Starhemberg, Ernst Rüdiger, Graf von

Starhemberg, Ernst Rüdiger, Graf von

(ĕrnst rü`dĭgər gräf fən shtä`rəmbĕrk'), 1638–1701, Austrian field marshal. He served against the Ottomans in Hungary under Montecucculi and was made (1680) military commander of Vienna. From July to Sept., 1683, he held Vienna with a small garrison against a large Ottoman army under the grand vizier Kara MustafaMustafa
or Kara Mustafa
[Turk. kara=black], d. 1683, Turkish grand vizier (chief executive officer) under Sultan Muhammad IV of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He succeeded his brother-in-law, Ahmed Köprülü.
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. Vienna was about to succumb to the siege, which had reduced it to starvation, when it was relieved by an army under John III of Poland and Charles V of Lorraine. As a reward for his heroic role Starhemberg was made a field marshal and minister of state. In 1691 he became president of the war council. His cousin Guidobald, Graf von Starhemberg (gwē`dōbält'), 1657–1737, also took part in the defense of Vienna. He was made field marshal and served with distinction in the War of the Spanish Succession.