Florence was established for veterans of Julius Ceasar's campaigns and known as Colonia Florentina, the flourishing colony, in the 1st Century AD. In 1125 a rapid and at times violent expansion ultimately includes all of Tuscany. Interestingly, Florence was a Republic that resisted being ruled by a single leader until the 16th Century, when the leader of the Medici became the Duke of Tuscany. Even more amazing, the town and individuals flourished while the Republic was wracked by scandals, murder, and intrigues. Great masterpieces were produced during those tumultous four centuries when Florence was a republic. Two industries continued to keep the coffers full, wool and banking. The latter eventually replaced the Jews as principle money lenders to the royalty of Europe.They invented the cheque, a previously unheard of way of collecting money based on a note, in a different location than where the credit originated. Of course, as the Templars of old discovered, too much wealth concentrated in one place, and too much debt owed by Royalty, can have some serious consequences. KIngs can go to war and then default, as did KIng Edward III of England in the 14th Cent. It brought the Florentine bankers to their knees, but by the 15th Cent. the Florentine banking houses had recovered and one of them was the house of Medici and by 1434, Cosimo de Medici is the most powerful man in Florence. To the good fortune of the artists, the powerful families of Florence, while maybe atodds with each other, were also great patrons of the fine arts - and of the study of humanism. The power of the Medici extends well into the 15th Cent and even included two Popes. However, by the end of that century a clash with the French under Charles VIII, proves disastrous for the by then weakend Medici. For a detailed account of the long and twisted tale, in part due to the several city states, Naples, Venice, and Milan, all competing for power, can be read in thisffull historical account of Florence.