# Cesare Borgia — The Prince character guide

> Cesare Borgia in The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cesare, Valentino

**First appearance:** 0007-i-how-many-kinds-of-principalities-there-are-and-by-what-means-they-are-acquired

## Who they are

The pope's illegitimate son, who carved a duchy out of Italy with borrowed armies and cold nerve, and whom Machiavelli cannot stop admiring even as he watches him fall.

## Relationships

### [Francesco Sforza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters/francesco_sforza)

_rivalry_

Cesare Borgia and Francesco Sforza were competing Italian rulers with conflicting territorial ambitions.

## In the story

### [Office](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/office)

His actions are cited in The Prince as a pattern for usurpers, though he ultimately fell due to unforeseen fatality.

### [The Man and His Works](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/the-man-and-his-works)

Mentioned as one who overawed Machiavelli during his diplomatic missions.

### [The Prince](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/the-prince)

Frequently cited as a model of effective, if ruthless, statecraft and the use of cruelty.

### [III: Concerning Mixed Principalities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/iii-concerning-mixed-principalities)

Son of Pope Alexander VI, known as Valentino, who occupied the Romagna during Louis's reign.

### [VII: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired Either by the Arms of Others or by Good Fortune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/vii-concerning-new-principalities-which-are-acquired-either-by-the-arms-of-others-or-by-good-fortune)

Central example of a prince who acquired state through fortune; his actions are analyzed as a model for imitation.

### [VIII: Concerning Those Who Have Obtained a Principality by Wickedness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/viii-concerning-those-who-have-obtained-a-principality-by-wickedness)

Mentioned as the one who later captured and executed Oliverotto at Sinigalia.

### [XI: Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xi-concerning-ecclesiastical-principalities)

Instrumental in Alexander VI's plans; his actions contributed to the Church's greatness despite the duke's ruin.

### [XIII: Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One’s Own](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xiii-concerning-auxiliaries-mixed-soldiery-and-one-s-own)

Exemplary prince who started with auxiliaries, then mercenaries, and finally built his own forces, gaining true reputation.

### [XVII: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xvii-concerning-cruelty-and-clemency-and-whether-it-is-better-to-be-loved-than-feared)

Cited as an example of a prince whose cruelty reconciled and unified the Romagna, restoring peace and loyalty.

### [XX: Are Fortresses, and Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous or Hurtful?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xx-are-fortresses-and-many-other-things-to-which-princes-often-resort-advantageous-or-hurtful)

Mentioned as the one who drove Guido Ubaldo from Urbino and later attacked the Countess of Forli, rendering her fortresses useless.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/endnotes)

Machiavelli was the accredited agent of the Florentine Republic to Cesare Borgia during the assassinations at Sinigalia.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters/cesare_borgia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters