Monarchies

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: This book includes: the types of monarchies and how to acquire them, discussions on hereditary monarchies, mixed monarchies, why the Darius kingdom conquered by Alexander the Great did not betray his successors after his death, and how to manage cities or monarchies that lived under their own laws before being occupied. In Machiavelli's works, The Prince is the smallest, but the most famous. This book was published five years after the author's death in 1532 and has been widely influential in various fields, from religion to politics, academia, and society, for over 450 years. In the 1980s, it was listed as one of the most influential and best-selling top ten world classics. Machiavelli (Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527) was a famous political thinker, historian, and writer during the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece The Prince, Machiavelli's shocking views are that a king must combine the cruelty of a lion and the cunning of a fox, and that he can use any means to achieve political goals. His views have sparked fierce debate since their inception while also having a profound impact. Those who detest him call him the "mentor of tyrants," while those who admire him honor him as the "theoretical pioneer of nationalist states" and the "founder of modern political science." The book has 26 chapters. The first 11 chapters discuss how monarchies should be ruled and maintained, emphasizing that it is easy to protect a country with power but difficult without it, and that kings should rely on cruelty and deception to win. Chapters 12–14 explain that the army is the main foundation of all states, that kings should have their own armies, and that war, military systems, and training are the king's only profession. The last 12 chapters are the focus of the book, comprehensively arguing Machiavelli's theory of pragmatic governance.