The future Pope Rodrigo Borgia was from Aragon. His dynasty became famous for giving the world several rulers of the city of Gandia, as well as a dozen high dignitaries of the Catholic Church.
Family
Family tradition said that the Borgia family began from the son of one of the kings of Navarre. Already the first carriers of this surname were knights who received land allotments after the Muslims were pushed south of Valencia. The first domain of Borgia was Xativa (where Rodrigo was born in 1431), and a little later the city of Gandia was redeemed.
The child's uncle was Cardinal Alfonso, who later became Pope Calixtus III. This determined the fate of Rodrigo Borgia. He went to build his career in Rome. In 1456 he became a cardinal of the Church.
Move to Rome
There is no doubt that this appointment was made possible by family ties. Nevertheless, the young cardinal proved himself to be a skilled organizer and administrator. Therefore, he soon became Vice-Chancellor. His talents made the minister of the Church a popular figure in the Eternal City. Therefore, with each new Pope, he received more and more opportunities to becomenext pontiff. In addition, during the years of being a cardinal and vice-chancellor, Rodrigo Borgia acquired a lot of money (he led the abbeys), which gave him an additional tool of influence.
Pope elections
The ambitious cardinal needed the gold in 1492, when Innocent VIII died. Rodrigo Borgia put forward his candidacy for the throne of St. Peter. He had several competitors. At the conclave, less than half of the electors voted for Borgia, which deprived him of the opportunity to become Pope. Then he began to bribe his rivals and cardinals.
First of all, this affected the influential Bishop Sforza. He was promised a new post in Erlau, as well as a generous reward. This candidate withdrew from the race for the title and began campaigning for Rodrigo Borgia. The biography of the cardinal was exemplary; for many years he effectively coped with the tasks that confronted him in a responsible position. Other cardinals were bribed in the same way. As a result, 14 out of 23 electors voted for the Spaniard. When he became Pope, he chose the name of Alexander VI.
Foreign policy
However, the new pontiff also had enemies. Their leader was a cardinal from the Della Rovere clan. He openly opposed the new Pope. Alexander was quick to reprisal, and the leader of the Church fled to neighboring France. At that time, Charles VII of Valois ruled there. The monarchs of France for many years tried to influence what was happening on theApennines. This applied both to the secular power of the local rulers of small states, and to the Catholic throne, whose flock included the subjects of the king.
Della Rovere convinced Karl that the new Pope did not correspond to his status at all. The monarch threatened Alexander that he himself would come to Rome and force him to abdicate, or at least carry out a reform within the Church, which at that time had become a stronghold of hypocrisy and the dominance of the priests. Many Christians resented the practice of selling indulgences and leadership positions within this organization.
Another important Italian player in the political arena was the Kingdom of Naples. Its rulers vacillated from side to side. Finally, Pope Rodrigo Borgia convinced the Gonzac dynasty ruling there to help him in the fight against the French, especially since they themselves threatened Naples. In addition, the pontiff enlisted the support of other Catholic Monarchs - the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Aragon.
Also, Alexander had to abandon the idea of a holy war against the Turkish sultan, who threatened all of Europe from the east. He had already captured Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, and now the weak Balkan states could not prevent him from invading that same Italy. The Pope, as the head of all Catholics, could become the leader of the resistance to the Muslim onslaught, as his predecessors did during the Crusades. But the conflict with France did not allow him to realize this idea.
French invasion
An armed clash has begun,which later became known in historiography as the First Italian War. Time has shown that the split peninsula became an arena of rivalry between neighboring powers (mainly France and the Habsburgs) for several more centuries.
But when Pope Rodrigo Borgia ruled in the Eternal City, the war seemed something out of the ordinary. On the side of the Valois was the effective Swiss infantry and Piedmont. When the French crossed the Alps, they allied with their Italian allies.
The invaders managed to reach Naples and even take Rome. However, the campaign showed that the French would not be able to gain a foothold on the hostile peninsula. Therefore, the king signed a peace treaty with his rivals. But it was too late - the disturbed balance of power in Italy led to numerous local wars between city-states. The Pope has always tried to stay away from this fight, profiting from the conflicts of neighbors.
Lifestyle
The active foreign policy of the Pope did not prevent him from dealing with domestic affairs. In them, he thoroughly studied the art of intrigue. One of his favorite tools was to distribute cardinal hats to people loyal to him, which allowed him to remain relatively stable in his status until his death.
Unpleasant rumors about the promiscuity of the pontiff and his court circulated in Rome and then throughout Europe. It was often said that Rodrigo Alexander Borgia, despite his status, does not shy away from sexual relations and many other actions that are not inherent in the pontiff. His childrenlooked like their father. Alexander's beloved son Juan was eventually found dead in the Tiber. He was killed because of one of the many conflicts with an influential environment. Conspiracies and intrigues in Rome became commonplace. The Pope's enemies died from poisons or "sudden" illnesses.
Alexander VI died in 1503. Behind him remained the glory of one of the most promiscuous vicars of St. Peter. Until now, researchers cannot come to an unambiguous conclusion, from what he died - from a cold and fever or from poison.
Nevertheless, Borgia deserved numerous accolades. Most often they were associated with his philanthropic activities in Rome, which became possible due to the large personal income.
