of the Dieci di Libertà e Pace, the Florentine council responsible for diplomacy and warfare. His appointment remains a mystery to scholars as he was a very young man, 29 at the time, with no experience in law or public office.

Machiavelli was originally a middle rank civil servant after Savonarola's death, however, his duties and his position within the Florentine Republic would rise during Piero Soderini's tenure as gonfaloniere of the republic. He was very crucial to Soderini's government, essentially