Maximilian I, << `mak` suh MIHL yuhn >> I (1459-1519) reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519. He extended the power of the House of Habsburg through wars and marriages (see Habsburg, House of ).
Maximilian, son of Emperor Frederick III, married Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, in 1477. He fought Mary’s war with Louis XI of France for possession of Burgundy and the Netherlands. He won the war, but the Netherland states, hostile to him, signed a treaty with Louis XI in 1482. The treaty forced Maximilian to give Burgundy back to Louis XI. Mary died the same year.
Maximilian became emperor in 1493. He married Bianca, daughter of the regent (temporary ruler) of Milan, in 1494. He fought another long war with France for control of possessions in Italy, and lost. Maximilian was forced to grant Switzerland its independence after a war in 1499.
Maximilian arranged the marriage of his son, Philip, Archduke of Austria, to Juana of Castile, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, in 1496. The marriage gave Spain to the Habsburgs when Philip and Juana’s son became king of Spain and, later, emperor as Charles V. Maximilian established claims on Hungary and Bohemia when his grandchildren married heirs of these countries. Maximilian was also an important patron of the arts. He was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
