Home Region:  Central Europe (Europe)

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

1867 CE 1918 CE
D G SC
EQ 2020  at_austro_hungarian_emp
Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
[Habsburg Empire III] [None]   Update here

Succeeding Entity:
No Polity found. Add one here.

Displayed:



Learn more about polity border choices.
Hit enter after changing the year or setting the play rate.


  General Description  

“The Ausgleich (“compromise”) reached with Hungary in 1867 was a major concession for Franz Joseph, and it created the so-called dualist Austria-Hungary that existed until 1918… The arrangement was dualist because it was not federalist. Rather than parceling out the monarchy into a structure in which the Austro-German lands, the Czech lands, Galicia, and Hungary-Croatia would all have roughly equal weight, it was divided simply into two, the Hungarian half and the Austrian half. This latter was not really called “Austria” but rather “Cisleithania,” meaning “beyond the Leitha River,” which was the border between Austria and Hungary. The formal name of the Cisleithanian half was “the countries and realms represented in the Reichsrat,” which gives some indication of the insubstantial basis for common identity of those territories. The governmental link between these two halves was also minimal. Foreign and military policy belonged almost exclusively to Franz Joseph. He retained the power to appoint and dismiss ministers, who thus had only a partial responsibility to parliament, and he could reject laws passed by the Reichsrat. There was a joint financial ministry and tariff regime. But details such as Hungary’s share of the budget could be renegotiated every decade, which led to repeated political conflicts in the years ahead, so dualism’s division of powers was by no means entirely clear. Nearly everything else was separate. There were distinct parliaments for the Cisleithanian and Hungarian halves, and each half had its own administrative, legal, and school systems. The realm was designated as kaiserlich (“imperial”) for the Austrian Empire of Cisleithania and königlich (“royal”) for the Kingdom of Hungary. In practice, dualism meant that the Austro-Germans dominated the other peoples in their half, and the Hungarians the other peoples in theirs. In many ways, Hungary’s weight within the Dual Monarchy only grew after 1867, thanks to economic advances that in turn fed into greater assertiveness on the part of the Magyar elite… Ultimately, even the Austro-Germans and the Hungarians disliked dualism. The former resented Hungarians’ disproportionate weight in the monarchy, while the latter constantly pushed for more autonomy and resisted any changes that would reduce their weight. And virtually all the other national groups detested the arrangement because it unfairly excluded them.” [1]
“By the summer of 1918 the Habsburg dynasty’s death knell was ringing… Karl presided impotently over the progressive hollowing out of the whole monarchical state until there was almost nothing left that he actually governed. At the end of October the nearly 400-year-old monarchy dissolved in a matter of weeks. Karl issued a proposal for federalization on 16 October, but he and his idea were already irrelevant by that point. Gyula Andrássy, the last foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, said that the implicit logic behind the final, futile moves taken by the leadership was that “so that no one can kill us, we’ll commit suicide.”15 The initiative was instead firmly in the hands of the various national groups. On 18 October Romanians in Hungary called for union with the Kingdom of Romania. On the 21st the Germans of the monarchy declared their right to self-determination. On the 28th the Czech National Council declared independence, and on the 30th the new Czechoslovakia was officially formed. On the 29th the Croatian parliament formally dissolved its connections to Austria and Hungary and pledged to join the new Yugoslav kingdom. On the 31st the Ruthenians in Galicia announced their secession. On 1 November the Hungarians proclaimed their ties to the monarchy ended, followed ten days later by Galicia joining the new Polish republic. As all this was happening, Karl was still working at his desk in Schönbrunn, but the palace was mostly empty. Only a few loyal servants remained, since even his bodyguards had left. Finally on 11 November Karl signed papers that he was “temporarily” giving up his powers. He never formally abdicated but went into exile, first in Switzerland. Karl twice tried to retake the throne in Hungary in 1921, but after these unsuccessful attempts he was removed by the British to Madeira, where he died in 1922.” [2]

[1]: (Curtis 2013: 284-286) Curtis, Benjamin. 2013. The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty. London; New York: Bloomsbury. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TRKUBP92

[2]: (Curtis 2013: 304-305) Curtis, Benjamin. 2013. The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty. London; New York: Bloomsbury. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TRKUBP92

General Variables
Identity and Location
Temporal Bounds
Political and Cultural Relations
Language
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Military use of Metals
Projectiles
Handheld weapons
Animals used in warfare
Armor
Naval technology
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.
Instability Events
General Variables
Identity and Location Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Original Name 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Alternative Name 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Alternative Name 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Temporal Bounds Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Duration [1867 CE ➜ 1918 CE]
Loading...
Political and Cultural Relations Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Succeeding Entity Republic of Austria 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Preceding Entity
Habsburg Empire III [None]    Update here
Loading...
Language Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Religion Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Religious Tradition Christianity 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Hierarchical Complexity Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Settlement Hierarchy 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Religious Level 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Military Level 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Professions Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Professional Priesthood 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Source Of Support 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Bureaucracy Characteristics Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Examination System 1867 CE 1918 CE
Loading...
Law Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Buildings: polity owned Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Market Present 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Communal Building 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Utilitarian Public Building Present 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Symbolic Building 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Transport Infrastructure Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Road 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Port 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Canal 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Bridge 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Special-purpose Sites Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Enclosure 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Ceremonial Site 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Burial Site 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Information / Writing System Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Written Record 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Script Present 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Nonwritten Record 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Information / Kinds of Written Documents Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Sacred Text 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Religious Literature Present 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Information / Money Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Token 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Precious Metal 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Article 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Store Of Wealth 1867 CE  1918 CE
Loading...
Information / Postal System Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Information / Measurement System Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Military use of Metals Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Projectiles Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Handheld weapons Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Animals used in warfare Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Armor Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Naval technology Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Human Sacrifice Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (at_austro_hungarian_emp)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Crisis Cases
View all Crisis Cases
Instability Data
Power Transitions
View all Power Transitions