Rudolf I of Germany (May 1, 1218-July 15, 1291) was the founder of the Habsburg dynasty and ascended to the throne as King of Germany in 1273.
Rudolf I was a lord in southern Alsace and northern Switzerland, and the son of Count Albrecht IV of Habsburg. He won the king's election that ended the era of great vacancy. With the help of secular and church lords, Rudolf I successfully launched several expeditions against his main competitor, the most powerful German vassal of Bohemia, King Ottoka II, and ultimately achieved victory in the first battle (1278). Rudolf I seized Austria and Styria from Ottoka II, laying the foundation for the strength of the Habsburg dynasty.
Rudolf I, also known as Rudolf von Habsburg (German:.

A capable prince
Rudolf's ancestors built a magnificent residence castle called Habsburg in the southern mountainous region of Switzerland, located at the confluence of the Royce and Arles rivers, in 1020 AD, meaning "the castle of wealth". Rudolf's family was named after this.
Born on May 1, 1218 in the Swiss region of Limburg. One of his ancestors followed Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire on an expedition to Italy and died in battle. Grandfather Rudolf II, Earl of Habsburg, was a favorite of Emperor Frederick II. Father Albrecht IV used various means to obtain fiefdoms and various privileges for the Habsburg family in the Upper Alsace region. My mother, Hailevich, is the heir of the Count of Kimburg. She is the daughter of Count Ulrich of Kuipeg.
In 1239, after his father's death, at the age of 21, Rudolf inherited the family's estate in Alsace and Argo. He is good at drilling and has great ambitions.
In 1241 and 1245, he went to Faza, Spoleto and Verona in Italy and stayed for two years at the place of his godfather, Emperor Frederick II. And he often expressed loyalty to the emperor and his son Conrad IV. In return, Rudolf received a large amount of land grants.
Rudolf enjoys practicing martial arts and often leads his troops to wield weapons and expand his territory. He forcibly occupied the territory of the Count of Togenburg in Switzerland, seizing some imperial countryside and landless territories.
In 1245, he married Trude, the heiress of Count Bouchard III of Hohenberg. Seized the territory of the Duke of Hornburg. Due to these successful marriages, as well as the inheritance of the Count of Keburg from his mother. Rudolf had already connected the territories of Alsace, the Rhine River basin, and Switzerland, becoming the largest vassal in the Swaben former Alemannian tribal duchy.
Large Vacancy Period
In 1254, all the successors to the throne of Hohenstaufen, the third dynasty in history of Germany, died successively. As a supporter of King Conrad, he was also excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV. After a fierce argument, in 1257, the German princes elected Charles of Cornwall in England and King Alfonso X of Castile in Spain as Holy Roman Emperors. Although these two outsiders hold the title of Holy Roman Emperor, they do not care about the affairs of the empire. After one emperor was crowned, he returned to England, while the other emperor had never set foot on German territory, making the German throne virtually non-existent.
The period from 1254 to 1273 is known as the "period of suspended imperial throne". During this period, Germany split into many independent feudal principalities. Feudal lords fought against each other to seize the land belonging to the empire. Rudolf spent his youth fighting against other feudal lords to seize land. At that time, many knights were not self-sufficient and made a living by plundering merchants and farmers. The feudal anarchy enveloped Germany. The entire country's trade has been hindered, the people are struggling to make ends meet, and productivity has been severely damaged. The great German writer Schiller referred to the "period of the suspended throne" in a narrative poem as the chaotic and terrifying 20 years of the world.
The chaos caused by the collapse of the empire also gave Rudolf an excellent opportunity to increase his wealth.
In 1264, the death of his fatherless uncle, Count Kuipeg, led him to annex a large amount of land in western Switzerland. He successfully resolved the long-standing disagreement between the Bishop of Strasbourg and the City of Basel, which made him enhance his reputation and wealth. Through this matter, he purchased a large amount of land from the bishop and abbot. He also owns a large amount of land located in Switzerland and Alsace that he inherited from his father. His large estate and wealth made him the largest vassal in southwestern Germany. There, the extinction of the Hohenstaufen family caused the collapse of the Principality of Swaben, leaving behind a pile of small lords.

