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Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli

1469 CE1527 CE · Philosopher · Florence

Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine political thinker, diplomat, historian, and playwright. From 1498 he served the Republic of Florence as secretary of the Second Chancery, conducting diplomatic missions across Italy and Europe. When the Medici family regained power in 1512 he was dismissed, briefly imprisoned, and tortured, then withdrew to his family farm outside the city. There he wrote his best-known work, "Il Principe" (The Prince), a treatise on acquiring and holding political power, alongside the "Discourses on Livy" and the comedy "Mandragola." His analysis of politics grounded in observed behavior rather than moral ideals shaped later political theory.

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