MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON After the fall of the Riario, of Imola, and Forli, all the tyrants in the domain of the Church trembled before Caesar; and greater princes, like those of the Gonzaga and Este families, who were either entirely independent or were semi-independent vassals of the Church, courted the friendship of the Pope and his dreaded son.

Caesar, as an ally of France, had secured for himself the services of these princes, and since 1499 they had helped him in his schemes in the Romagna.

He engaged in a lively correspondence with Ercole d'Este, whom he treated as his equal, as his brother and friend, although he was a young and immature man.

To him he reported his successes, and in return received congratulations, equally confidential in tone, all of which consisted of diplomatic lies inspired by fear.

The correspondence between Caesar and Ercole, which is very voluminous, is still preserved in the Este archives in Modena.