Question

Merchant family that ruled Italy city states established

Answer 1

The merchants' families that ruled Italian city-states established their own army

A city-state is a region that is independently ruled by a major city. Italy wasn't one unified country but was made up of a number of small independent city-states. Some of these cities were run by elected leaders and others by ruling families.  This helped to create wealth which allowed merchants families to support artists, scientists, and philosophers spurring on new ideas and artistic movements.