Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an 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.

Description

Niccolò was in secret a member of the Assassin Order, and the leader of the Florentine Mercenaries. This was perhaps why he was such a secretive person, to not reveal too much about himself.

Niccolò and the other Assassins were to attack Rodrigo Borgia, who was at that point in possession of the Apple of Eden. Unbeknownst to them, Ezio Auditore da Firenze also knew about Rodrigo having the Apple and had already attacked him. The other Assassins went to help him fend off Rodrigo's guards. Eventually, Rodrigo ran away, leaving the Apple behind. Niccolò revealed himself along with the other Assassins, who had helped Ezio assassinate the Templars before.

Niccolò was present at Ezio's initiation into the Assassin Brotherhood, performing a Leap of Faith along with the other Assassins.

Eventually, Niccolò helped Ezio defend Caterina Sforza and the city of Forlì. He also aided him during the Bonfire of the Vanities, in which Girolamo Savonarola acquired the Apple of Eden.

Trivia

• It is possible that the game's developers chose Machiavelli because of his supposed character during the Renaissance, as he is thought to have been a very secretive person.
• However, he did write several books about how he would have preferred the government to take control of the people, which seems to be a Templar belief, not an Assassin belief.
• 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.
• In reality, many historians speculate that Machiavelli may actually have been an evil man, with intentions of controlling Italy, instead of just serving its people. A detailed description can be found here
• The debate over Machiavelli's true intentions are often disorted 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 oppertunity 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 signifigant 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 prefered a republican government, but was prepared to accept a principality if it ensured the survival of the state.
• The facts that the fictional 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.
• Ironically, Machiavelli called Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI a very succesfull politician, because he was the prototype of a leader who has no scrupules to reach his target.

Gallery

• Concept art for Niccolò Machiavelli.
  Concept art for Niccolò Machiavelli.
• Machiavelli with a longsword.
  Machiavelli with a longsword.
• Battle of Forlì: Machiavelli (left) and Ezio (right) protecting Caterina Sforza from the Templars.
  Battle of Forlì: Machiavelli (left) and Ezio (right) protecting Caterina Sforza from the Templars.