CONTENTS

Preface   ix

Note on Terminology   xiii

1  The Habsburg Puzzle	1
PART I. STRATEGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HABSBURG EMPIRE	19
2  Empire of the Danube: The Geography of Habsburg Power	21
3  Damnosa Hereditas: Habsburg People and State	52
4  “Si Vis Pacem”: Habsburg War and Strategy	82
PART II. HABSBURG FRONTIER DEFENSE “SYSTEMS”	119
5  Harvest of Briars: Turks, Russians, and the Southeastern Frontier	121
6  “The Monster”: Prussia and the Northwestern Frontier	159
7  Teufelfranzosen: France and the Western Frontier	194
PART III. ZENITH, DECLINE, AND LEGACY	225
8  Barricades of Time: Metternich and the Habsburg System at Its Peak	227
9  Between Hammer and Anvil: Eclipse of the Habsburg Monarchy	256
10  The Habsburg Legacy: Taming Chaos	304
Epilogue: Habsburg Lessons	317

Notes   331

Select Sources and Bibliography   377

Index   393