Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian philosopher and writer. Machiavelli was born at Florence and educated by his father. In 1494 he entered government service in Florence and rose quickly to become an ambassador and head of the Florentine militia. In 1513 he was accused of conspiracy and arrested, tortured then released. He retired to his estate outside the city and began his philosophical writings, the most famous of which is The Prince. His other works inlude Art of War, a book of high military theory, and the Discourse on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy, a discussion of the means of creating a political republic. This woodcut comes from Giovio's Elogia vivorum litris illustrium, published at Basel in 1577.