Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy,…
September 1498 CE
Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy, the third child and first son of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli.
The Machiavelli family is believed to be descended from the old marquesses of Tuscany and to have produced thirteen Florentine Gonfalonieres of Justice, one of the offices of a group of nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two months and who formed the government, or Signoria; however, Niccolò will never be a full citizen of Florence, due to the nature of Florentine citizenship in this time, even under the republican regime.
Machiavelli has been born in a tumultuous era in which popes wage acquisitive wars against Italian city-states, and people and cities often fall from power as France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Switzerland battle for regional influence and control.
Political-military alliances continually change, featuring condottieri (mercenary leaders), who change sides without warning, and the rise and fall of many short-lived governments.
Machiavelli has been taught grammar, rhetoric, and Latin.
It is thought that he did not learn Greek even though Florence is at the time one of the centers of Greek scholarship in Europe.
In 1494 Florence had restored the republic—expelling the Medici family, who had ruled Florence for some sixty years.
Shortly after the execution of Savonarola, Machiavelli had been appointed to an office of the second chancery, a medieval writing office that put Machiavelli in charge of the production of official Florentine government documents.
Shortly thereafter, he is also made the secretary of the Dieci di Libertà e Pace.
As such, he is a senior civil servant with various diplomatic and administrative responsibilities.
Locations
People
Groups
Topics
Regions
Southwest Europe
View →Subregions
