Political Philosopher, Author. Born in Florence, Italy, in 1494, the same year the ruling Medici dynasty was toppled from power, he entered the Florentine Republican government as a secretary. His position quickly rose, however, and was soon engaging in diplomatic missions. In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from King Louis XII for continuing the war against Pisa. On the death of Pope Pius III, in 1503, Machiavelli was also sent to Rome to observe the election of his successor. It was there he saw Cesare Borgia for the first time. Borgia would play a large part in in Machiavelli’s philosophical treatise. He served as envoy at the Emperor Maximillian’s court from 1507 to 1508, and it was on these missions that he collected the information he would us in his political study; “The Prince”. In 1512, the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office. Machiavelli's name was found on a list of twenty people supposedly involved in a conspiracy to oppose Medici rule, and although unlikely to have had a part in the plot, he was briefly imprisoned in the Bargello in Florence and put to question by torture. The new Medici pontiff, Pope Leo X, obtained his release, and Machiavelli retired to his property at Sant'And. It was there that he wrote his best remembered work. “The Prince”, however, was never published by him, but circulated in manuscript form, and plagiarized for many years before finally being published some ten years after the author’s death. Machiavelli became ill while in Florence, and died there in June 1527 never having regained the political appointment he so desired.
Political Philosopher, Author. Born in Florence, Italy, in 1494, the same year the ruling Medici dynasty was toppled from power, he entered the Florentine Republican government as a secretary. His position quickly rose, however, and was soon engaging in diplomatic missions. In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from King Louis XII for continuing the war against Pisa. On the death of Pope Pius III, in 1503, Machiavelli was also sent to Rome to observe the election of his successor. It was there he saw Cesare Borgia for the first time. Borgia would play a large part in in Machiavelli’s philosophical treatise. He served as envoy at the Emperor Maximillian’s court from 1507 to 1508, and it was on these missions that he collected the information he would us in his political study; “The Prince”. In 1512, the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office. Machiavelli's name was found on a list of twenty people supposedly involved in a conspiracy to oppose Medici rule, and although unlikely to have had a part in the plot, he was briefly imprisoned in the Bargello in Florence and put to question by torture. The new Medici pontiff, Pope Leo X, obtained his release, and Machiavelli retired to his property at Sant'And. It was there that he wrote his best remembered work. “The Prince”, however, was never published by him, but circulated in manuscript form, and plagiarized for many years before finally being published some ten years after the author’s death. Machiavelli became ill while in Florence, and died there in June 1527 never having regained the political appointment he so desired.
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Bio by: Iola