Niccolò Machiavelli

2010-11-25T01:26:50Z

86.31.206.102: /* Early life */

{{Era|AC2|Assassins|Ren}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{spoilerhd}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
|image = Zw-niccolomachiavelli.png
|imgdesc = Niccolò Machiavelli in the Animus database.
|birth = 3 May 1469 [[Florence]], [[Italy]]
|death = 21 June 1527 (aged 58) Florence, Italy
|period = [[Renaissance]] (15th century)
|faction = [[Assassins]] [[Mercenaries]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''
|voice = [[Shawn Baichoo]]
}}
{{Quote|I am an Assassin. Trained in the ancient ways to safeguard mankind's evolution. Just like you, and each one of us here.|Machiavelli to Ezio upon their first meeting|Assassin's Creed II}}

'''Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli''' (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an [[Italy|Italian]] philosopher, writer, and is considered one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, musician, and playwright, but foremost he was a civil servant of the Florentine Republic.

==Biography==
===Early life===
Niccolò was born in [[Florence]] as the third son of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli and his wife Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli.

Niccolò was trained and indmucted into the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] at an early age.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

===Acquiring the Apple of Eden===
At age 19, Niccolò and a group of other Assassins gathered in [[Venice]] to acquire the "[[First Apple|Apple of Eden]]" from [[Rodrigo Borgia]], the [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. When the group arrived at Rodrigo's location, they found him fighting with [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]], the son of the the late Assassin [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni Auditore]]. The other Assassins rushed to Ezio's aid, whereas Niccolò watched from the distance.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

After the group killed the guards and severely injured Rodrigo, the group revealed themselves to be Assassins to Ezio, which was previously unknown by him. They went on to a tall tower in Venice, where they inducted Ezio into the Order before one after the other performing [[Leap of Faith|Leaps of Faith]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Battle of Forlì===
Niccolò, [[Mario Auditore]], Ezio and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] studied the Apple of Eden in Leonardo's workshop. Upon accidentally activating it, the three concluded that the Apple's power was too powerful and that Rodrigo would be relentless to get it back. Mario figured the best way to protect the Apple would be to take it to the [[Rocca di Ravaldino]] in [[Forlì]], as Forlì was ruled by their ally [[Caterina Sforza]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò and Ezio met with Caterina in the countryside of [[Romagna]]. As they walked towards Forlì, Caterina explained that she killed her husband [[Girolamo Riario]] because he was a member of the Templar Order and for personal reasons. As they were nearing Forlì, they found a lot of its citizens running away scared. One of them explained that the city was under attack by the [[House of Orsi|Orsi brothers]], the same men Caterina hired to kill her husband. Niccolò concluded that they were hired by Rodrigo to obtain the map Girolamo made of all the [[Codex]] pages. By the time the group arrived at Forlì, the Orsi had already taken control of it and closed the gates. Ezio managed to stealthily enter the city by swimming under a gate in the water and after traversing the wall, opened the city gates.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò, Ezio and Caterina then proceeded on to the Rocca di Ravaldino, killing any Templar guard that stood in their way. When they finally arrived at the citadel and rid it of all Templars, they found out that the Orsi brothers had taken two of Caterina's children hostage. Ezio went to rescue the children and left the Apple in the hands of Caterina and Niccolò, who remained in the citadel. As Ezio left, the Templars attacked the citadel again and were victorious in retrieving the Apple, which was now in the hands of the remaining Orsi brother [[Checco Orsi|Checco]] (the other having been killed by Ezio to save Caterina's son). Ezio tracked down and killed Checco, but was stabbed himself by the latter as the latter spoke his final words. As he tried to walk back to Forlì, he lost consciousness and saw the Apple being stolen from him by a monk, which he later found out was [[Girolamo Savonarola]]. Hearing of the failure to retrieve the Apple, Niccolò went back to Florence.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Bonfire of the Vanities===
In 1497, Niccolò met with Ezio again in Florence and informed him that Savonarola had taken control of the city by using the Apple. Ezio figured that if he killed all nine of Savonarola's lieutenants, his grip would weaken. Niccolò informed [[La Volpe]] and [[Paola]] of Ezio's plan and with each lieutenant killed, the three encouraged the people to stand up against Savonarola.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