Elected Emperor of the Empire
In the autumn of 1273, after Richard's death in Cornwall, Rudolf was elected as the king through his strategy. Mainly due to his cousin Frederick III, Count of the City of Nuremberg, as well as his uncle Albrecht II, Duke of Saxony, and Louis II, Count of Pufalz and Duke of Upper Bavaria. The reason why the latter two supported him was because they married Rudolf's two daughters. In this case, King Ottoka II of Bohemia, a pretender to the throne, became a lonely family. Ottoka's inheritance comes from his mother. His mother is the daughter of former King Philip. And Philip was also the son of Frederick I. Another heir to the throne is Frederick of Mason, the grandson of former King Frederick II. Rudolf I was crowned at Aachen Cathedral on October 24, 1273. In order to gain recognition from the Pope, Rudolf renounced the empire's rights in the Papal State and Sicily and promised to organize a new expedition. Pope Gregory X recognized Rudolf's status despite Ottoka's opposition and convinced Alfonso X, another illustrious emperor of the Castile Kingdom, to also recognize Rudolf. In this way, he greatly surpassed the two successors of the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
Rudolph I ascended the throne, ending the "period of suspended throne" in history of Germany. At this point, he was already a politician who had experienced numerous battles and was proficient in the world. The 55 year old imperial emperor was determined to concentrate on German affairs and expand the power of the royal territory. Upon his coronation, Rudolf I swore the right to uphold the law and order of the empire and rebuild it. He took back some imperial land illegally stolen by small lords and issued a "domestic peace" decree. The law stipulates that no one shall continue to fight against others. Any violator will be punished by the Imperial Court. Some bandit knights still do not care about domestic peace and continue to commit crimes. Rudolf I sent troops to destroy their castle and executed many bandit knights. After multiple battles, they were subdued and the heavy taxes on transit exploitation were cancelled. The farmers in the Rhine River basin cannot bear the cruel exploitation and oppression of the lords,
In 1285, an uprising was held, sweeping across many regions. Rudolf I brutally suppressed the uprising and burned the leader of the uprising, Frederick. In suppressing peasant uprisings, he received considerable support from the nobility.
In order to strengthen the management of the empire, he often convened imperial councils attended by princes, monks, and city representatives; "Secret envoys" with fixed income were set up throughout the empire to serve as local judges; In the regions of Alsace, Swaben, and Frankia, imperial regional administrative regions were established, and the chief executive of the administrative region could be dismissed at any time. In order to avoid excessive interference by lords in imperial affairs, he established for the first time that the land of the empire and the land of various lords should be separated in principle. In promoting urban prosperity, he recognized the independent status of imperial cities and elevated some villages to imperial cities, allowing representatives of imperial cities to participate in imperial councils and discuss issues related to the cities themselves. At the same time, Rudolf I levied annual, special, and property taxes on cities to compensate for the tax revenue abandoned in Italy and the long overdue feudal taxes, in order to increase the income of the empire. By implementing the above measures, Rudolf I managed most of the Holy Roman Empire again after the "period of suspended throne". The system of local administrators implemented by him and the regulations for city representatives to participate in imperial level representative meetings have to some extent maintained domestic peace and order, and contributed to the development of urban handicrafts and the civil class.
Defeat the King of Czech Republic
Rudolf I had limited imperial power and could only control the army in his own territory, unable to control the situation of the struggle among the lords. He is like a top feudal lord who is equal to other feudal lords. He was very clear that only by expanding the royal territory could he enhance his position with the princes. Shortly thereafter, he engaged in a war with King Ottoka II of Bohemia over Austria.
