Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II (Latin: Iulius II; Italian: Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 1443 – 21 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, Battle Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar.[1] One of the most powerful and influential popes, Julius II was a central figure of the High Renaissance and left a significant cultural and political legacy.[2] As a result of his policies during the Italian Wars, the Papal States increased its power and centralization, and the office of the papacy continued to be crucial, diplomatically and politically, during the entirety of the 16th century in Italy and Europe.

Quick facts: Pope Julius II, Church, Papacy began, Papacy ... ▼

Pope Julius II
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by Raphael, 1511–1512
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	1 November 1503
Papacy ended	21 February 1513
Predecessor	Pius III
Successor	Leo X
Orders
Ordination	1471
Consecration	1481 (?) by Sixtus IV
Created cardinal	15 December 1471 by Sixtus IV
Personal details
Born	Giuliano della Rovere 5 December 1443 Albisola, Republic of Genoa
Died	21 February 1513(1513-02-21) (aged 69) Rome, Papal States
Buried	St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
Parents	Raffaello della Rovere [it] and Theodora Manerola
Children	Felice della Rovere
Previous post(s)	Archbishop of Avignon (1474–1503) Cardinal-bishop of Sabina (1479–1483) Camerlengo of the Cardinals (1479) Cardinal-bishop of Ostia (1483–1503)
Coat of arms
Other popes named Julius

In 1506, Julius II established the Vatican Museums and initiated the rebuilding of the St. Peter's Basilica. The same year he organized the famous Swiss Guard for his personal protection and commanded a successful campaign in Romagna against local lords. The interests of Julius II lay also in the New World, as he ratified the Treaty of Tordesillas, establishing the first bishoprics in the Americas and beginning the Catholicization of Latin America. In 1508, he commissioned the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel.

Julius II was described by Machiavelli in his works as an ideal prince. Pope Julius II allowed people seeking indulgences to donate money to the Church, which would be used for the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica.[3] He was fiercely satirized after his death by Erasmus of Rotterdam in Julius Excluded from Heaven, in which the drunken pope, denied entry by St Peter, justifies his worldly life and threatens to found his own paradise.[4]