1469–1527 · political philosophy, statecraft, power, realism
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was a Florentine diplomat, political theorist, philosopher, and writer, most famous for his treatise 'The Prince'. Exiled from political life, he devoted himself to studying ancient Roman history and contemporary Italian politics, offering a starkly realistic, often amoral, analysis of power and statecraft that profoundly influenced political thought.