Jakob Hannibal I of Hohenems

Coat of arms of the Lords of Ems in Scheibler's book of arms from 1450

Jakob Hannibal I von Hohenems (born May 13, 1530 in Bludenz , † December 27, 1587 in Hohenems ) was a count from the Hohenems family and a military leader of the Papal States and the Habsburgs . Under his rule, the Lords of Hohenems rose to the rank of count and became a political power in the Alpine Rhine Valley .

Life

Jakob Hannibal I von Hohenems was the son of Wolf Dietrich von Hohenems and Clara de Medici. He spent parts of his youth in northern Italy with his uncle Gian Giacomo Medici , Duke of Marignano and Marquis of Musso and Lecco . He embarked on a military career. The election of another uncle, Giovanni Angelo Medici, as Pope Pius IV began a golden time for Jakob Hannibal I and the Hohenems. In 1560 they were raised to the rank of count. In 1565 he married Hortensia Borromeo, the half-sister of Charles Borromeo , a cardinal and archbishop of Milan . Hortensia Borromeo was also a niece of Pope Pius IV. In the same year Jakob Hannibal I of Hohenems was appointed commander in chief of all troops in the papal state. In 1567 the Hohenems family received the bailiwicks of Feldkirch and Bregenz from Archduke Ferdinand II. Jakob Hannibal I had his ancestral castle Alt-Ems expanded into a fortress from 1566 according to plans by Martino Longhi .

He fought with his own troops for the Spaniards in Italy, France and Morocco. With 3,000 men, he fought the Barbaresque corsairs in 1564 , who were allied with the Ottomans. In 1574 and 1578–1579 he served as a general of the German regiments he had recruited in the service of Philip II in the Netherlands . For two years he was Commander-in-Chief of Antwerp . In 1578 he received the county of Gallarate in Italy near Milan from the Spanish king as a rulership for outstanding wages.

Jakob Hannibal I von Hohenems was the father of Kaspar von Hohenems . In 1613 he acquired the County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg from Karl Ludwig zu Sulz , which make up today's Principality of Liechtenstein . Another son, Markus Sittikus von Hohenems , was Prince Archbishop of the Prince Archbishopric of Salzburg from 1612 to 1619 .

literature

• Georg von Wyß:  Hohenems, Jakob Hannibal, Reichsgraf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 509-511.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein Hohenems Jakob Hannibal I von, Count, Mercenary Leader
2. ^ Alois Niederstädter: Vorarlberg 1523 to 1861. On the way to the country: History of Vorarlberg , page 41.