In the 12th to 13th centuries, Austria was a duchy of the Babenberg family of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. In 1246, Frederick II, the last member of the Babenburg family, was killed in a border conflict with Hungary. As a result, the family severed the heir to the title, causing a struggle for Austrian territory among neighboring lords. In 1251, King Ottoka II of Bohemia took the opportunity to lead his army and occupied the territories of the Babenburg family in Austria, Styria, Croatia, and Klein. The Pope and other German princes were very dissatisfied with the actions of Ottoka II. Rudolf I took advantage of this sentiment and, under the pretext that the aforementioned land was not granted as a fiefdom to Ottoka II, demanded that he withdraw from Austria and return the land to the empire. In 1274, a decision was made at the Nuremberg Imperial Conference that the imperial territories occupied by King Frederick II must be returned. Ottoka must respond by not recognizing the new king. Ottoka refused to appear in court and also refused to return the occupied imperial provinces of Austria, Styria, Karnia, and Karniola. The rights to these lands come from a wife of Ottoka, who was the heiress of the Duke of Austria's Babenburg dynasty. King Rudolf rejected Ottoka's inheritance claim and incorporated these lands into the empire as unowned fiefs. On June 24, 1275, due to Otoka's repeated refusal to be summoned, he was declared not to be protected by law.
The war with Ottoka officially began in 1276. With the support of the lords and nobles, Rudolf I led his army to advance towards Austria. He divided his army and the army led by King Laszlo IV of Hungary into two routes, attacking from the left and right sides towards the middle, forming a powerful pincer shaped attack and killing the Mache River battlefield in the eastern part of Vienna, where Ottoka II's army was stationed. The emperor successfully convinced Ottoka's allies to overthrow Henry I of Bavaria. This forced Ottoka to return the four provinces he had occupied and swear allegiance. So the emperor granted Bohemia as an imperial fiefdom to Ottoka and married his daughter Uta to Ottoka's son Watslav II. After completing this campaign without any bloodshed, the emperor held a triumphal ceremony in Vienna.
However, Ottoka II was not willing to fail. With the support of the Marquis of Silesia and Poland, who opposed the growth of Rudolf I's power, he gathered the armies of the Marquis of Thuringen, Brandenburg, and Bavaria to fight again. Rudolf I did not have many troops this time. In addition to the army in his own territory, he received military assistance from King Raslow IV of Hungary and Count Tyrolmehad II. On August 26, 1278, the two armies engaged in a fierce battle on the Machi River battlefield. Rudolf I commanded the left-wing army to first defeat some of Ottoka II's troops. But the right-wing army is in serious trouble. Later, the reinforcements commanded by Rudolf I arrived in time and defeated the army of Bohemia, killing Ottoka II. The Battle of Mache River (Battle of Dinkrute) became an important turning point for the Habsburg family to establish their rule in Austria. After the war, Moravia separated from Bohemia. In this way, Ottoka's successor, Vaclav, only left a few provinces around Prague. Of course, Rudolf's daughter was still granted to Watslav.

Establish royal authority
Rudolf's next move was to establish royal authority in Austria and surrounding provinces. He spent several years trying to establish authority here, but found it difficult to include these provinces within his family's sphere of influence. In 1282, after all his opponents were defeated, he conferred Austria and Styria respectively on his two sons - Albrecht I and Rudolf II. So Styria and Austria became territories of the Habsburg family. In the same year, Rudolf I established the Habsburg dynasty of Austria by establishing his eldest son Albrecht as the sole monarch of the Duchy of Austria and its territories according to a family rule. The dynasty's rule over Austria did not come to an end until 1918. In addition, he gave the title of Duke of Swaben to his youngest son Rudolf. This title was not inherited after Conradin's death.
In 1286, Rudolf conferred the title of Calinthia, which he had seized from Ottoka, to Albrecht's father-in-law, Count Tyrol Mainhard. The German princes would not agree that Rudolf would leave all the spoils of war to his sons. His allies also need some rewards. In 1281, the king who began to turn his gaze to the West forced Count Philippe of Burgundy to cede some land to him and forced Bern to pay the tribute they had refused to pay. And attempted to restore the Duchy of Swaben and the Kingdom of Burgundy Arerat. In 1289, he forced Philip's successor Otto to swear allegiance.
