Niccolò Machiavelli

"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

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian philosopher and 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. He was most famous for writing The Prince, which lays out guides to achieving political power through, among other techniques, the art of deception and manipulation, establishing what would later be known as "Machiavellian ideas."

Early life
Niccolò was born in Florence, the first son, and third child, of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli, and his wife Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli.

Niccolò was trained and inducted into the Assassin Order at an early age.

Acquiring the Apple of Eden
At age 19, Niccolò and a group of other Assassins gathered in Venice to acquire the "Apple of Eden" from Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order. When the group arrived at Rodrigo's location, they found him fighting with Ezio Auditore, the son of the the late Assassin Giovanni Auditore. The other Assassins rushed to Ezio's aid, whereas Niccolò watched from a distance.

After the group killed the guards and severely injured Rodrigo, Niccolò introduced himself to Ezio, and revealed all present to be Assassins, a fact previously unknown to Ezio. They went on to a tall tower in Venice, where they inducted Ezio into the Assassin Order, before each performing Leaps of Faith.

Battle of Forlì
Shortly after initiating Ezio into the Order, Niccolò accompanied Ezio to Forlì, where they intended to hide the Apple from the Templars. They knew it would be well-protected, as the city was currently under the rule of one of their allies, Caterina Sforza.

After entering the outskirts of Forlì, they discovered that the city was under siege by the Orsi brothers. During the siege, Niccolò fought against Ludovico Orsi, but was overwhelmed after the Orsi troops began to close in on him from behind. The Apple was taken, but Niccolò sent Ezio to retrieve it from the fleeing Checco Orsi. Though Ezio was able to assassinate Checco, he was severely injured, and the Apple was taken by the monk Girolamo Savonarola.

Bonfire of the Vanities
In 1497, Niccolò met with Ezio again in Florence, and informed him that Savonarola had taken control of the city through the power of the Apple. Ezio reasoned that if he killed all nine of Savonarola's lieutenants, his grip would weaken. Niccolò thus informed La Volpe and Paola of Ezio's plan, and after all lieutenants had been killed, the three encouraged the people to stand up against Savonarola.

Stoked into revolt, 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. The Apple fell to the ground, but it was retrieved by one of Rodrigo Borgia's men, forcing Ezio to chase him down and retrieve it. Savonarola was then taken to be burned alive and the Assassins watched from the distance. Ezio decided that no one should die in such agony, and killed the monk 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.

War with the Borgia


In December 1499, Niccolò, Ezio, Mario Auditore, Bartolomeo d'Alviano, La Volpe, Antonio de Magianis, Paola and Teodora Contanto, some of the highest-ranking Assassins, gathered in the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni to discuss the location of "the Vault." They came to the conclusion that the Vault was located in Rome, and that Rodrigo Borgia had become Pope because the Papal Staff was the second Piece of Eden needed to unlock its entrance. All of them left for Rome to distract the Borgia guards while Ezio infiltrated the Vatican.

Niccolò later returned to Monteriggioni to listen to what Ezio had discovered inside the Vault. Upon hearing that Ezio had spared Rodrigo, he furiously left for Rome to take down the Borgia once and for all. The following morning, Monteriggioni was attacked by the Borgia, under the command of Cesare Borgia. Niccolò's disappearance right before the attack aroused some suspicion from La Volpe, who thought that Machiavelli was secretly working for the Borgia. During the attack, Mario Auditore was killed and Niccolò took command over the chaotic Assassin Order, basing it on Tiber Island in Rome.

Following the attack, Ezio left for Rome as well, but passed out on the road there, succumbing to the gunshot wounds he had received during the siege. Niccolò brought him to a woman living in Rome's countryside to have him cared for, and requested her to tell Ezio to meet him in front of the Mausoleo di Augusto as soon as he was able.

After Ezio arrived, Niccolò informed him of Rome's corrupt state, and lent him some money to buy himself some equipment. He also "introduced" him to the Followers of Romulus, who he suspected to be working for the Borgia, and showed him a faster way of traveling via the city's sewer system. They used one such tunnel to get back to their hideout, and there met one of the Assassins' allies, Fabio Orsini, who had lent the storeroom to the Assassins.

