Wir Leopold von Gottes Gnaden / Erwoehlter Romischer Kayser. [Linz, 1684].
Announcement by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I, concerning the prohibition to recruit foreign soldiers in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire, and the export of weapons (horses, ammunition, and other products). It is emphasized in this announcement that Jews in particular should avoid any foreign trade.
This announcement was published during the war between Emperor Leopold I and the Turkish Sultan, who took advantage of the tension in Hungary at that time, to attach Austria. The Sultan sent large military forces to Austria in the beginning of 1683, who besieged Vienna and almost conquered it.
The Jews of Vienna were concentrated at that time in Leopolstadt (on the other side of the Danube) and would enter Vienna for trade purposes, even though they were not allowed to reside there. The war against the Turks demanded a significant capital, and a few Jews supplied the army with equipment, amongst them Samuel Oppenheimer, a Jew of Heidelberg, who had a permit to settle in Vienna at a later stage. Other Jews got permits to live in Vienna as family members of workers of Oppenheimer, like Samson Wertheimer, Shimon Michael of Pressburg and others. German.
41.5 X 33.5 cm. Good condition. Slight stains.