1705
 * , king of Hungary 1687–1711
 * , king of Hungary 1711–1740
 * , queen of Hungary 1741–1780

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Kings of Hungary

 * , king of Hungary 1780–1790
 * , king of Hungary 1790–1792
 * , king of Hungary 1792–1835
 * , king of Hungary and Bohemia 1835–1848
 * , king of Hungary 1867–1916
 * , king of Hungary 1916–1918

Kings of Bohemia
After ’s death, there were no male heirs remaining in the line. Therefore, with the election of Rudolf in 1306, the kingship of was a position elected by its nobles, although often the crown was transferred through war, such as  in 1310. As a result, it was not an automatically inherited position. Until the rule of Ferdinand I, Habsburgs didn't gain hereditary accession to the throne and were displaced by other dynasties. Hence, the kings of Bohemia and their ruling dates are listed separately. The Habsburgs became hereditary kings of Bohemia in 1627. By their acquisition of the in 1526 the Habsburgs secured the highest rank among the secular prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Main line

 * , king of Bohemia 1306–1307

Albertine line: Kings of Bohemia

 * , king of Bohemia 1438–1439
 * , king of Bohemia 1453–1457

Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Bohemia

 * , king of Bohemia 1526–1564
 * , king of Bohemia 1563–1576
 * , king of Bohemia 1572–1611
 * , king of Bohemia 1611–1618
 * , king of Bohemia 1620–1637
 * , king of Bohemia 1625/37–1657
 * , king of Bohemia 1647–1654 (joint rule)
 * , king of Bohemia 1655–1705
 * , king of Bohemia 1687–1711
 * , king of Bohemia 1711–1740
 * , queen of Bohemia 1743–1780

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Kings of Bohemia

 * , king of Bohemia 1780–1790
 * , king of Bohemia 1790–1792
 * , king of Bohemia 1792–1835
 * , king of Bohemia 1835–1848
 * , king of Bohemia 1848–1916
 * , king of Bohemia 1916–1918

Family name Habsburg
Most royal families did not have a family name until the 19th century. They were known as "of" (in German von) based on the main territory they ruled. For example, sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of a ruling French King were known as "of France" (see ). The name "Capet" was an invention of the French Revolutionaries. "Bourbon" was in some sense the name of the house as it was differentiated from the previous Valois kings. Princes and Princesses of the royal house of England were known as "of England", or later "Great Britain" (see ) or "of" the main title associated with their parent (see ). In the Middle Ages, princes of England were often known by the town or castle of their birth (see, , or ). Even when the royal family had a last name (see, or ), it was not used in their titles.

Similarly, the Habsburg name was used as one of the subsidiary titles of the rulers above, as in "Princely Count of Habsburg" (see above under Habsburg-Lorraine). The Habsburg arms (see above) were displayed only in the most complete (great arms) of the prince. The dynasty was known as the "house of Austria". Most of the princes above were known as Archduke xyz "of Austria" and had no need of a surname. was known in his youth after his birthplace as "Charles of Ghent". When he became king of the Spains he was known as "Charles of Spain", until he became emperor, when he was known as Charles V ("Charles Quint"). In Spain, the dynasty was known as the, and illegitimate sons were given the title of "de Austria" (see and ). The arms displayed in their simplest form were those of Austria, which the Habsburgs had made their own, at times impaled with the arms of the Duchy of Burgundy (ancient).

When Maria Theresa married the duke of Lorraine, Francis Stephen (see above), there was a desire to show that the ruling dynasty continued as did all its inherited rights, as the ruling dynasty's right to rule was based on inherited legitimate birthright in each of the constituent territories. Using the concept of "Habsburg" as the traditional Austrian ruler was one of those ways. When Francis I became Emperor of Austria, there was an even further reinforcement of this by the reappearance of the arms of Habsburg in the tripart personal arms of the house with Austria and Lorraine. This also reinforced the "Germaness" of the Austrian Emperor and his claim to rule in Germany against the Prussian Kings, or at least to be included in "Germany". As Emperor Francis Joseph wrote to Napoleon III „Nein, ich bin ein deutscher Fürst“  In the genealogical table above, some younger sons who had no prospects of the throne, were given the personal title of "count of Habsburg".

Today, as the dynasty is no longer on the throne, the surname of members of the house is taken to be "von Habsburg" or more completely "von Habsburg-Lothringen" (see and ). Princes and members of the house use the Tripartite arms shown above, generally forgoing any imperial pretensions.

Arms of Dominion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
The arms of dominion began to take on a life of their own in the 19th century as the idea of the state as independent from the Habsburg dynasty took root. They are the national arms as borne by a sovereign in his capacity as head of state and represent the state as separate from the person of the monarch or his dynasty. That very idea had been, heretofore, foreign to the concept of the Habsburg state. The state had been the personal property of the Habsburg dynast. Since the states, territories, and nationalities represented were in many cases only united to the Austro-Hungarian Empire by their historic loyalty to the head of the house of Habsburg as hereditary lord, these full ("grand") arms of dominion of Austria-Hungary reflect the complex political infrastructure that was necessarily to accommodate the many different nationalities and groupings within the empire after the.

After 1867 the eastern part of the empire, also called, was mostly under the domination of the. The shield integrated the, with two angels and supporters and the crown of St. Stephen, along with the territories that were subject to it:

The, the , the (conjoined with Croatia as the  - formally known as the , although the claim to Dalmatia was mostly ), the , the  (1915–1918), the  (modern ), and in the center, the Kingdom of Hungary.

The western or Austrian part of the empire, , continued using the shield of the Empire in 1815 but with the seals of various member territories located around the central shield. Paradoxically, some of these coats of arms belonged to the territories that were part of the Hungarian part of the empire and shield. This shield, the most frequently used until 1915, was known as the middle shield. There was also the small shield, with just the personal arms of the Habsburgs, as used in 1815.

Version of 1915
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, with a new version of the medium shield of the Austrian part as depicted above in the section on the main line 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 gold field. 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

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, below which was the , below which was the collars of the Orders of and. At the bottom was the motto that read "AC INDIVISIBILITER INSEPARABILITER" ("indivisible and inseparable"). There were other simplified versions which 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).