thunders of the church, he marched against Anagni, the pope's birthplace, and Alexander was quickly obliged to humiliate himself before the senator of Rome. Brancaleone next set to work to destroy the fortified towers of the nobility, and in razing them to the ground ruined many of the adjacent dwellings. Accordingly, a considerable number of nobles became homeless exiles. In 1258, while engaged on the siege of Corneto, Brancaleone was attacked by a violent fever, and, being carried back to Rome, died on the Capitoline Hill. Thus ended the career of a truly remarkable statesman. He was succeeded by his uncle, Castellano degli Andalò, who, lacking the political genius of his nephew, only retained office until the following spring (1259), in the midst of fierce and perpetual disturbances. Then the people, being bribed by the pope, joined with the nobles and drove him away. His life too was saved by having followed his nephew's shrewd plan of sending hostages to Bologna. Two senators of Roman birth were next elected; and on the death of Alexander IV. a French pope was chosen, Urban IV. (1261-64), thus giving fresh predominance in the church to the anti-Swabian policy. But the internal disturbances of the city soon drove Urban to flight.
At this period the fall of the empire had induced many Italian republics to seek strength by placing their governments in the hands of some prince willing to swear respect to their laws and to undertake their defence against neighbouring states and the pope. In Rome the Guelphs and Ghibellines proposed various candidates for this office, and after many fierce quarrels ended by electing a committee of boni homines, charged with the revision of the statutes, reorganization of the city, and choice of a senator. This committee sat for more than a year without nominating any one, so, the Guelph party being now predominant, and all being wearied of this provisional state of things, the majority agreed on the election as senator of Charles of Anjou, who, at Charles of Anjou senator. the pope's summons, was already preparing for the conquest of Naples. The Romans thought that he would defend Rome against the pope, and the pope would defend Rome against him; and by thus taking advantage of either's jealousy the citizens hoped to keep their republic intact. In fact, although Urban IV. had incited Charles to attack Naples, he was by no means willing to see him established as master in Rome. He accordingly declared that, if Charles really wished to obtain the Neapolitan crown, he must only accept the offered dignity pending the conquest of that kingdom. And he must likewise promise to recognize the supremacy of the pope over the senate. Charles soothed him with the amplest verbal promises, but in fact accepted the senatorship for life. In 1265, when Urban was succeeded by Clement IV. (1265-68), who as a Provençal was a subject of Charles, the latter entered Rome and was immediately made senator. Seven days later (28th of June) he received the investiture of the Neapolitan kingdom, and in the following January its crown. On the 26th of February 1266 the battle of Benevento was fought, and, the valiant Manfred being killed, the triumph of the Guelph Angevins in Italy was assured. Then, at the urgent command of the pope, Charles was forced to resign the senatorship in the May of the same year. Two Romans were elected in his stead, but soon fell out with the pope, because the Guelph nobles again tried to exercise tyranny. The people, however, profited by these disturbances to rise on its own account, and formed a democratic government of twenty-six boni homines with Angelo Capocci, Don Henry of Castile senator. a Ghibelline, as its captain. By this government Don Henry, son of Ferdinand III. of Castile, was elected senator; and he came to Rome for the purpose of promoting a Ghibelline and Swabian policy in favour of Conradin, who was preparing for conflict. The rule of the new senator was very energetic, for he kept down the clergy, subdued the Campagna, persecuted the Guelph nobles, made alliance with the Tuscan Ghibellines, forcibly drove back the troops of King Charles, who was advancing towards Rome, and gave a splendid reception to Conradin. But the battle of Tagliacozzo (23rd of August 1268), followed by the murder of Conradin, proved fatal to the Ghibelline party. Charles was re-elected senator immediately after the battle, and the pope confirmed his powers for a term of ten years, after having already named him imperial vicar in Tuscany. On the 16th of September Charles for the second time took possession of the Capitol, and ruled Rome firmly by means of vice-governors or vicars.
The Swabian line was now extinct, and in Charles's hands the Neapolitan kingdom had become a fief of the church. The empire had fallen so low as to be no longer formidable. Now therefore was the moment for treating with it in order to restrain Charles, and also for making use of the French king to keep the empire in check. And this was the policy of Nicholas III. (1277-80), who hastened to extract advantageous promises from Rudolph of Habsburg, the new candidate for the imperial crown. In 1278, the ten years' term having expired, he deprived Charles of the senatorship and appointed Rudolph vicar of Tuscany. After declaring that he left to the people the right of electing the senator, he promulgated a new constitution (18th of July 1278) which, while confirming the rights of the church over the city, prohibited the election of any foreign emperor, prince, marquis, count or baron as senator of Rome. Thus the Colonna, Savelli, Orsini, Annibaldi and other Roman nobles again rose to power, and the republic was again endangered and The senate in the hands of the popes. plunged in disorder. The Romans then gave the reconstitution of the city into the pope's hands by yielding to him the right of nominating senators, declaring, however, that this was a personal concession to himself, and not to the popes in general. So Nicholas proceeded to name senators, alternating a Colonna with an Orsini, or simultaneously choosing one of each faction. The same power over the senate was granted with the same restriction to Martin IV. (1281-85), and he at once re-elected Charles of Anjou. Thus, greatly to the disgust of the Romans, the Capitol was again invaded by French vicars, notaries, judges and soldiery. But the terrible blow dealt at Charles's power by the Sicilian Vespers (31st of March 1282) resounded even in Rome. The Orsini, backed by the people, rose to arms, massacred the French garrison, and quickly re-established a popular government. Giovanni Cencio, a kinsman of the Orsini, was elected captain and defender of the people, and ruled the city with the co-operation of the senator and a council of priors of the gilds. This government was of brief duration, for, although the pope had professed his willingness to tolerate the experiment, he quickly arranged fresh terms, and, forsaking Charles of Anjou, again nominated two Roman senators. Pope and king both died in 1285, and Nicholas IV. (1288-92), also holding sway over the senate, favoured the Colonna in order to curb the growing mastery of the Orsini. But thus there were two powerful houses instead of one. In fact, Giovanni Colonna, when elected senator, ruled from the Capitol as an independent sovereign, conducted in person the campaign against Viterbo, and subjected that city to the republic on the 3rd of May 1291.
When one of the Gaetani, Boniface VIII. (1294-1303), was raised to the papal chair, the extent of the Colonnas' power Boniface VIII. became evident to all. Boniface opposed them in order to aggrandize his own kin, and they showed equal virulence in return. The Cardinals Colonna refused to acknowledge him as the legitimate pope, and he excommunicated them and proclaimed a crusade against their house. Even after he had subdued them and destroyed Palestrina, their principal fief, the drama did not yet come to an end. Boniface had a very lofty conception of the church, and desired to establish her supremacy over the state. The king of France (Philip the Fair) believed, on the contrary, that the Angevin successes entitled him to fill the place in Italy vacated by the Swabians, and to play the master there. This led to a tremendous contest in which all the French sided with their king. And shortly afterwards a plot was hatched against the pope by the agents of France and the Colonna. These determined enemies of the pope met with much favour in Rome, on account of the general irritation against the Gaetani and the enormous power conferred on them by Boniface.
