<p><strong>A condottiero, nobleman, politician and cardinal, whose fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Machiavelli.</strong> Most people consider Cesare Borgia one of history's great question marks.</p><p>After initially entering the church and becoming a cardinal on his father's election to the Papacy, he became the first person to resign a cardinalcy after the death of his brother in 1498. His father set him up as a prince with territory carved from the Papal States, but after his father's death he was unable to retain power for long. According to&nbsp;Machiavelli this was due to his planning for all possibilities but his own illness.</p>