The king, feeling confident of victory, ordered the Old and the New Towns to open their gates to the invaders and take an oath that they would join the side of Leopold to serve their emperor against every opponent; which when they refused to do, he had the cannon set up so as to have the whole city at his mercy.
In this extremity, the States fitted out an embassy to Matthias, asking him to come to defend them against their oppressors. They also sent for aid to Moravia, and hastened to raise all the troops they could upon their own estates. The army of the people increased day by day, and when a force of 8,000 Hungarians reached Prague, the invaders became alarmed and fled from the city. But it was too late; they were pursued, and thousands of them overtaken and slain.
Rudolph was now left to his fate. The Protestant States, learning wisdom by experience, refused to stand by a prince who was but a toy in the hands of their enemies, and whose given word could not be trusted.
As soon as the invaders had Ieft the country, Count Thurn surrounded the Hradschin so as to prevent the escape of the king. In the meantime, Matthias arrived at Prague, being received with great honor. Rudolph was compelled to abdicate in favor of his brother, giving up to him the rest of his possessions. Matthias was received as king by the States, and crowned, after confirming all the liberties of the kingdom.
The deposed king was given a residence in the citadel of Prague, where he died of grief in less than a year, being then in the sixtieth year of his age.
Some time after these events, Matthias was crowned at Frankfort as Emperor of Germany (1612).
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