LEOPOLD I., emperor of Germany, of the house of Austria, son of Ferdinand 111. and of Mary Anue of Spain, was born in 1640 ; pro claimed king of Hungary in 1655: kin of Bohemia in 1657; end, lastly, was chosen emperor in 1659, after a contested election between him and Louis XIV. of France, who had gained four of the electors over to his side. The long reign of Leopold, which lasted nearly half a century, was an eventful time for Germany and Europe, not through any striking qualities of the emperor, but in consequence of the many important ware in which he was concerned. On assuming the govern ment of the hereditary states of the house of Austria in 1657, he found himself at war with the 'Auks, who were overrunning Hungary and had entered Moravia. His able general Montecuccoli, an Italian by birth, defeated them completely at the battle of St. Gothard, near Neuhausel, after which a truce was concluded. Many of the Hungarian nobles however, rather than remain the subjects of a foreign power, preferred joiuiug the Turks. The Roman Catholic intolerance of the Austrian court of that age contributed to irritate the Hungarians, among whom were many Protestants and other seceders from the Church of Rome. Their plot was discovered before it was quite ripe, and the leaders, Counts Sdrini, Nadasti, Frangipani, and Tekeli, were convicted and beheaded. The malcontents now broke out into open insurrection, and chose for their leader Emeric Tekeli (son of him of the same name who had been executed). In 1682 Tekeli was acknow ledged by the Porte as prince of Hungary tributary to the sultan, whose grand vizier Kara Mustapha entered the field with 150,000 men. Tekeli had with him between 30,000 and 40,000 Hungarians. The combined forces, having defeated the Imperial troops near Raab, advanced to Vienna. It was afterwards ascertained that Louis XIV. was one of the eccret movers of this Turkish invasion, as his prede cessor Francis I. had excited Solyman to a similar expedition against the capital of Austria. Meantime Louis's diplomatic agent at Cracow had hatched a plot with several disaffected Polish nobles to dethrone Sobieski, who had engaged to assist Leopold. A letter of the French
ambassador to his master, being intercepted, discovered to Sobieski the whole plot. With his usual decision and magnanimity of character he repaired to the Diet, read the correspondence, which implicated not a few who were present, expressing at the same time his conviction, whether real or politically assumed, that the whole was a gross fabrication. "But," added he, "let us convince the world also that it is an imposture ; let us declare war against the infidels." The declaration was voted almost unanimously, and Sobieski assembled his troops at Cracow. Meantime Vienna was invested by the Turks on the 15th of July 1633, after Leopold and his court had left it. Messenger after messenger was now despatched to Sobieski to urge him to march. He had some difficulty, owing to the wretched state of the Polish treasury, to collect even 16,000 men, with whom he marched towards the Danube, and was joined by the Duke of Lorraine with the Imperial forces, forming in all 70,000 men. On the 11th of September the allied army reached the summit of the Calemberg, which commanded a view of the Austrian capital, and of the wide spreading tents of the Ottomans, who were entrenched around it. On the 12th the battle was fought, the Turks were defeated, and Vienna was saved. Hungary was cleared of the Turks after several hard fought campaigns.
The court of Vienna now took strong measures to prevent any recurrence of Hnngarian insurrection supported by Turkish invasion. At the Diet of Presburg of 1637 tho crown of Hungary was declared to be no longer elective, but hereditary in the Austrian male line. Transylvania likewise submitted to Leopold unconditionally. The Turkish war was at length concluded by a great victory gained by Prince Eugene, in September 1697, near Zenta in Hungary, which was followed by the peace of Carlowitz.