In 1503, La Volpe believed that he had gathered enough evidence to prove that Niccolò was working for the Borgia, and therefore told Ezio to "do what needs to be done", or he would do it himself. As Ezio did not believe Niccolò to be a traitor, he did not kill him. Instead, La Volpe himself left for Tiber Island, ready to assassinate Niccolò. Ezio, however, found out that one of La Volpe's own thieves was the traitor, and managed to inform La Volpe of this, seconds before he killed Niccolò. La Volpe, pretending that nothing had happened, returned to a friendly relationship with Niccolò afterwards.

Over the course of three years, Niccolò began to realize that Ezio was the better leader, as he was the one leading the war against the Borgia, and had revived the Order back to its former glory. Thus, after Ezio's sister's initiation into the Brotherhood, Niccolò placed Ezio at the head of the Assassin Order. When Ezio asked why he had had a sudden change of heart, Niccolò admitted that he had always stood by Ezio and had been supporting without his knowledge. Ezio in turn named Niccolò as his "most trusted adviser."

Florentine militia
Shortly afterwards, between 1503 and 1506, Machiavelli returned to Florence, where he was responsible for leading the Florentine militia. Strangely, he noted on multiple occasions that he distrusted mercenaries, despite leading the Florentine mercenaries himself.

His militia managed to defeat Pisa in 1509. However, in August 1512, they were defeated by the Medici, aided by Spanish troops and Pope Julius II. Florence was dissolved as a city-state. Machiavelli was deprived of office in 1512 and arrested in 1513, accused of conspiracy. He was tortured in prison, though he denied involvement in any conspiracy. He was released and he retired to his estate in Sant'Andrea in Percussina.

Later life
During his stay at his estate, he wrote "Il Principe" ("The Prince"), which was a relatively short book written in a few months. It was written for a specifically during a period when the Medici family had the opportunity to build a strong Italian state in central Italy, and drive out the "barbarians."

Over a significant period of his life, he also wrote the "Discourses of Livy," a thesis that reflected his more republican notions of government. It is a far more comprehensive thesis than "The Prince."

These two manuscripts were banned by the Church because they were in direct support to many of Machiavelli's reforms, as he sought to help unite the city-states of Italy under government, not religion. Together the "Discourses" and "The Prince" explained that Machiavelli was an individual who preferred a republican government, but was prepared to accept a principality if it ensured the survival of the state.

There have also been suggestions that "The Prince" is a piece of overt political satire. This is inspired in part by the fact that his magnum opus, the "Discourses of Livy," contains arguments that clash with the contents of "The Prince." Particularly interesting was the fact the book was written in Italian rather than Latin, as was the common practice by Italy's intelligentsia at the time. This suggests that the book was actually written to be digested by Italy's common people rather than the ruling classes (who were likely already aware of the techniques described within the book).

Machiavelli died on 21 June 1527 at the age of 58. His final resting place is the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence.

Trivia

 * In line with his real-life counterpart, the in-game Niccolò states during the Bonfire of the Vanities that he finds mercenaries unreliable, as they fight only for payment, and are not loyal.
 * However, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, he openly admits to Ezio that the mercenaries that aided him in the Colosseo were sent by him.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, Niccolò himself tells Ezio Auditore that Cristina Vespucci and her husband Manfredo Soderini were murdered by Savonarola's men. In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, however, Ezio manages to get to them both individually just moments before they both die, and Machiavelli is not mentioned at all during this memory.
 * Despite being only 19 when he first met Ezio Auditore, Machiavelli acted very mature towards his elder Assassin.
 * If Ezio chooses to do nothing during the moment where Savonarola tries to silence the crowd in the Bonfire of the Vanities, Niccolò will step in and be the one to throw a knife at Savonarola's hand.
 * 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 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.
 * In Brotherhood, it is suggested that a few of Machiavelli's later works were inspired by his interactions with Ezio.