When all the lieutenants were killed, an angry mob swarmed Savonarola's residence, the [[Palazzo Pitti]]. Savonarola tried to calm the crowd with the Apple, but Ezio knocked it out of his hand with a well-thrown knife and one of Rodrigo Borgia's men acquired it, causing Ezio to chase him down and retrieve it. Savonarola was then taken to be burned alive and the Assassins watched from the distance. Ezio figured that no one should die in such agony and killed him before the flames could reach him. After Ezio gave a speech to inspire the crowd to follow their own ways, the Assassins left the scene.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===War with the Borgia===
Upon Ezio's return to [[Monteriggioni]] in 1499, he told the other Assassins of what transpired in the [[Vatican]]. Machiavelli felt Ezio made a serious mistake by keeping Rodrigo alive. Furious, he left for [[Rome]]. Shortly afterwards, Monteriggioni was [[Siege of Monteriggioni|attacked]] by [[Cesare Borgia]] and, after the siege was over, Ezio made his way to Rome but passed out along the way due to his injuries. Ezio woke up bandaged in a house just outside of Rome, and found out that an unknown man and a citizen woman had saved him. Later, Ezio joined Machiavelli in Rome, but a rivalry developed between them as to who would be [[Grand Master of the Assassin's Order]] in Rome. Despite the newfound jealousy between Ezio and Machiavelli, they jointly took control of [[Tiber Island]] and made it their headquarters. Whereas Ezio went out to actively hunt the Templars, Niccolò stayed behind on the island to train new [[Assassin apprentices]]. He also informed Ezio of [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer characters|Templar targets]] that needed to be taken care of.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

During the war in Rome, [[La Volpe]] was growing suspicious of Machiavelli, believing him to be a double agent for the [[House of Borgia|Borgias]]. Volpe suggested that it was Machiavelli who betrayed them during the siege of [[Monteriggioni]]. After saving Pietro from [[Micheletto Corella]] in the [[Colosseum]], Ezio recognised one of the thieves that was present during the Villa attack, and chased him down. After catching him, Ezio noticed documents with the Borgia emblem, and deduced that the thief was the traitor. Ezio put his hidden blade to the thief's neck, who declared ''"long live the Borgia"'' before grabbing Ezio's arm and stabbing himself with the blade. With no time to lose, Ezio made his way to [[Tiber Island]] to prevent La Volpe from killing Niccolò. After telling La Volpe about the real traitor, Machiavelli walked over to the two of them, and Volpe greeted him as an old friend, telling Machiavelli all about the play.

==Trivia==
*[[File:Maciavelli_1.jpg|thumb|right|A portrait of the real Niccolo Machiavelli]]In real life, Machiavelli witnessed the execution of Girolamo Savonarola, and wrote about it the night of the event. The location, or even the name of these writings are unknown today.
*The debate over Machiavelli's true intentions are often distorted due to the fact that many people concentrate on ''Il Principe'' ("The Prince"), which was one relatively short book, written in a few months. ''The Prince'' was written for a specific reason during a specific time in Italian history (a period when the Medici family had the opportunity to build a strong Italian state in central Italy and drive out the 'barbarians'). Machiavelli also wrote a thesis called the ''Discourses on Livy''. This thesis (which was written over a significant period of his life) reflected Machiavelli's more republican notions of government, and is a far more comprehensive thesis than ''The Prince''. Together the ''Discourses'' and ''The Prince'' show us that, in real life, he was an individual who preferred a republican government, but was prepared to accept a principality if it ensured the survival of the state.
*The fact that the in-game Machiavelli was the leader of Florence's [[mercenaries]] doesn't match with his real-life counterpart. In real life, Machiavelli was against the use of mercenaries, because he believed they were unreliable. However it is possible that mercenaries are meant to represent the Florentine militia that Machiavelli commanded in real life. This is supported by the fact that he made complaints about mercenaries in Bonfire of the Vanities.
*Historically, Machiavelli had good relations with the Borgia family. In 1502, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cesare Borgia. He called Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI a very successful politician, because he was the prototype of a leader who has no scruples to reach his target, and historically, it is also said that Machiavelli greatly admired Cesare Borgia.
*If Ezio (via the player) chooses to do nothing during the moment where Savonarola tries to silence the crowd in Bonfire of the Vanities, Niccolò himself will step in and be the one to throw a knife at Savonarola's hand.

==Gallery==

<center><gallery captionalign="left">
Image:AC2-M.jpg|Concept art for Niccolò Machiavelli.
Image:Machiavelli pose.jpg|Machiavelli with a longsword.
Niccolo.jpg|Niccolò, as he appears in ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''.
Ezio and Niccolo.JPG|Ezio Auditore and Niccolo Machiavelli in Rome.
char_machiavelli.png|Niccolo Machiavelli as he appears in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
</gallery></center>

==References==
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{{ACII}}
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Niccolò Machiavelli