Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli died in the city on June 21, 1527, in Florence, Italy. He was interred in the church of Santa Croce in Florence.

Niccolò Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy, to Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli, a lawyer, and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. He was the oldest son of his parents with two elder sisters, and a younger brother.

Machiavelli was born during the period of French invasion when Italy was divided into four rival city-states and was ruled by other stronger governments all over the rest of Europe. He commenced his elementary education at the age of seven and studied grammar, rhetoric, as well as Latin.

In 1494, republic was restored in Florence when the sixty-year ruling Medici family was expelled. Following the temporary fall of Medici family, Machiavelli was appointed a diplomat in the Florentine Republic, a capacity in which he served for the next decade.

During the Medici family's exile, in 1498, Machiavelli was appointed the chancellor and to the office of the second chancery of the Florentine Republic. He was made in charge of the issuance of official government letters and carrying out policy decisions.

Subsequently, Machiavelli became the secretary of the Dieci di Libertà e Pace and over the next few years, he went on several diplomatic missions to take part in discussions on international affairs. He made trips to France, Rome and also conducted excursions to court of Louis XII and the Spanish court.

During the first decade of the 16th century, Machiavelli emerged as an active leader and attempted to organize a citizen militia of the Florentine Republic. The Florentine militia which consisted of citizen-soldiers of the state was successful in defeating Pisa in 1509 under his command.

But, in 1512, when the Medici troops attacked Florentine, Machiavelli’s army was unable to defend the state and as a result, the Medici family was reinstated to power. As a consequence, Machiavelli was dismissed from his office and was accused of plotting against the Medici Family.

Machiavelli’s most celebrated work which became the greatest source of his reputation was ‘The Prince’, a political treatise which is regarded as one of the earliest and greatest works of modern political philosophy. First published in 1531, five years after his death, the work discusses about monarchal rule and is often interpreted as the modern political philosophy of survival. The book inspired the term "Machiavellian” and has been regarded as a handbook for politicians to establish their state authority.