The Maria-Theresian State Reform following the crisis of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the defeat against Prussia marked the beginning of an unprecedented era of reform, aimed at preparing the baroque Habsburg monarchy for survival in international competition. However, at the chronological endpoint of Austrian enlightened absolutism, under Emperor Joseph II, a severe state crisis emerged again in 1789/90, which seemed to prove that even half a century of profound structural reforms could not truly resolve the fragility of Austria's great power status. European power politics had long since adjusted to an Austria that, due to its weak and poorly organized power base, was vulnerable both internally and externally, following the definitive failure of Habsburg hegemonic ambitions in 1648/1659.