Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 to 1527)

At the age of 29 in 1498 Machiavelli became Secretary of State of the Second Chancellery of the Council of the "Dieci di pace e di libertà" (Council of Ten) of the Republic of Florence. His field was foreign and defense policy. Since he could not be associated either with the deposed Medici or with the Dominican penitential preacher Girolamo Savonarola, who had been executed shortly before. The monk tried to run the state according to the Christian principles of charity and penance and failed miserably, as he soon antagonized the Pope. The latter excommunicated him and so he quickly lost popularity.

Between 1499 and 1512, Machiavelli carried out various missions. For example, he met Cesare Borgia in person for the first time in Urbino on June 22, 1502. This encounter made a deep impression on Machiavelli. In 1503, the diplomat was sent to Rome to attend the papal election of Julius II by the Signoria. Here Machiavelli is "interlocutor of all the powerful, from the future Pope to the Cardinal d'Amboise". 

In 1504 and again in 1510 to 1511, he traveled to France to visit Louis XII. He also made the acquaintance of Emperor Maximilian I in 1507 to 1508. In addition, from 1504 on, he lobbied vigorously for the establishment of a militia made up of the citizens of Florence, which was, however, only partially realized. Since its creation, Machiavelli also belonged to the Council of the "Nine of Militia". With the help of this force, the city of Pisa was forced to surrender in 1509. During this period he also wrote his first memoranda and theatrical plays.

After a failed conspiracy, he was arrested and tortured. After the election of Pope Leo X, an amnesty restored his freedom, but from then on he was denied access to the political stage. He found a substitute for his own practical activities in work oriented toward state politics and philosophy.

With his wife and children Niccolò Machiavelli was banished from Florence and settled on his small estate in the village of Sant'Andrea in Percussina. There he pursued two goals: On the one hand, he devoted himself to his wider literary activity. Machiavelli wrote in half a year his most famous and important work "Il principe" (The Prince), which appeared in 1532. It deals with the technique of political action. The basic principle is the separation of politics and morality, which makes Machiavelli's book controversial to this day. His second major work, "Discorsi," was also written during this period.

He wrote his political legacy in his four main works. The most important of these is the "Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio" (Treatises on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius), which he wrote from 1513 to 1517. In it Machiavellis describes the historical principles on which the Roman state was based. He traces the stability of political rule essentially to a ruler's individual strength of character, virtue, and morality.

The second goal was his political rehabilitation. Beginning in 1519, the Medici-dominated government again entrusted him with more political duties, although he never regained his former offices. In 1521 he was "rehabilitated as a citizen of Florence" and could return to Florence.

After an uprising against the hated Medici, the Republic was proclaimed again and the old liberal constitution was restored on May 16, 1527. Machiavelli then applied again for a secretarial position, but was rejected by 555 votes to 12 at the Great Council meeting on June 10, 1527.

Medici rule collapsed again in 1527, resulting in the loss of his political offices again under the new republican government. The restoration of Medici rule three years later came too late for him.

Niccolò Machiavelli died in Florence on June 21, 1527, at the age of 58. His tomb is located in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. It bears the inscription: "TANTO NOMINI NULLUM PAR ELOGIUM" - "To such a name no praise is equal".