Julius II

Pope Julius II was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar. 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. Despite much of his policy being reversed by his successor, the Papal States remained independent and centralized as a result of Julius' policies and the office of the papacy would remain crucial, diplomatically and politically, during the entirety of the 16th century in Italy and Europe.