Italian statesman and writer known for his strategies on securing rulership, relying when necessary on duplicity and force. His most famous text, Principe (1532), was not published until after his death, but it circulated widely in manuscript form among his friends. The dialog Arte della guerra (1520) and the posthumously published Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (1531) round off the body of his major political works. In addition, he published a number of lesser political tracts, some histories, a couple of black comedies, a biography of Castruccio Castracani (1520), a novella, and some poetry.