Ruprecht von Eggenberg

Ruprecht von Eggenberg
Ruprecht von Eggenberg, kaiserlicher General
Born	1546 Habsburg Monarchy
Died	7 February 1611 Graz, Styria, Habsburg Monarchy (today's Austria)
Buried	Mausoleum in Ehrenhausen
Allegiance	Habsburg Monarchy
Rank	Colonel General
Battles/wars	Battle of Sisak

Ruprecht von Eggenberg (1546 – 7 February 1611, Graz, Styria) was an Austrian colonel-general from the Duchy of Styria in Inner Austria, part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was a member of the Eggenberger family and cousin to Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg.

He chose a military career early on in his life. In 1572 he served as a captain with Spanish forces and saw duty in The Netherlands under the great general Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Ruprecht von Eggenberg benefited greatly from this experience and was ultimately appointed by Charles II, Archduke of Austria to the arch-ducal council and to captain of the guard at the main castle in Graz. Because of the growing threat from the Ottoman Turks, he served as a commander beginning in 1592. Although outnumbered, Eggenberg vanquished the Ottoman forces under the command of Hasan Pasha Predojević at the Battle of Sisak on 22 June 1593. In 1594 Eggenberg received the command of the Austrian troops along the border to what is today Croatia and conquered the Ottoman fortress of Petrinja in 1595. As a hero of the Ottoman wars, in 1596 Eggenberg was appointed the Feldobristen (akin to a colonel in contemporary military ranks) in Upper Hungary and in 1597 he received his appointment as the General-Feld-Obrist-Feldzeugmeister (imperfect translation would be Field Colonel General of the Artillery, denoting the second highest rank as well as an artillery officer). In the end, due to his distinguished service, Ruprecht von Eggenberg was elevated by the emperor into the Barons estate as a Freiherr. He retired from service in 1606 and moved to Graz in what was then the Duchy of Styria where he died in 1611.