Abstract
Born in 1640, Leopold I (r. 1658-1705) succeeded his father,
Ferdinand III (r. 1637-57), as ruler of the Austrian Habsburg hereditary
lands and, subsequently, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title he assumed at
the young age of eighteen. Highly educated, Leopold took an active part
in government affairs and tried, with some success, to reassert imperial
influence in Germany amidst the prolonged fragmentation caused by the
Thirty Years War. Leopold’s absolutist program of Catholic
Counter-Reformation prompted resistance, especially in Hungary. During
his reign, the Imperial Diet
[Reichstag], which his father had
convened in Regensburg in 1653, was transformed into the Permanent
Imperial Diet (1663). With this change, the Diet became permanently
available, which meant, among other things, that it could better respond
to threats such as the Ottoman invasions. In foreign policy, Leopold’s
reign was marked by a series of military conflicts, including his
successful wars against the Turks after the near-loss of Vienna in 1683
and his desperate responses to Louis XIV’s (r. 1661-1715) expansionist
wars. Leopold’s military engagement with Louis XIV resulted in
territorial losses for the Empire but eventually kept France at bay. In
the painting below, Leopold is draped in the imperial robe and gestures
toward the imperial crown.