Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandia (1476-14 June 1497) was the Duke of Gandia, Gonfaloniere and Captain-General of the Papal States, and the second son of Pope Alexander VI and his mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. Borgia inherited the Duchy of Gandia from his half-brother Pedro Luis Borgia in 1491, and his father gave him several high-ranking positions in the Papal Army in a blatant act of favoritism and nepotism. Borgia was known to be an incompetent general, however, and he spent much of his time whoring and drinking. Borgia had a disastrous military career, and he was also cruel to his own family, especially his brother Cesare Borgia and his sister Lucrezia Borgia. His murder in 1497 was attributed either to his brother and Micheletto Corella (as a result of the disastrous Siege of Forli) or to Lucrezia and Pedro Caldes (for his abuse of Lucrezia).
Biography[]
Early life[]
Borgia in battle armor
Juan Borgia the Younger was born in Rome, Papal States in 1476, the son of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and his mistress, Vannozza dei Cattanei. Juan Borgia became known as a hot-headed, arrogant womanizer and drunkard, and he became rivals with his older brother, Cesare Borgia. After his father became Pope in 1492, Juan Borgia was appointed Captain-General and Gonfaloniere of the Papal States, having been trained in the military arts for his entire life. Borgia also became Duke of Gandia after having his half-brother Pedro Luis Borgia assassinated by assassins dressed as Muslims, an early sign of his ruthless ambitions. However, Juan Borgia was a poor general, and his younger brother Cesare proved to be a better tactician than Juan; Cesare was jealous of Juan, but the Pope believed that Cesare, as his heir, was destined to succeed him as a cardinal and, eventually, Pope. Juan also spent much of his time drinking and whoring, but his status as a wastrel was ignored by his father, who saw him as his favorite son.
First battle[]
Borgia at Forli, 1497
In 1495, Juan Borgia commanded an army on the field for the first time, opposing King Charles VIII of France's army as it marched on Rome with Cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere, a rival of the Borgias. Juan Borgia consulted his condottieri for advice, as he lacked any knowledge of military tactics. When the two armies met in battle, the Papal soldiers were literally torn apart by chained cannonballs fired by the French artillery, and Juan ordered a retreat after his sister, Lucrezia Borgia, convinced the King of France that Rome would not resist the passage of his army.
The Pope intended to marry off Juan Borgia to Princess Sancia of Naples to form a political alliance between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, but Borgia refused to marry the illegitimate daughter of the King of Naples; his younger brother Joffre Borgia was instead betrothed to marry her. Nevertheless, when Borgia was sent to Naples to bring news of the betrothal between Joffre and Sancia, Juan and Sancia flirted, and they proceeded to have sexual intercourse on a dinner table. The two would start a long-lasting affair that endured even after Joffre's marriage to Sancia.
Decline and downfall[]
Juan Borgia was known for his severe prejudice and bigotry, as he believed in anti-Semitism (even as his father was in favor of good relations between Jews and Christians), refused to marry Sancia because she was illegitimate, severely beat his mother's former husband Theo after he sat down for dinner with her at her house, took severe offense to the suggestion that Rodrigo Borgia might not have fathered him, and killed the stable boy Paolo for having a love affair with his sister Lucrezia during her unhappy marriage to Giovanni Sforza. In revenge, Lucrezia decided to make Juan paranoid. She burnt the rope to a chandelier over Juan's bed as he made love to a prostitute, causing the chandelier to crash down on the two; the prostitute was badly injured, while Juan was terrified. His cunning sister toyed with him to avenge Paolo, having discovered that Juan was behind his death due to his pinning of a "suicide note" to the illiterate Paolo's hanging body. Cesare Borgia, who had already become rivals with Juan (having duelled him or fought him a few times), finally fell out with Juan after his failed Siege of Forli in 1497. Juan attempted to cover up his ineptitude during the siege, angering Cesare; he was also cruel towards Lucrezia for having an illegitimate child (he told her that he would have thrown the "piglet" into the Tiber River at birth, and he threatened to throw him off of a balcony at his baptism celebration).
Death[]
Borgia being thrown into the Tiber
On 14 June 1497, Juan Borgia headed to an opium den that he had frequented at the instigation of his Moorish doctor Mohammed, who told him how opium could cure the pain of his war injuries. Cesare Borgia spoke with Lucrezia at the baptism and convinced Lucrezia not to poison him, as he did not want her heart to break; he instead decided to kill his brother himself. Micheletto discovered Juan's location from Mohammed, who he proceeded to stealthily kill. Cesare and Juan then walked down a bridge over the Tiber River, where Juan told Cesare that he was curing his pain using opium, and he urged Cesare to end his own pain. They embraced, and Cesare said that he would end his own pain, as well as Juan's. Cesare proceeded to stab Juan, who was shocked by what was happening. Micheletto then arrived, and Cesare proceeded to stab Juan several more times with his dagger, and Cesare told Juan that God forgives, but Borgias do not. They proceeded to throw Borgia into the Tiber River, disposing of his body. Not long after, Cesare became Captain-General and succeeded his brother.