So I'm watching "Freud" the Netflix show (lol) and Franz Josef has all these titles (Kaiser of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria). He's also referred to as King of Jerusalem. I get the other titles as they were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but I don't understand the King of Jerusalem title, since it was my understanding Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time.
Was this practice common of European emperors/rulers to artificially beef up their resume or some hold over practice from the Crusades?
Thanks!
The claim dates back from the era of the Crusades, specifically the Kingdom of Naples' claim to the throne. This was part of the patrimony for the Neapolitan title. The Spanish Habsburgs claimed to be Kings of Jerusalem as they were also Kings of Two Sicilies. The Jerusalem title came to the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs in 1736 with the Maria Theresa's marriage to Francis, the Duke of Lorraine. This Duchy claimed to be the rightful heirs to the Neapolitan throne as well as Jerusalem.
Now the crusading spirit was somewhat outdated by 1736, but the title of King of Jerusalem still had some prestige for the Austrian Habsburgs. One of the cornerstones of imperial rule was the close relationship between the Habsburgs and the Catholic faith. This relationship was not without its strains, especially in the late-eighteenth century, yet titles like King of Jerusalem were reminders of the sacred aspects of imperial rule.