Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a cardinal deacon and later an Italian condottiero. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese House of Borgia and was a sibling to Lucrezia Borgia.

After initially entering the Church and becoming a cardinal on his father's election to the papacy, he resigned his diaconal profession after the death of his brother in 1498. He was employed as a condottiero for King Louis XII of France around 1500, and occupied both 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. His quest for political power was a major inspiration for The Prince by the renowned Florentine historian, Niccolò Machiavelli.