in
Croatia A.D. 1593 ,
Leibnitz,
Styria,
Austria. He chose a military career early on in his life. In 1572 he served as a captain with
Spanish forces and saw duty in
The Netherlands under the great general
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Ruprecht von Eggenberg benefited greatly from this experience and was ultimately appointed by
Charles II, Archduke of Austria to the arch-ducal council and to captain of the guard at the main castle in
Graz. Because of the growing threat from the
Ottoman Turks, he served as a commander beginning in 1592. Although outnumbered, Eggenberg vanquished the Ottoman forces under the command of
Hasan Pasha Predojević at the
Battle of Sisak on 22 June 1593. In 1594 Eggenberg received the command of the Austrian troops along the border to what is today
Croatia and conquered the Ottoman fortress of
Petrinja in 1595. As a hero of the
Ottoman wars, in 1596 Eggenberg was appointed the
Feldobristen (akin to a
colonel in contemporary
military ranks) in
Upper Hungary and in 1597 he received his appointment as the
General-Feld-Obrist-Feldzeugmeister (imperfect translation would be Field Colonel General of the Artillery, denoting the second highest rank as well as an artillery officer). In the end, due to his distinguished service, Ruprecht von Eggenberg was elevated to the rank of
Freiherr in 1598 by
Rudolf II. He retired from service in 1606 and moved to Graz in what was then the
Duchy of Styria where he died in 1611. ==Eggenberg mausoleum in Ehrenhausen==