Assassination of Wallenstein
He fought during the closing stage of the Long Turkish War, rising to the rank of colonel by the outbreak of Bocskai uprising during which he commanded a unit of Bohemian Estates militia.
Wallenstein had previously secured his fortune by converting from the Protestant Unity of the Brethren denomination to Catholicism during the ongoing Recatholicazation campaign in Bohemia.
A unit of cuirassiers whom he had recruited at his own expense fought at the decisive Battle of White Mountain which ended the revolt in the crown's favor.
His meteoric rise to power was unprecedented in its scale, becoming increasingly controversial among the members of the League who feared that their own possessions might be confiscated shall they disobey the emperor's command.
Wallenstein's reluctance to participate in the life of the court allowed his opponents to spread malicious rumors about him, such as his supposed ambitions to take the imperial throne for himself.
[4] Wallenstein spent most of the following year campaigning separately from his senior officers, who operated autonomously, many of whom avoided him for fear of his outbursts of rage.
His opponents within the army began corresponding in encoded messages, criticizing his passive approach and the lack of opportunities for promotion stemming from it.
Ferdinand found his responses to criticism inadequate, and the two disagreed on the number of issues, such as the unsanctioned release of the captured Protestant general Jindřich Matyáš Thurn and Wallenstein's refusal to conduct offensives during the winter months.
His dislike of courtly life and the influence exerted by the Church upon the emperor created an axis of undercover opposition that launched a smear campaign against him.
Numerous commanders signed the Reverse so as not to arouse suspicion, while at the same time a party centered around Ottavio Piccolomini began circulating an anonymous tract that summarized the army's grudges against Wallenstein.
At 6.00 p.m., Wallenstein's inner circle, consisting of Ilow, Trčka von Lípa, Vilém Kinský and Captain Niemann, were invited by the conspirators to the city's castle for a formal dinner.
On 4 July, presiding judge Heinrich von Schlick ordered the use of torture, which failed to produce a confession of guilt.
