the Cardinal's
scarlet and proclaimed himself a political aspirant. His father could
not make him lord of any state, unless it were a portion of the
territory of the Church: and though, by creating, as he did, twelve
Cardinals in one day, he got the Sacred College to sanction his
investiture of the Duchy of Romagna, yet both Venice and Milan were
opposed to this scheme. Again there was a difficulty to be encountered
in the great baronial houses of Orsini and Colonna, who at that time
headed all the mercenary troops of Italy, and who, as Roman nobles, had
a natural hatred for the Pope. It was necessary to use their aid in the
acquisition of Cesare's principality. It was no less needful to humor
their animosity. Under these circumstances Alexander thought it best to
invite the French king into Italy, bargaining with Louis that he would
dissolve his marriage in return for protection awarded to Cesare. The
Colonna faction meanwhile was to be crushed, and the Orsini to be
flattered. Cesare, by the help of his French allies and the Orsini
captains, took possession of Imola and Faenza, and thence proceeded to
overrun Romagna. In this enterprise he succeeded to the full. Romagna
had been, from the earliest period of Italian history, a nest of petty
tyrants who governed badly and who kept no peace in their dominions.
Therefore the towns were but languid in their opposition to Cesare, and
were soon more than contented with a conqueror who introduced a good
system for the administration of justice. But now two difficulties
arose. The subjugation of Romagna had been effected by the help of the
French and the Orsini. Cesare as yet had formed no militia of his own,
and his allies were becoming suspicious. The Orsini had shown some
slackness at Faenza; and when Cesare proceeded to make himself master of
Urbino, and to place a foot in Tuscany by the capture of Piombino--which
conquests he completed during 1500 and 1501--Louis began to be jealous
of him. The problem for the Duke was how to disembarrass himself of the
two forces by which he had acquired a solid basis for his future
principality. His first move was to buy over the Cardinal d'Amboise,
whose influence in the French Court was supreme and thus to keep his
credit for awhile afloat with Louis. His second was to neutralize the
power of the Orsini, partly by pitting them against the Colonnesi, and
partly by superseding them in their command as captains. For the latter
purpose he b