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The future Pope was born Giuliano della Rovere, in 1443, to a noble but impoverished family. His uncle became Pope Sixtus IV in 1471. As was the custom of the time, the Pope Sixtus appointed Julius to offices and granted him various awards. In 1471, while still a young man he was elected to a position as Cardinal. This position allowed Juliuis to not only acquire power, but it also allowed him to become quite wealthy.<ref> Shaw, Christine. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0631167382/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0631167382&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1016a64a009cb710580ff0b6770df245|Julius II: The Warrior Pope]</i>. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1993), p. 127</ref> When his uncle died, he helped to arrange for an ally to be elected Pope. Julius aid to the new Pope positioned him to most powerful Cardinal in Rome, but he still failed to become Pope after the death of Innocent IV.

His hated enemy Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander IV and Julius left Rome and spent time in Northern Italy.<ref> Shaw, p. 133</ref> He only returned to Rome after the death of Alexander IV. He eventually became Pope in 1503. At the time, Italy was in turmoil and had just entered a new and bloody phase in its history. Venice was becoming increasingly powerful and was threatening the balance of powerin Italy. In 1494 the French invaded Italy and occupied the Kingdom of Naples. This invasion started a period of war between France and the Holy Roman Empire for control of Italy. Julius was faced with an unprecedented situation - how to limit Venice's growing power and expel the French empire from Italy. Like every other Pope, Julius II was determined to maintain his independence and control over the Papal States. In order to preserve the status of the Papacy in Italy, he was obliged to enter into alliances and wars.