Niccolò Machiavelli
Florentine diplomat and political writer
Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine diplomat and writer of the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for The Prince, a treatise on how rulers gain and keep power.
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Born 1469 in Florence Died 1527
About Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli spent many years as an official of the Florentine Republic, with duties in diplomacy and military affairs. From 1498 to 1512 he was secretary to the second chancery. When the Medici family regained control of Florence in 1512, he lost his post, was wrongly suspected of treason and was sent into exile. He then turned to a life of political writing. He composed The Prince around 1513, though it only appeared in print in 1532, five years after he died. In it, he argued that rulers may have to adopt harsh policies when political necessity demands. The book has been debated ever since, and it has also been described as a bid to win back work under the new Medici government.