A state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Austrian Circle and a duchy in the hereditary possession of the Habsburgs, later part of the Austrian Empire and of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land from 1849, when it was also subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola, until 1918.

Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 ( Latin: Pragmatica Sanctio ) was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI to ensure that the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs could be inherited by a daughter.

From the 13th / 14th century until 1797, the area was part of the Vorlande, the area in southwest Germany ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs, but the Breisgau, along with the rest of the Vorlande, was ceded by them to the former Duke of Modena, a relation, as compensation for his loss of his hereditary lands to the French Cisalpine Republic.

Moravians had accepted the hereditary right of the Austrian Habsburgs to rule and thus escaped the intense struggle between native estates and the Habsburg monarchy that was to characterize Bohemian history.

By several adroit political maneuvers, Ferdinand was able to establish hereditary succession to the Bohemian crown for the Habsburgs.

It was therefore in the interest of the Austrian hereditary provinces and of the Bohemian crown lands that the Habsburgs gain control of Hungary, by force if necessary.

Nonetheless, hereditary succession of the Habsburgs was recognized, and the nobles ' right of resistance was abrogated.

The Diet approved the Pragmatic Sanction in 1723, and Hungary thus agreed to became a hereditary monarchy under the Habsburgs for as long as their dynasty existed.

It was dubbed the " Little German " solution, since it excluded the Austrian territories and the Habsburgs.

It was in part to pre-empt French objections to this outcome that in 1668, only three years after Charles II had ascended, the then-childless Leopold had agreed to partition Spanish territories between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs, even though Philip IV's will would have entitled him to the entire inheritance.

At the same time, Austria was becoming more involved in competition with France in Western Europe, with Austria fighting the French in the Third Dutch War ( 1672 – 1679 ), the War of the League of Augsburg ( 1688 – 1697 ) and finally the War of the Spanish Succession ( 1701 – 1714 ), in which the French and Austrians ( along with their British, Dutch and Catalonian allies ) fought over the inheritance of the vast territories of the Spanish Habsburgs.

The Belgian and Luxemburgian territories ( except the Bishopric of Liège ) were transferred to the Austrian Habsburgs ( 1713 – 1794 ) after the War of the Spanish Succession when the French Bourbon Dynasty inherited Spain at the price of abandoning many Spanish possessions.

In the Treaty of Utrecht, signed on 11 April 1713, Philip was recognized as king of Spain but his renunciation of succession rights to France was affirmed and, of the Spanish Empire's other European territories, Sicily was ceded to Savoy, and the Spanish Netherlands, Milan and Naples were alloted to the Austrian Habsburgs.

Later came the Habsburgs of Spain although Reggio was ruled by a viceroy from 1504 to 1713 ; the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were in fact part of the Spanish crown territories.

The Habsburgs divided up their territories within the family twice, according to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg and again in 1564.

The treaty confirmed the Austrian cession of lands in Italy and Bavaria to France and in Germany to Napoleon's German allies, imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the defeated Habsburgs, and allowed the defeated Russian troops free passage, with their arms and equipment, through hostile territories and back to their home soil.

When he sought to lay claim to imperial rights in Italy and gain territories for the Habsburgs, he even risked a military conflict with the Pope over the duchy of Mantua.

While Schwyz gained no territory from the battle, both Bern and Lucerne gained significant territories at the expense of the Habsburgs.

The treaty confirmed the Austrian cession of lands in Italy and Bavaria to France and in Germany to Napoleon's German allies, imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the defeated Habsburgs, and allowed the defeated Russian troops free passage, with their arms and equipment, through hostile territories and back to their home soil.

Changing sides in 1805, he fought for Napoleon, with the result that by the peace of Pressburg in that year he obtained the Breisgau and other territories at the expense of the Habsburgs ( see Further Austria ).

According to the treaty, both rulers were allowed to retain the territories which they then held, but the childless John I promised to recognize the Habsburgs ' succession.

The shield on the opposite side symbolizes the coat of arms used by the Habsburgs in conjunction with their territories.

