Rudolf I was Duke of Austria and Styria for nearly a decade straddling the end of the 13th Century and the beginning of the 14th Century.

He was born in the early 1280s. His father was the eventual Holy Roman Emperor Albert I, and his mother was Elizabeth of Carinthia. Rudolf was his parents' oldest son and so was heir apparent to his father's lands and titles. When Albert was named King of Germany in 1298, he installed Rudolf, then 16, as his co-ruler for the Austrian lands. By this time, Albert had had a second son, named Frederick. Technically, Rudolf and Frederick shared the titles of Duke of Austria and Duke of Styria.

Two years later, Rudolf married Blanche, whose father was King Philip III of France. The couple had two children, both of whom died very young. Blanche died in 1305.

The following year, Albert took possession of the Kingdom of Bohemia and gave its crown to Rudolf. A handful of Bohemian nobles did not approve of the choice and named their own king, Albert's brother-in-law, Duke Henry of Carinthia. Albert assembled an army and marched on Prague, putting Henry to flight. Just to be sure of success, Albert arranged a second marriage for Rudolf, to Elizabeth Richeza of Poland.

In 1307, Rudolf took the field to put down a rebellion from the House of Strakonice. He died during the siege, on July 3. He left no heirs.