Austria comes under the rule of the Babenberg Margraves from 976, initially under Leopold of Babenberg, known as Leopold the Illustrious.

The Babenbergs will rule Austria until 1246.

The origins of Leopold the Illustrious are not known.

According to early traditions, documented by Bishop Otto of Freising in the twelfth century, he is descended from Count Adalbert of Bamberg (died 906) and the Franconian Babenberg family whose genealogy is documented in Franconia Nobility.

According to some sources, his father Berthold was count of the Nordgau, the region north of Ratisbon in Bavaria A more recent theory identifies Leopold as the son of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria.

While his ancestry is disputed, some affiliation with the ducal Luitpoldings dynasty is probable.

Leopold is first mentioned in a document from 962 as count of the Bavarian Donaugau region by Ratisbon,count of the Traungau region and a faithful follower of Emperor Otto I.

After Otto I had defeated the Magyars in 955, he had reestablished the marchia in the conquered territories, placing them under the command of Burkhard, a brother-in-law of Duchess Judith of Bavaria.

When Burkhard joined the uprising of Henry the Wrangler against Emperor Otto II, he is deposed at the Imperial Diet of Regensburg in 976.

According to a charter dated July 21, 976, Leopold is appointed margrave of the East Mark, the core territory of the later Archduchy of Austria.

The German resettlement of the east is a slow process that centers around the Danube.

The margravate of Leopold I had originally coincided with the present-day Wachau valley, and whose eastern boundary was the Traisen river near Sankt Pölten east of Krems.

With the Magyar threat largely reduced following their defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, Leopold has focused on securing his holdings from internal threats and dissensions.

In 984, he had engaged in the reduction of the fortress at Melk, which was still controlled by supporters of the late margrave.

Once Melk was secured, Leopold most likely used it as his residence, founding a monastery there for twelve secular priests.

By 987, Leopold has extended the boundary of his margravate to the east as far as the Wienerwald.

(The German name for Austria will only be first mentioned as Ostarrichi in a famous document of 996.)

Henry of Schweinfurt is the son of Berthold and Eilika (Eiliswintha or Eila) of Walbeck.

His father's parentage is not known with certainty, but he may have been a son of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria.

Henry is Bavarian, whoever his grandfather.

Henry has held a succession of countships after his father's death in 980.

He is appointed marchio, like his father, of the Bavarian Nordgau in 994.

Leopold I, Margrave of Austria, travels to Würzburg in 994 to mediate a dispute between his cousin Henry of Schweinfurt and Bishop Bernward von Rothenburg of Würzburg, one of whose knights Henry had seized and blinded.

At a tournament held on July 8, Leopold is hit in the eye by an arrow directed at his cousin.

Two days later, on July 10, Leopold dies from his injuries.

He is buried in Würzburg.