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The Pope after the return to Rome were eager to reestablish their role in the politics of Italy. The Papacy was in many ways just another territorial ruler and they saw no contradiction between this and their spiritual role. The Popes owned extensive lands in Central and Southern Italy and also in Southern France. The Papacy had lost much of its authority in their own lands surrounding Rome and successive Pontiffs sought to reclaim these territories, which, were known as the Papal States. Their priority was to reclaim their rights in the Papal States, during the ‘Babylonian Captivity’ of the Pope in Avignon local rulers had seized much of central Italy.<ref> Duffy, p. 313</ref>. It was not until the start of the 16th century that the Popes had full control of the Papal States. The Popes reformed the States and they began to resemble the nation-states of Europe with a centralized bureaucracy and standing army. To secure their position the Popes made themselves the absolute ruler of these lands, they curbed the powers of the feudal lords and reduced their powers.
The growing power of the Papacy in central Italy made the Pontiff, perhaps the most important ruler in Italy<ref>Duffy, p. 317</ref>. The Pontiff began to resemble the absolute monarchies of England and France. The Pope although the head of the Catholic Church acted like any other secular leader of the time. The Pope’s with their great wealth they were able to raise armies of mercenaries and they fought wars to reclaim their lost lands in central Italy. They also played an important role in the politics of the Italian City-States and they often entered into alliances with Republics and fought wars to secure their interests. The Popes were also very active in international affairs and were often eager to build alliances against the growing power of the Ottoman Turks.<ref>Johnson, Paul. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812966198/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812966198&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4bdb3f7bd3d5bb662cc6b65138fdcc95 The Renaissance: A Short History]</i> (Longman, London, 2000), p. 197</ref>.
====Papal Corruption====
