Although a great patron* of the arts and learning, Rudolf II was an incompetent ruler who suffered from periods of severe depression. Holy Roman Emperor* from 1576 to 1612, he focused more on artistic than on political matters and exercised little control over the religious conflicts that threatened the stability of his empire.
The son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, Rudolf spent eight years of his youth at the court of his uncle, Philip II of Spain. In 1572 Rudolf became king of Hungary. By 1576 he was also ruler of Bohemia, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire.