ungary. There were, therefore,
but few Bohemian troops at the battle of Mohacs (August 29, 1526) at
which Louis was decisively defeated and perished.

Origin of the Habsburg dynasty.

Ferdinand.

The death of Louis found Bohemia in a state of great disorder, almost of
anarchy. The two last kings had mainly resided in Hungary, and in spite
of the temporary agreement obtained at the diet of St Wenceslas, the
Bohemians had not succeeded in establishing a strong indigenous
government which might have taken the place of the absentee monarchs.
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria--afterwards the emperor Ferdinand I.--laid
claim to the Bohemian throne as husband of Anna, daughter of King
Vladislav. King Sigismund of Poland, the dukes Louis and William of
Bavaria, several other German princes, as well as several Bohemian
noblemen, of whom Leo of Rozmital was the most important, were also
candidates. The diet resolved to entrust the election to twenty-four of
their members, chosen in equal number from the three estates. These
electors, on the 23rd of October (1526), chose Ferdinand of Habsburg as
their king. This date is memorable, as it marks the permanent accession
of the Habsburg dynasty to the Bohemian throne, though the Austrian
archdukes Rudolph and Albert had previously been rulers of Bohemia for
short periods. Though Ferdinand fully shared that devotion to Rome which
is traditional in the Habsburg dynasty, he showed great moderation in
religious matters, particularly at the beginning of his reign. His
principal object was to establish the hereditary right of his dynasty to
the Bohemian throne, and this object he pursued with characteristic
obstinacy. When a great fire broke out at Prague in 1541, which
destroyed all the state documents, Ferdinand obtained the consent of the
estates to the substitution of a charter stating that he had been
recognized as king in consequence of the hereditary rights of his wife
Anna, in the place of the former one, which had stated that he had
become king by election. This caused great dissatisfaction and was one
of the principal causes of the troubles that broke out shortly
afterwards. Ferdinand had in 1531, mainly through the influence of his
brother the emperor Charles V., been elected king of the Romans and heir
to the Empire. He henceforth took a large part in the politics of
Germany, particularly after he had in 1547 concluded a treaty of peace
with Turkey, which assured the safety