* The Habsburgs had violated the secret agreement with Bethlen of 1615 and prolonged the peace with Ottoman Empire in July 1615, and even entered into an alliance with George Druget, the captain of Upper Hungary ( i. e. present-day Slovakia and adjacent territories ) against Bethlen.

This was in light of the possible Austrian-Ottoman alliance with only token objections from Austria, which would have instead preferred to receive more Ottoman territories in the Balkans, a region which for a long time had been coveted by the Habsburgs.

The Habsburgs were reluctant to hand over designated territories, much less additional ones.

* During the time of the Habsburgs ( until 1700 ), the Spanish kingdoms were also in personal union with the Kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia and the Duchy of Milan in Italy, as well as the Spanish Netherlands and other Burgundian territories in France and the Low Countries.

* Archduke, ruler of an archduchy ; was generally only a sovereign rank when used by the rulers of Austria ; it was also used by the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire for members of the imperial family ; it was also used for those ruling some Habsburg territories such as those that became the modern BeNeLux ( Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg ) nations

While secular princes like the Duke of Württemberg and the Margrave of Baden-Durlach, as well as most of the Free Cities, became Protestant, the ecclesiastical territories ( including the bishoprics of Augsburg, Konstanz and the numerous Imperial abbeys ) remained Catholic, as did the territories belonging to the Habsburgs ( Further Austria ), Hohenzollerns and the Margrave of Baden-Baden.

Despite the loss of the Duchy, the Habsburgs still used the title of Duke of Burgundy for their Burgundian territories.

The Ottoman Empire conducted another major war against the Habsburgs and their Hungarian territories between 1566 and 1568.

The senior Spanish line of the Habsburgs ruled over Habsburg Spain and various other territories from 1516 until it became extinct in 1700.

The record of the treasure, however, now exists only in the fine engravings made at the time of its discovery and in some reproductions made for the Habsburgs.

Taylor's earlier writings reflected Pribram's favourable opinion of the Habsburgs, however, his 1941 book The Habsburg Monarchy 1809 – 1918 ( published in a revised edition in 1948 ) showed the influence of Namier's unfavourable views.

Moreover, the dominant Czechs — who had suffered political discrimination under the Habsburgs — were not able to cope with the demands of other nationalities ; however, some of the minority demands served as mere pretexts to justify intervention by Nazi Germany.

Zürich however suspected the abbot of collusion with the Habsburgs and locked him up in his new rooms.

Both the French court and the Habsburgs were patrons of music ; however a French style began to diverge from that of the Low Countries, especially in secular music, and in the period after 1500.

The museum's primary collections are those of the Habsburgs, particularly from the portrait and armour collections of Ferdinand of Tirol, the collections of Emperor Rudolph II ( the largest part of which is, however, scattered ), and the collection of paintings of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.

On the Swiss Eidgenossenschaft, however, the edict had no such effect as Charles IV, who was of the House of Luxembourg, regarded the Swiss as potential useful allies against his rivals, the Habsburgs.

They complained about foreign rule, the behaviour of foreign garrisons, and the Habsburgs ' recognition of Turkish sovereignty in Transylvania ( Principality of Transylvania was usually under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, however it often had dual vassalage-Ottoman Turkish sultans and the Habsburg Hungarian kings-in the 16th and 17th centuries ).

Fortunes turned against the Hungarians, however, when the Habsburgs made peace in the West and turned their full force against them.

Indeed, a Gessler family of ministeriales is documented from the 13th century onwards ; however at Wiggwil in the Aargau region, the original homeland of the Habsburgs and the basis for their rise after the extinction of the Swabian House of Hohenstaufen.

At the end of 1686 the Ottomans made peace overtures ; however, the Imperial Habsburgs now saw a chance to occupy and conquer the whole of Hungary and these peace overtures were rejected.

Hungarian forces, however, were defeated by the Habsburgs at Olomouc in late 1621 and withdrew from Moravia in 1622.