In its expansion of royal territory, "marriage diplomacy" played an important role. In 1278, Rudolf I held a wedding for his daughter Uta and the son of Ottoka II, as well as the heir to the throne of Bohemia, Vaclav. At the same time, he also held a wedding for his son Rudolf of the same name and the daughter of Ottoka II, Kunigond. In 1281, he married another daughter to the Count of Burgundy, and in 1284, he married another son to the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. These marriages were all part of Rudolf I's strategy to expand his territory and family power. Albrecht and his descendants continued to expand on the basis of Austrian territory, ensuring Austria's primary position within the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1281, his wife passed away due to illness. He also married Isabella, the daughter of his western neighbor, Duke Edward IV of Burgundy. Rudolf was a great failure in maintaining domestic peace. The security and environment throughout the country are very poor. There have also been many wars fought over inheritance rights. The king is powerless to intervene. But this is no wonder of him, because the emperor's power and resources were limited at that time, and he was unable to exercise true rule over the country. Nevertheless, in 1289, Rudolf organized an expedition to Turingen and demolished many bandit castles.
In his later years, Rudolf I made great efforts to maneuver among the various lords, attempting to make his eldest son Albert inherit the imperial throne. Because the German princes were not satisfied with Rudolph's excessive strengthening of the power of the Habsburg royal family, and were afraid that the increasingly powerful Habsburg royal family would take measures to restrict their political independence, they did not elect Albrecht at the imperial parliament held in Würzburg in 1287, but elected Adolf of Nassau as the Holy Roman Emperor. It was only in 1298 that the German princes abandoned the former throne and elected Albrecht as emperor. After Albrecht, the German throne gradually fell into the hands of the Luxembourg family and the Wittelsbach family. In 1437, the imperial crown returned to the Habsburg dynasty of Austria. From then on, this dynasty served as the Holy Roman Emperor for over 300 years and as the Austrian Emperor for over 600 years (1282-1918) until Franz II, who was defeated by Napoleon on August 6, 1806, relinquished the title of imperial emperor.
Death
In the summer of 1291, at the age of 73, Rudolf I had a premonition that his death was approaching, so he came from Mesheim to the city of Speyer. He passed away on July 15th and was buried in the tombs of the kings and emperors of the Salian and Hohenstaufen dynasties in the city.
Rudolf died on July 15, 1291 and was buried at the Speyer Church. Although he once had a large family, only his son Albrecht, the future king Albrecht I, was left at that time. Rudolf is tall, with a pale face and a tall nose. His brave, devout, and magnanimous qualities are praised by people. His rule is memorable. Mainly due to his expansion of the Habsburg family's territory. He extended the territory of the Habsburg family from the southwest to the southeast. In the remaining part of Germany, his descendants will also expand their power.

He got married twice in total. The first time was with Gertrude of Hohenberg. The second time was in 1284, and the object was Isabella, the daughter of Duke Edgar IV of Burgundy. All his children came from their first marriage.
1. Albrecht I of Germany (1255-1308), Duke of Austria and Duke of Styria.
Hartmann (1263-1281) drowned in the Rhine River.
3. Rudolf II (1270-1290), the Duke of Austria, was the Duke of Styria and was nominally the Duke of Swaben. He is the father of John from Swaben.
Matilda (1251/53-1304) married Louis II, Duke of Bavaria, in Aachen in 1273. She will become the mother of Count Rudolf I of Pfalz and later King Louis IV.
Katrina (1256-1282) married Otto III, Duke of Bavaria, in Vienna in 1279. Her husband will later become the opposing king of Hungary. They did not leave any offspring.
Agnes (1257-1322) married Albrecht II, Duke of Saxony Wittenburg, in 1273. She will become the mother of Saxony Elector Rudolf I.
7. Hudwig (1259-1285/86) married the Duke of Brandenburg, Otto VI, but they did not leave any offspring.
8. Clementia (after 1262-1293) married Charlie Matt of Anjou in 1281. She gave birth to the later King Charles I of Hungary.
9. Uta (1271-1297) married King Wazirav II of Bohemia in 1285. She will become the mother of King Vaclav III of Bohemia and Queen Elizabeth I.
In addition, Rudolph I also had an illegitimate son, Albrecht, who later became the Earl of Levinstein.