Adolf of Nassau definition of Adolf of Nassau in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Adolf of Nassau (nä`sou), d. 1298, duke of Luxembourg, German king (1292–98). He owed his election to the ecclesiastical electors electors, in the history of the Holy Roman Empire , the princes who had the right to elect the German kings or, more exactly, the kings of the Romans (Holy Roman emperors).
..... Click the link for more information. , who, fearing the growing power and ambition of the Hapsburgs Hapsburg-Lorraine. An enlightened despot, Joseph II instituted reforms that included abolition of serfdom, revision of the penal code, religious toleration, and reduction of the power of the church. Leadership in the Hapsburg empire was given to the Germans.
..... Click the link for more information. , chose him rather than Albert of Austria (later King Albert I Albert I, c.1250–1308, Holy Roman Emperor (1298–1308), son of Rudolf I . Albert was invested with Austria and Styria in 1282 by his father, who also hoped to secure the succession as king of the Germans for Albert.
..... Click the link for more information. ), son of Rudolf I of Hapsburg. Seeking to strengthen his rule by establishing a territorial power of his own, Adolf seized Meissen and Thuringia. He entered into an alliance with Edward I of England against Philip IV of France in an effort to halt French encroachment of German territory; the alliance produced no results, however, and led to Adolf's deposition (1298) and the election of Albert. Soon afterward he was defeated and killed by an army commanded by Albert.