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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.

Julius was a restless and ambitious man. He was eager to extend the power of the Papacy after years of decline. In recent years, Venice had extended its power power in Northern Italy at the expense of the Papal States. This decline was exacerbated by the fall of the Sforza dynasty in Milan. Venice was slowly becoming the one of the greatest powers in the Mediterranean. Venice accomplished by leveraging its massive navy and trading networks into a formidable empire. Julius sought to maintain the balance of power in Italy and saw Venice as the chief threat to the Papal States. Furthermore, the Venetians had encouraged vassals of the Pope to revolt in the Papal States and occupied several cities in the Papal States.<ref> John Julius Norwich. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679721975/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679721975&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=c355b583109e2af36c61232ad83d9fc7 A History of Venice]</i> (New York: Vintage Books, 1989, p. 345)</ref>.

Julius built a large Papal army and formed a military and diplomatic alliance called the League of Cambrai. It included many major Italian states and France. The French king’s army allowed Julius to recapture some key cities such as Bologna and Rimini from Venice. The League of Cambrai army met the Venetian army at Agnadello. (1509)<ref> Norwich, p. 356</ref> At this battle,the Venetians were decisively defeated and to retreat in Northern Italy. At one point, it appeared that Venice would even be captured. Venice was only saved after a desperate defense of Venice that was aided Venice’s navy. Julius, actually was not interested in Venice's complete defeat. Instead, he wanted a weakened Venice and once that was achieved persuaded the other members of the League to end the war. A few years later in 1510, Julius was able to reconcile with the Venice.<ref> Norwich, p. 377</ref> Julius successfully restored the balance of power with the help of the League of Cambrai. Furthermore, for the first time in many years, a Pope had full control of the Papal States. However, while this made it easier to govern the Papal States, Julius lacked the a powerful enough city -state to challenge the French after the defeat of Venice. Essentially, defeating Venice Julius was forced to work with the French monarch and the Emperor Charles V because they lacked a military that could challenge him directly.<ref> Norwich, p. 415</ref>

Julius II became concerned even before the Cambrai League’s victory at Agnadello of the growing power of the French. The French king, Francis I was a hugely ambitious monarch and had direct or indirect control of large areas of the north of Italy.<ref> Mallett, Michael and Christine Shaw. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0582057582/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0582057582&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=589df5407c544ee8dc846923248df7de The Italian Wars, 1494–1559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe]</i> (Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2012), p. 89</ref> Julius was concerned that France could become the dominant power in Italy and the Papacy could ultimately be reduced to a dependency of the French Empire. Julius II was a powerful advocate of Papal independence but he also hated the French as outsiders and referred to them as ‘barbarians’.

Julius II was one of the greatest Renaissance Popes. He stabilized the Papal States and held the French Empire at bay. Julius also engineered the downfall of the Borgia clan and possibly saved the Papal States from being partitioned. He was also a great patron of the arts and he has left the world an unprecedented number of artistic and architectural masterpieces. Julius also had some notable failures. Despite all his efforts at reforming the Church , his untimely death stalled his reform efforts. While the Holy League under Julius served as a counterweight to the French, they failed expel them from Italy. This was because, Julius the architect and the driving force behind the League and when he died the French were able to retrieve their position in Italy. Had Julius lived it is highly likely that he would have driven out the French and then turned his attention towards the Hapsburgs. It is possible that if he had lived longer he could have prolonged the Renaissance, which was eneded by the Hapsburg domination of Italy.

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