History glossary
Austria-Hungary
the multiethnic Habsburg empire in central Europe that fought with Germany as a Central Power in the First World War.
- Category
- Empire
- Region
- Central Europe
- Date range
- 1867-1918
What it means
Austria-Hungary was a dual monarchy ruled by the Habsburg dynasty. It included many peoples, including Austrians, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Croats, Serbs, Romanians, and others. Its confrontation with Serbia after Franz Ferdinand's assassination helped trigger the First World War. Defeat, hunger, military exhaustion, and nationalist movements broke the empire apart in 1918.
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