Charles IV Leopold
- Died:
- April 18, 1690, Wels (aged 47)
- Also Known As:
- Charles of Lorraine
- Charles V Leopold
- Role In:
- Siege of Vienna
Charles IV (or V) Leopold (born April 5, 1643, Vienna, Austria—died April 18, 1690, Wels) was the duke of Lorraine and Bar, Austrian field marshal who commanded the forces defeating the Turks before the gates of Vienna in 1683 and subsequently expelled them from most of Hungary.
Charles, a nephew of Duke Charles III (or IV), entered the Austrian army in 1664 and fought primarily along the Rhine during the war against France from 1673 to 1679. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the Polish crown. Opposing the Turkish advance on Vienna, he defeated the Ottomans outside the imperial capital on Sept. 12, 1683, with the aid of the Polish king, John III Sobieski, and German contingents. During the next four years he drove the Turks from most of Hungary, gaining the decisive victory of Mohács on Aug. 12, 1687. With the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance against France (1689), Charles captured Mainz and Bonn. He died suddenly a few months later.