Cesare Borgia (Person)
Cesare Borgia
1475 AD - 1507 AD
An Italian cardinal and condottiero (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. He was an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia.
After initially entering the church and becoming a cardinal on his father's election to the Papacy, he became, after the death of his brother in 1498, the first person to resign a cardinalate.
He served as a condottiero for King Louis XII of France around 1500, and occupied Milan and Naples during the Italian Wars. At the same time he carved out a state for himself in Central Italy, but after his father's death he was unable to retain power for long. According to Machiavelli, this was not due to a lack of foresight, but his error in creating a new pope.
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