In fact, on October 4, Charles of Valois, brother of the French king, Philip IV the Fair, in concert with the Pope, arrived at Castel della Pieve, the Black Guelfs' headquarters on the boundary of Florence. The White party controlling the signoria attempted once more to reach a compromise, sending an delegation of three citizens with four Bolognese doctors of law to the Pope. Dante Alighieri, one of the three ambassadors, left Florence at the end of October, never again to return. On November 1, 1301, Charles entered the city and soon won the support of the more extreme Blacks. As the struggle between the parties degenerated into fierce political persecution with the victory of the Blacks, trials of Whites, accused of Ghibellinism (pro-imperialism) and public embezzlement, were instituted. Dante was among the first and most severely stricken, being condemned for barratry (poor administration of the public funds) on January 27, 1302, and sentenced to pay 5,000 small florins, an enormous sum in those days, within three days and to remain outside Tuscany for two years. With his colleagues, Dante was also accused of opposing the Pope and Charles of Valois, as well as of having favoured the scission of parties in Pistoia that had damaged the Blacks. The poet, journeying from Rome, was not present to pay the fine, and so on March 10, he and his 14 co-defendants were by default condemned to death. The poet reacted strongly and united with the other White and Ghibelline (pro-imperial) exiles to seek military aid from other pro-Ghibelline families - the Ubaldini in Mugello, Scarpetta Ordelaffi in Forlì, and Bartolomeo della Scala in Verona - in an attempt to re-enter Florence by force. Dante participated as an ambassador at those negotiations, and on June 8, 1302, in the church of S. Godenzo, with 16 other Florentines he undertook to compensate the Ubaldini in the event of damages resulting from military operations against Florence. When Pope Benedict XI succeeded to the papacy (October 1303), the exiles saw better prospects for peace.