Cesare Borgia
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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
- "If I want to leave, I leave. If I want to take, I take! If I want you to die, you die!"
- ―Cesare Borgia, 1503.[src]
Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 - 12 March 1507) was the son of Rodrigo Borgia and an arch-nemesis of Ezio Auditore. Like his father, he was a member of the Templar Order. Eventually, he became the commander of the Papal army and a leader in the Templar Order.
Biography
Early life
Cesare Borgia was born in Rome in 1475, to Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order, and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was one of Lucrezia Borgia's brothers.
Becoming a Templar leader
In 1496, when his father waged war with the Orsini Family to seize their territory, Cesare joined the battle. Among the enemy's ranks was Bartolomeo d'Alviano, in secret an Assassin. When Bartolomeo's resources were down to three fortresses, Cesare cut off his supplies. When it looked like victory was near, Carlo Orsini arrived with his army and joined Bartolomeo, even wounding Cesare in the face.[1]
His father placed the fate of the Templars in his brother Giovanni's hands. Cesare, angry at being spurned by his father and lusting for power, killed his own brother in 1497.[2]
Siege of Monteriggioni
In 1499, Cesare, who had been brought up in the Templar ways, led an assault on Monteriggioni, headquarters of the Assassins in Italy in order to eliminate the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore. Besieging the city, Cesare's forces overwhelmed the city's defenders and handed to him Mario Auditore and Caterina Sforza. Standing at the city gates, the Apple of Eden in hand, Cesare "invited" Ezio to come and face him in Rome with a shot of his firearm that killed Mario. Ezio was then shot down and wounded by a team of arquebusiers, and the battle was won. With Monteriggioni in ruins, Cesare returned to Rome with his prize.[3]
War in Rome
- "Through the years, I have watched the city of Rome. I have studied, trained and killed within its walls. And in time, I will tame it, shape it... "
- ―Cesare Borgia, Rome.
By 1500, Cesare had Rome under his iron fist as commander of the Papal army, though it appeared that he and his father sometimes disagreed on his choices. He used Borgia towers to keep control over the five districts of Rome.
In 1502, Leonardo da Vinci was forced into service for the Borgia, wherein Cesare made Leonardo build several war machines for his army, including a Bomber, an armored car, a naval cannon, and a chariot machine gun. However, all of Leonardo's creations were stolen and destroyed by Ezio Auditore, in secret, at Leonardo's own behest.
In 1503, Cesare and his father Rodrigo argued over the former's insatiable lust for power. Rodrigo commented that he had given Cesare all he had, and still his son wasn't satisfied. Cesare demanded that his father give him the Apple of Eden, but Rodrigo refused. At this point, Lucrezia barged in, crying out to her brother that their father was attempting to poison him with the bowl of apples he'd left out. An angry Cesare responded by charging Rodrigo and shoving the apple he'd been eating into his mouth. The poison did its work and Rodrigo died within seconds. Cesare then demanded the Apple of Eden's whereabouts from Lucrezia, who confessed under much pressure. Unfortunately, Ezio beat Cesare to the punch and retrieved the Apple before him, having witnessed the scene from the window.
Siege of Viana and death
- "Ezio Auditore. Brave of you to stand alone against me, but also quite foolish... Assassin."
- ―Cesare Borgia, 1503.[src]
In 1507, Cesare travelled to Viana, Spain to try and commandeer the King of Navarre's (Juan III), vast army. However, he would only die during the siege against the castle, and would later be buried there.[4]
During the siege, Ezio located Cesare on the battlefield and charged, though Cesare held him back just long enough to dodge Ezio's left Hidden Blade and flee. Ezio's pursuit was delayed by several cannonball impacts that stunned him, and incapacitated the other soldiers in the area.
Ezio eventually caught up with Cesare on the walls of Viana's castle and fought him, with Cesare wielding a sword and a pistola that was possibly the same with which he had killed Mario Auditore. Though Cesare was reinforced periodically by troops, Ezio nevertheless defeated him, eventually pinning him to the ground. When Cesare vowed not to die at the hands of man, Ezio declared that he would leave Cesare "in the hands of Fate," and threw him off of the castle wall to his presumable death (though the corpse is not seen post-mortem).
Trivia
- Historically, it is said that Niccolò Machiavelli greatly admired Cesare. However, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Machiavelli seeks to eliminate Cesare and his family members alongside Ezio.
- Cesare's comments about bloodshed and the need for cleansing may highlight the origin of the name Abstergo, which is Latin for "I cleanse."
- Cesare's relationship with his sister Lucrezia is very strange. When Ezio has to save Caterina Sforza from the Castel Sant'Angelo, he encounters them kissing each other, as if they were lovers. Additionally, Cesare is later arrested under the grounds of incest, along with his other crimes.
Gallery
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Cesare Borgia attempting to stop Ezio Auditore's attack. -
Cesare as he appears in 1507. -
Cesare aiming his pistol towards Ezio, with his sword at ready. -
Cesare preventing Ezio from stabbing him with the Hidden Blade.
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Cesare Borgia as he appears in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
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References
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