Cesare Borgia (1400-1500)
Overview
Cesare Borgia (September 13, 1475 - March 12, 1507) was a Spanish-Italian condottiero, lord, and cardinal. The Borgias were known Italian assassins who used arsenic to poison people for both political and monetary gain during the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Borgias were an an influential Catalan-Italian family during the Renaissance who are referred to as the first criminal family. The corrupt and secular pope Alexander VI had an illegitimate son, Cesere Borgia who was later referred to in Machiavelli's The Prince. The Borgias poisoned many people to increase their wealth and political clout. Mario Puzo's The Family was based off of the Borgia Family.