History of Florence (book)

The History of Florence ( Italian: Istorie fiorentine ) is the historical work of Niccolo Machiavelli , published posthumously in 1532 . He is not only a purely historical work, but a theoretical generalization of his ideas ^[1] .

After the crisis in Machiavelli’s relationship with the Medici family, when the writer was accused of participating in the conspiracy, arrested, tortured, and amnestied in connection with the election of Giovanni Medici as pope , Machiavelli lived in exile in his estate of in , near San Casciano in Val di Pesa . Excluded from political life for 14 years, he focused on writing - in the same 1513 the “ Sovereign ” appeared and . In 1518, he completed the comedy , which he directed in 1524.

On November 8, 1520, Machiavelli received an order from the University of Florence , led by Cardinal Giulio Medici, to write the history of the city . The completed “History” was officially presented to the customer, who had by then become Pope Clement VII , in May 1526.

In his work, analyzing the activities of Castruccio Castraccani , Cosimo Medici Elder , Piero Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent , Machiavelli shows the characteristic qualities of sovereign seniors and continues to search for the ideal ruler. Not aiming to give a consistent account of events, the author focuses on the turning points of the history of the city, the causes and course of such rebellions as the Pazzi conspiracy .

The first book of "History" covers the period from Ancient Rome to the 15th century. The next three books are devoted to events until the establishment of the Medici power in 1434. The second part of the work, consisting of four books, brought to the death of Lorenzo Medici in 1492.

K. Marx highly appreciated the “History of Florence”, considering it a masterpiece ^[2] .