A Sucessful Ruler in Machiavellis Eyes Essay - 574 Words

Many factors went into determining whether or not a prince or king was successful or not. Some of these factors were simple things such as the kings personality or the method by which he comes to power. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote this book as a guide for Lorenzo Medici to become a good ruler. He describes these factors, but attributes most leaders achievements to their taking advantage of local circumstances. Machiavelli attributes military victory to having a strong army composed of native soldiers and strongly discourages using a mercenary army. The availability of soldiers is a local circumstance that can result in victory or defeat for a king. Another important local factor that can determine a thriving leader involves the land†¦show more content†¦Hiring of mercenaries has lead to the downfall of many great empires and kingdoms. The Roman Empire was brought down, in part, because of their growing reliance on disloyal mercenaries to control the frontier borders. T he most crushing example of mercenaries leading to self destruction is gone into great detail by Machiavelli when he describes how they have lead to the ruin of his dear Italy. We can see throughout history that the most successful armies have been compiled of native, home-grown troops. Many examples are given, including the armies of Hiero of Syracuse, Charles VII, and even David of the Old Testament. The availability of soldiers and native troops was a local circumstance that affects the successfulness of a ruler because with them he can become mighty but without them he can accomplish nothing. The other local factor that can differ from place to place and has a large impact on the success of a leader, deals with the differences between a rulers customs, language, and religion and those of the conquered peoples. In the situation where differences exist, Machiavelli suggested that the most effective method to employ was for the prince or king to go and live there himself. This would allow the king to react more quickly