Maximilian Sforza
Massimiliano Maria Sforza (25 January 1493 – 1530) was Duke of Milan from 1512 to 1515. He belonged to the Sforza family, the son of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d’Este.
When he was three, his father tried to arrange a marriage between him and Mary Tudor, but Henry VII said no because Mary was too young.
Maximilian became ruler of Milan after the Holy League, with Swiss support, captured the city. He reigned from 1512 to 1515, between the French kings Louis XII and Francis I. Francis I later claimed Milan’s title through his ancestry and marriage to Claude, Louis XII’s daughter.
After battles in northern Italy, the French advanced into Milan. Maximilian’s younger brother Francesco II Sforza was taken to Innsbruck to stay with Emperor Maximilian I. The French entered Milan on 17 September 1515, and Maximilian surrendered on 4 October 1515. Francis I entered Milan on 11 October, and Maximilian was imprisoned; the duchy was paid to the French.
Maximilian died in 1530 at Fontainebleau, France.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:53 (CET).