Niccolò Machiavelli is a prominent civic humanist and political theorist of the 16th century. He served as an official of the Florentine Republic for many years following the French invasion of 1494, during which the Medici family fell from power. He had responsibilities in diplomatic missions and military affairs. This did not last long, however, as the Medici family soon regained control of Florence almost two decades later. Machiavelli was then arrested and tortured under accusations of plotting against the family. He was left without a job after his release and wrote various works during this newfound free time, his most famous being his political treatise, The Prince (1513).
During the time Machiavelli wrote The Prince, Italy was not a unified country. Instead, it was a collection of city-states, each with its own court and ruler, each attempting to gain power over the others. Due to a lack of consolidation among its city-states, Italy also became a target for outside invaders and suffered from constant warfare. After the fall of the Medici in Florence, Machiavelli served as an ambassador and secretary to the Republic of Florence. When Florence fell into the hands of the Medici family once again, Machiavelli narrowly escaped execution and was exiled. Machiavelli lost his government position and disgraced in the countryside outside Florence.
Machiavelli intended for this novel to be a sort of guide: a handbook for princes who have political power and wish to maintain it. The novel is dedicated to Lorenzo De Medici, son of Piero de Medici. Machiavelli believes that his work will be of use to Lorenzo with advice on how to have a guaranteed successful reign as ruler of Florence and unify all of Italy. Another possible motive for writing The Prince lay in Machiavelli’s desire to redeem his tarnished reputation and attain a position in the Medici Florentine