Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor

<p>Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Emperor/RYrqYynl">Holy Roman Emperor</a> (1576–1612), <a href="/facts/King_of_Hungary/224SmG9R">King of Hungary</a> and <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Croatia_(Habsburg)/BBrfKatU">Croatia</a> (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), <a href="/facts/King_of_Bohemia/aprTkoTY">King of Bohemia</a> (1575–1608/1611) and <a href="/facts/Archduke_of_Austria/K6CHFgSY">Archduke of Austria</a> (1576–1608). He was a member of the <a href="/facts/House_of_Habsburg/0ttzWDwA">House of Habsburg</a>.
</p><p>Rudolf's legacy has traditionally been viewed in three ways: an ineffectual ruler whose mistakes led directly to the <a href="/facts/Thirty_Years%2527_War/7bgcxoxf">Thirty Years' War</a>; a great and influential patron of <a href="/facts/Northern_Mannerism/K6jzPebW">Northern Mannerist</a> art; and an intellectual devotee of occult arts and learning which helped seed what would be called the <a href="/facts/Scientific_Revolution/KdeJepMq">Scientific Revolution</a>. Determined to unify <a href="/facts/Christendom/vWEEqosk">Christendom</a>, he initiated the <a href="/facts/Long_Turkish_War/BglInavx">Long Turkish War</a> (1593–1606) with the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>. Exhausted by war, his citizens in <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Hungary_(1526-1867)/ISUTYf6c">Hungary</a> revolted in the <a href="/facts/Bocskai_uprising/0WKzEIt1">Bocskai Uprising</a>, which led to more authority being given to his brother <a href="/facts/Matthias%2c_Holy_Roman_Emperor/8Bg0c2Fb">Matthias</a>. Under his reign, there was a policy of toleration towards <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">Judaism</a>.
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Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor open-in-new

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor