Matthias II (jun 13, 1612 – mar 20, 1619)

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brother of Rudolf. In 1612, Rudolf’s death left Matthias as the victor of the Bruderzwist. As Emperor, however, Matthias was in a weak position. The quarrel between the brothers had resulted in a strengthening of the Protestant Estates. It was becoming increasingly clear that the religio-political situation was coming to a head and that a major military conflict was in the offing. This conflict was to develop into the Thirty Years’ War, which brought extensive destruction and suffering to large parts of Central Europe.
After Matthias's accession as Holy Roman Emperor, his policy was dominated by Bishop of Vienna Melchior Klesl, who hoped to bring about a compromise between Catholic and Protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire in order to strengthen it. Matthias had already been forced to grant religious concessions to Protestants in Austria and Moravia, as well as in Hungary, when he had allied with them against Rudolf.
Matthias's conciliatory policies were opposed by the more intransigent Catholic Habsburgs, particularly Matthias's younger brother Archduke Maximilian, who hoped to secure the succession for their cousin, the inflexible Catholic Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol (later Emperor Ferdinand II). The Defenstration of Prague and the start of the Bohemian Protestant revolt in 1618 provoked Maximilian to imprison Klesl and revise his policies. Matthias, old and ailing, was unable to prevent a takeover by Maximilian's faction. Ferdinand, who had already been crowned King of Bohemia (1617) and of Hungary (1618), succeeded Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619.

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