 Early life  Education  Early career  Political life  Leadership attributes  beliefs  Downfall  Authorship  Works authored  Later life and legacy  Machiavellian  References

Early Life  Born on May 3, 1469 in Florence Italy.  born to a wealthy and very influential family  Served as a diplomat for 14 years after temporal fall of Florence’s ruling Medici family in 1494  Machiavelli served as a theorist, philosopher, politician and was a writer.  Is widely known as the father of modern political science  Machiavelli had a personal correspondence to the Italian language and culture which strongly influenced his way of life

Education  Machiavelli had interests in politics and political philosophy, history, humanitarian study and writing  Additionally, he Was taught grammar rhetoric and Latin  Received meticulous educational training and entered into the government in 1494 as a clerk  His strong Italian background strongly impacted in his way of life

Early career  Machiavelli began his diplomatic career in 1494 after defeat of the Medici family  In his position, he was tasked with production of government documents.  As a diplomat, he undertook missions in major Italian cities, France and Spain.

Political life  As earlier stated, he had major interest in politics  Reigned during the renaissance philosophy era  For many years, he Served as an official with diplomatic and military responsibilities.  Between 1502 and 1503, he came to contact with Cesare Borgia, (pope Alexander VI’s son) who was reputed for his cruel and ambitious ruling  At this time, Niccolo witnesses Borgia expand his power across central Italy, an experience that had great impact on his life and career

Leadership attributes  Machiavelli had strong leadership characters and beliefs.  He strongly advocated for a unified Italy  he led the Florentine militia between 1503 and 1506 where he staffed his army with citizens. He did not trust mercenaries.  The Florentine citizen soldiers defeated Pisa in 1509 under his command

Beliefs  Machiavelli strongly believed in responsibility and capacity towards their own destiny  He was consequently distrustful of the common mercenary armies  Advocated for a citizen militia as seen by his role in the Roman army that seemed to be a fulfillment of his ideals  Machiavelli argued for a unified Italy and believed in political realism, classical republicanism and renaissance humanism

Downfall  Machiavelli’s reign did not last for long  In August 1512, Florentines were defeated by Medici who had strong backing.  The loss led to dissolution of Florentine city states and the republic. Machiavelli lost his position  In 1513, the Medici accused Machiavelli of conspiracy which led to his imprisonment and torture.  He was later released after denying involvement.  This marked his downfall.

Authorship  Upon the release he retired to estate at Sant’Andrea  In his new residence, he committed himself to study and write on political issues and treatises  The new life earned him a place in intellectual development of political conduct and philosophy  Politics remained his main interest and passion

Other major Works authored  The prince  Discourses on Livy  Art of war 1521  Belfagor arcidiavolo 1527

Achievements  During his reign as the leader of the militia, he won a series of battles  Compiled a series of books and other works concerning leadership earning him a position in the intellectual background  Earned the legacy of the father of modern politics.

Machiavellian  This term is widely used to characterize unscrupulous politicians as those described in The prince  This implies employment of duplicity and cunningness in general conduct or statecraft  It is derived from the Italian Renaissance

Later years and legacy  Legacy  people influenced and defenders  later life In his later years,  death

References Black, Robert. Machiavelli. London: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, Bondanella, Peter E. Machiavelli and the art of Renaissance history. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, Donskis, Leonidas. Niccolò Machiavelli : history, power, and virtue. New York: Rodopi, Lahtinen, Mikko, Gareth Griffiths and Kristina Kölhi. Politics and philosophy : Niccolo Machiavelli and Louis Althusser's aleatory materialism. Leiden ; Boston: Brill, Unger, Miles. Machiavelli : a biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, Villari, Pasquale. The life and times of Niccolò Machiavelli. New York: Greenwood Press, Vivanti, Corrado. Niccolo Machiavelli : an intellectual biography. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Cesa, Marco. Machiavelli on international relations. Oxford,United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, Niccolo Machiavelli Images - Google Search." Niccolo Machiavelli Images - Google Search. Web. 21 July 2015.