Born May 3, 1469, in Florence; died there June 22, 1527. Italian political thinker, writer, historian, and military theoretician.

Machiavelli came from an impoverished noble family. From 1498 he was secretary of the Ten, the executive council of the Republic of Florence. He was sent on a number of important diplomatic missions. In 1512, after the restoration of the tyranny of the Medici, Machiavelli was removed from office and exiled to his estate near Florence.

Machiavelli’s most important works are the Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy (1531; Russian translation, 1869), The Prince (1532; Russian translation, 1869; also published in Russian under the title Kniaz’ in Machiavelli, Soch., vol. 1, 1934), and the History of Florence (1532; Russian translation, 1973). An impassioned patriot who believed that Italy’s misfortunes were chiefly the result of its political disunity, he created a theoretical state capable, in his opinion, of overcoming disunity. His secular, rather than theological, approach to the problem of the state was an important contribution to the history of the political ideas of the Renaissance. Basing his work on historical data, on the analysis of human psychology, and on a consideration of the real facts of a real situation, Machiavelli tried to discover the laws of social development. Marx classified Machiavelli as one of the political thinkers who “began to view the state through human eyes and deduce its natural laws from reason and experience and not from theology” (K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 1,p. 111).

Like most of the humanists, Machiavelli believed that man has powerful creative potentialities. According to him, a strong personality is capable of counteracting “fortune” or coincidence (which plays an important role in history) with energy and shrewdness. (A number of features that are typical of the Renaissance point of view are evident in the idea of a struggle between personal “valor,” or virtu, and “fortune.”) Machiavelli believed that rulers are assured of success if they thoroughly consider all circumstances and are flexible enough to alter a policy to conform with a particular situation.

Although he considered a republic the best form of state, Machiavelli was convinced that the realities of the situation in Italy (continuous hostility among the Italian states, which were subject to attacks by foreign powers) required absolutism. Only under a strong sovereign would it be possible to create an independent Italian state, free of foreign oppression. Machiavelli believed that any means of strengthening the state were acceptable, including violence, murder, deception, and treachery. This is the origin of the term “Machiavellianism,” which signifies a policy that disregards the laws of morality. He sharply condemned the policy pursued by the feudal nobility and, especially, by the papacy, because it produced constant discord and prevented the formation of a united Italian state. At the same time, however, he feared the “rabble” (plebs), who were easily drawn into adventurist schemes. He favored the middle and upper strata of the commercial and artisan population of the Italian towns (the “people,” or popolo).

As a historian Machiavelli made an important contribution to the development of historiography. He sought to discover historical laws and the underlying causes of events. Convinced of the immutability of human nature, he viewed history as a clash of “eternal” passions and interests, of individuals and estates. He considered the political struggle, which was often portrayed in his works as a social class struggle, the most important motive force in history.

Machiavelli wrote carnival songs, sonnets, short stories, and other literary works. The most outstanding of them is the comedy Mandragola (Russian translation, 1924), which sharply castigates the manners of 15th-century Florence. In particular, the comedy attacks the hypocrisy and corruption of the church. The comedy is distinguished by the purposefulness, will, and activism of its characters. Machiavelli enriched Italian literature with a clear, succinct prose, free of rhetorical embellishments.

According to Engels, Machiavelli was “the first notable military author of modern times” (in K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed. vol. 20, p. 346). In the treatise The Art of War (1521; Russian translation, 1936) he sharply criticized the system of mercenary armies, which were composed, in his opinion, of the dregs of society and which engaged in robbery. He recommended that mercenaries be replaced by standing armies similar to militias, formed on the basis of universal and compulsory military service and completely subordinate to the sovereign. In his opinion, the infantry was the “vital foundation of every army,” and the cavalry should be small but well trained and well equipped. Emphasizing the importance of swords in combat, he underrated firearms, for in his time they had not yet been perfected.

Machiavelli demanded of an army advanced tactical training, coordination, discipline, and the capacity to make rapid maneuvers. He emphasized the importance of the reserves. His views on strategy were inconsistent: at times he considered a decisive battle the chief means for achieving victory; at other times, he stressed starving out the enemy. He borrowed many tenets from Vegetius, often mechanically applying the experience of the army of ancient Rome to a completely different era. Between 1506 and 1510, Machiavelli formed in Florence an unmounted and mounted 20,000-man militia, whose members wore the same uniform and received systematic combat training. In 1512 this militia was routed by the professional Spanish Army.

In 1559 the Catholic Church put Machiavelli’s works on the Index of Forbidden Books.