The event occurred at the beginning of what came to be known as the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) when Bohemian Protestants, angered at the destruction of their church, appealed to Holy Roman Emperor Matthias (1557–1619) to intervene on their behalf. When the appeal proved unsuccessful, in May 1618, rioting broke out in the Bohemian city of Prague and two of the emperor’s officials were thrown out of windows; in other words, they were defenestrated.