, while the
Hungarians and the powerful party of the great house of Rosenberg in
Bohemia attached themselves to the league. Frederick, who had hurried back
from Italy, was besieged in August in the Vienna Neustadt, and was forced
to deliver Ladislaus to Count Ulrich, whose influence had meanwhile
eclipsed that of Eiczing. Ladislaus now ruled nominally himself, under the
tutelage of Count Ulrich. The country was, however, distracted by quarrels
between the party of the high aristocracy, which recognized the count of
Cilli as its chief, and that of the lesser nobles, citizens and populace,
who followed Eiczing. In September 1453 the latter, by a successful
_emeute_, succeeded in ousting Count Ulrich, and remained in power till
February 1455, when the count once more entered Vienna in triumph. Ulrich
of Cilli was killed before Belgrade in November 1456; a year later
Ladislaus himself died (November 1457). Meanwhile Styria and Carinthia
[Sidenote: Austria created an archduchy.] were equally unfortunate under
the rule of Frederick and Albert; and the death of Ladislaus led to still
further complications. Austria, which had been solemnly created an
archduchy by the emperor Frederick in 1453, was claimed by the three
remaining Habsburg princes, and lower Austria was secured by Frederick,
while Albert obtained upper Austria. Both princes were unpopular, and in
1462 Frederick was attacked by the inhabitants of Vienna, and was forced to
surrender lower Austria to Albert, whose spendthrift habits soon made his
rule disliked. A further struggle between the brothers was prevented by
Albert's death in 1463, when the estates did homage to Frederick.
[Sidenote: Hungarian conquest of Austria.] The emperor was soon again at
issue with the Austrian nobles, and was attacked by Matthias Corvinus, king
of Hungary, who drove him from Vienna in 1485. Although hampered by the
inroads of the Turks, Matthias pressed on, and by 1487 was firmly in
possession of Austria, Styria and Carinthia, which seemed quite lost to the
Habsburgs.

[Sidenote: The emperor Maximilian I.]

The decline in the fortunes of the family, however, was to be arrested by
Frederick's son, Maximilian, afterwards the emperor Maximilian I., who was
the second founder of the greatness of the house of Habsburg. Like his
ancestor, Rudolph, he had to conquer the lands over which his descendants
were destined to rule, and by arranging a treaty of succession to the
kingdoms of Hungar