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Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Frederick III (1415-1493), also known as Frederick the Fat and Frederick the Peaceful, was the eldest son of the Inner Austrian duke Ernest the Iron, a member of the Habsburg dynasty. He became duke of Inner Austria in 1424 at the age of nine, but would not be awarded rule until 1435, with his younger brother Albert asserting his rights as co-ruler. By 1439, Frederick had become the undisputed head of the Habsburg dynasty.<br/><br/>

Frederick died in 1493, aged 77, bleeding to death after having his infected left leg amputated.
Albert II (1397-1439), also known as Albert of Germany and Albert the Magnanimous, was the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, succeeding his father at the age of seven in 1404, though he did not become the proper governor of Austria until 1411. Albert married Elisabeth of Luxembourg, heiress of Emperor Sigismund, in 1422.<br/><br/>

Albert assisted his father-in-law during the Hussite Wars, and was in turn named as successor in 1423. When Sigismund died in 1437, Albert was crowned King of Hungary a year later. He was crowned King of Bohemia six months afterwards, though he did not obtain actual possession of the country, and was forced to wage war against the Bohemians and their Polish allies. The crown of Germany was given to him in 1438.<br/><br/>

Albert died in 1439 while defending Hungary from a Turkish invasion, and despite his short reign was known for being an energetic and warlike prince. He was also known for his harsh treatment of Austria's Jewish community, imprisoning and forcibly converting them or expelling them from Austria. Albert sentenced many Jews to death, burning them at the stake in 1421, destroying their synagogue in Vienna and placing an 'eternal ban' on them.
Justinian I (482-565), also known as Justinian the Great or Saint Justinian the Great, was the nephew of Emperor Justin I, originally born from a peasant family in Tauresium. Justin, before he became emperor, adopted Justinian and raised him in Constantinople. Justinian served in the Imperial Guard, the Excubitors, just as his uncle had, and was made associate emperor in 527 before becoming sole emperor when Justin died in the same year.<br/><br/>

Justinian was ambitious and clever, and sought to revive the empire's greatness, planning the reconquest of the western half of the Roman Empire in what was known as 'renovatio imperii' (restoration of the Empire). Justinian was hard-working and known as 'the emperor who never sleeps'. He nearly lost his throne during the Nika riots, and nearly lost his life during the Justinian Plague of the early 540s.<br/><br/>

Justinian was a devout Christian and theologian, and his partial recovery of lost Roman territories led him to be called by some as one of the 'last Romans'. His uniform rewriting of Roman law, the 'Corpus Juris Civilis' is perhaps his greatest legacy, which is still used as the basis of civil law in many modern nations. His restoration activities included the building of the Hagia Sophia. He died in 565 without an heir, succeeded by his nephew Justin II.
Fuxi, alongside his wife/sister Nuwa, was an important deity in Chinese mythology and folk religion. Like his sister, he is often depicted with serpentine qualities, sometimes with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a snake or just a human head on a snake's body. He is counted as the first of the Three Sovereigns at the beginning of the Chinese dynastic period.<br/><br/>

After Pangu created the universe and the world, he birthed a powerful being known as Hua Hsu, who in turn birthed the twins Fuxi and Nuwa. They were said to be the 'original humans', and together they forged humanity out of clay. They subsequently became two of the Three Emperors in the early patriarchal society in China (c. 2,600 BCE). Fuxi also invented hunting, fishing and cooking, teaching these skills to humanity, as well as creating the Cangjie system of writing and marriage rituals.<br/><br/>

Fuxi is still considered to this day as one of the most important primogenitors of Chinese civilisation and culture, and is considered the originator of the 'I Ching'. Fuxi was said to have died after living for 197 years in a place called Chen (modern Huaiyang), where there is now a monument to him which has become a popular tourist attraction.
The 'Road to Canossa', sometimes called the 'Walk to Canossa' or 'Humiliation of Canossa', refers to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV's trek to Canossa Castle, Italy, where Pope Gregory VII was staying as the guest of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, at the height of the investiture controversy in January 1077 to seek absolution of his excommunication.<br/><br/>

According to contemporary sources, he was forced to humiliate himself on his knees waiting for three days and three nights before the entrance gate of the castle, while a blizzard raged.
Rudolf I (1218-1291), also known as Rudolf of Habsburg, was the son of Count Albert IV of Habsburg, and became count after his father's death in 1239. His godfather was Emperor Frederick II, to whom he paid frequent court visits. Rudolf ended the Great Interregnum that had engulfed the Holy Roman Empire after the death of Frederick when he was elected as King of Germany in 1273.<br/><br/>

Rudolf secured the recognition of the Pope by promising to launch a new crusade and renouncing all imperial rights to Rome, the papal territories and Sicily. His main opponent was King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who had refused to acknowledge Rudolf as King of Germany. War was declared against Ottokar in 1276, and he was defeated and killed in 1278 during the Battle on the Marchfeld.<br/><br/>

Rudolf was ultimately not entirely successful in restoring internal peace throughout the Holy Roman Empire, lacking the power, resources and determination to truly enforce his established land peaces, with the princes largely left to their own devices. He died in 1291, establishing the powerful Habsburg dynasty but unable to ensure the succession of his son Albert as German king.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/>

He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.