Rudolf I of Germany

Born in 1218 to a relatively minor noble family, Rudolf inherited the County of Habsburg in 1240 and spent the next three decades building power through fortresses, alliances, and calculated force—fighting robber barons, joining the Prussian Crusade in 1254, even weathering excommunication before reconciling with the Church. The Great Interregnum had left the Holy Roman Empire without stable leadership for years, and in 1273 the electors chose Rudolf as King of the Romans, betting on his reputation for order and pragmatism. He delivered: defeated King Ottokar II of Bohemia in battle and seized…