On Military Art

Niccolò Machiavelli is one of the most well-known Italian thinkers and political figures of the Renaissance (he served as state secretary in Florence), a writer, historian, and military theorist who created a number of historical and political works («Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius», «History of Florence»). His most significant and ambiguous work became the treatise «The Prince». For many years, this book was associated with the politics of poison and dagger, and after its publication, the term «machiavellianism» emerged, denoting cynicism, permissiveness, and duplicity in politics. The present edition introduces the reader to Machiavelli's treatise «On Military Art», which stands alongside the greatest works on military theory. It is here that the ideas first emerge, the importance of which for the subsequent history of the Western world is hard to overestimate, and which are supported by numerous examples of great victories and defeats of antiquity. The treatise «On Military Art» is presented in a new translation and is accompanied by an article and detailed notes.