Germany: Icon of Ferdinand II (1578-1637), 35th Holy Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Ferdinand II (1578-1637) was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, and grandson of Emperor Ferdinand I. Ferdinand was part of a Catholic faction opposed to his cousin, Emperor Matthias, who was more tolerant to Protestantism. He became King of Bohemia in 1617, King of Hungary in 1618, and ascended to Holy Roman Emperor in 1619 after his cousin's death.

Ferdinand was a zealous Catholic and immediately worked to restore Catholicism as the only religion in the Holy Roman Empire, suppressing Protestantism wherever he could, leading to conflict with his non-Catholic subjects. He discarded the Letter of Majesty signed by the previous emperor, Rudolf II, which granted freedom of religion to the nobles and inhabitants of Bohemia. His absolutist policies and infringement on noble historical privileges led to the Bohemian Revolt. His actions during the Second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 were considered the first steps of the Thirty Years' War.

The Thirty Years' War raged across much of Central Europe, drawing in more and more factions, fighting either on the Catholic or Protestant side. It became one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, as well as being the deadliest European religious war, with more than eight million casualties. Ferdinand himself died in 1637, before the war ended, leaving his son Ferdinand III to deal with the war and try to manage an empire engulfed in chaos.

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