page_title: Timeline of Niccolò Machiavelli
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Niccolò Machiavelli / Timeline
context_page_description: This timeline lists important events relevant to the life of the Italian diplomat, writer and political philosopher Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli.
  Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1469 of an old citizen family. Little is known about his life until 1498, when he was appointed secretary and second chancellor to the Florentine Republic. During his time of office his journeys included missions to Louis XII of France and to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I; he was with Cesare Borgia in the Romagna; and after watching the second Papal election of 1503 he accompanied Pope Julius II on his first campaign of conquest. In 1507, as chancellor of the newly appointed Nove di Milizia, he organised an infantry force which fought at the capture of Pisa in 1509. Three years later it was defeated by the Holy League at Prato, the Medici returned to Florence, and Machiavelli was excluded from public life. After suffering imprisonment and torture, he retired to his farm near San Casciano, where he lived with his wife and six children and gave his time to study and writing.
context_section_description: 1469
  3 May: Birth in Florence of Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli to Bernardo and Bartolomea (née de' Nelli).
  1471
   6–9 August: Cardinal Francesco della Rovere is elected Pope as Sixtus IV.
caption: Italy in 1494, before the invasion of Charles VIII of France.
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