The Siege of Rome (1471-1472)

The Siege of Rome was the final act of the Tenth Crusade fought between the Roman Empire and the Crusader army of Pope Julius II. It lasted 12 days and resulted in Julius II's death at the hands of Roman Emperor Andreas I.

Events before the siege
After his victory at the Second Battle of Cannae on November 18, 1471, Andreas I marched north towards Rome. As a result of the battle, Frederick III Wittelsbach, Holy Roman Emperor, quit the Tenth Crusade, along with the forces of France-England and Lotharingian. The latter two kingdoms lost their kings (Henry II/IV of France-England and Philippe I of Lotharingia on the field. Frederick, making peace with Andreas, sped home to prevent Russian forces from conquering the eastern reaches of his empire.  Naples surrendered in late November after a single volley and the Siege of Rome started Christmas Eve, 1471.

The Siege and the death of Pope Julius II
The Romans heavily outnumbered the Pope's defenders. After twelve days, agents of the Colonna family, rivals to the Pope for control of Rome, opened two sally ports in the walls. At that point almost all organized resistance ended, especially when Andreas declares that any and all who surrender immediately will be spared. The heart of resistance is the Lateran Palace where three hundred Swiss mercenaries fight to the last man defending the citadel. Entering the citadel, Andreas I personally kills Pope Julius II, who was said to have died laughing.

After-effects
Luigi Colonna and his family publically convert to Orthodoxy and is proclaimed by Andreas I Dux of Latium, covering the old territories of the Papal States. He is a vassal of Constantinople. The College of Cardinals makes its way to Mainz, seat of a powerful archbishopric, where they elect a Bavarian the new pope. He takes the name Martin V (The Pope in Avignon was also Martin V).

Andreas signs a treaty with Aragon, restoring the pre-war status quo. He then marches on Florence, Pisa, and Genoa, which all quickly surrender. Florence and Pisa pay massive indemnities, while in Genoa Andreas restores Alessandro Alessi to power, not as Doge of Genoa but as Dux. As a result the Genoese colonies in Modon and Coron (in southern Greece), Vospoda (in the Crimea) and Tana (at the mouth of the Don River) shift to Roman control.

The siege itself is widely considered by many historians to be the end of the Middle Ages in Europe (the death of Shah Rukh in 1450 is considered their end in Asian historiography).