Complex sentence: From the beginning, Julius II set out to defeat the various powers that challenged his temporal authority; in a series of complicated stratagems he first succeeded in rendering it impossible for the Borgias to retain their power over the Papal States.
Split into simpler sentences: From the beginning, Julius II set out to defeat the various powers that challenged his temporal authority. By a series of complicated stratagems he first succeeded in rendering it impossible for the Borgias to retain their power over the Papal States.