Cesare Borgia | |
|---|---|
 Profile portrait of Cesare Borgia in the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, c. 1500–10 | |
| Born | 13 September 1475 |
| Died | 12 March 1507 (aged 31) |
| Burial place | Iglesia de Santa María (Viana) |
| Title | Duke of Valentinois[a] |
| Spouse | Charlotte of Albret |
| Children |
|
| Parents | |
| Family | Borgia |
Cesare Borgia[b] (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian cardinal and condottiero (mercenary leader), an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia. His fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.
After initially entering the Church and becoming a cardinal on his father's election to the papacy, he resigned after the death of his brother in 1498. 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 he was unable to retain power for long after his father's death. According to Machiavelli, this was not due to a lack of foresight, but his error in creating a new pope.[3]
- ^ "Cesare Borgia, detto Il Valentino". Studia rapido (in Italian). 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ Sacerdote, Gustavo (1950). Cesare Borgia. La sua vita, la sua famiglia, i suoi tempi (in Italian). Milano: Rizzoli.
- ^ Machiavelli, Niccolò (15 May 2010), "VII", The Prince, University of Chicago Press, p. 33, ISBN 9780226500508 – via Google books.
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