Rome, Sack of

The pillaging of Rome in May 1527 by the mercenaries of Emperor Charles V. It occurred during the Italian Wars, the protracted struggle between several European powers for control of Italy. The pillaging began on 6th May and lasted for over a week, the pope being held prisoner. About 30,000 people died, many works of art were looted, and churches and palaces were destroyed. The occupation of the city lasted until February 1528.

The fall of the city was a consequence of the protracted struggle for European pre-eminence between Emperor Charles V of the Habsburg dynasty, and Francis I of the French Valois dynasty.

Following the battle of Pavia in February 1525, which was a victory for Emperor Charles I, Pope Clement VII joined the French-led League of Cognac to resist the threatened Habsburg domination of Europe. The other members of the league were Venice, Florence, and the Duke of Milan, Francesco II Sforza (Milan, now in the hands of the emperor, was held by the Duke of Bourbon). Charles V appealed to the German diet for support and raised an army that entered Italy in 1527 and joined the imperial forces from Milan, commanded by Charles, Duke of Bourbon. This army marched on Rome, hoping to force the pope to abandon the league.

The many German Lutheran mercenaries in the army's ranks boasted that they came ‘with hemp ropes to hang the cardinals and a silk rope to hang the pope’. In addition, by the time they reached Rome, most of the troops, German and Spanish alike, were mutinous because of lack of pay. Rome fell on the first assault, on 6 May. Largely as a result of the death of the Duke of Bourbon in this assault, discipline collapsed and the city was savagely pillaged for a week before some measure of control was restored. The pope initially took refuge in the Castel Sant' Angelo before surrendering to the occupying forces.

While achieving its immediate objective by bringing the pope firmly under imperial control, the Sack of Rome shocked the Christian world. Though Charles disclaimed direct responsibility for the pillaging, his enemies were quick to take advantage, Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England finally declaring war on him in 1528.