The Prince Characters
Every major character in The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
Cesare BorgiaMajor character · 10 chaptersThe Duke Valentino (Cesare Borgia), a decisive, ruthless Italian prince used by Machiavelli as the model of virtù and its limits.
Pope Alexander VIMajor character · 8 chaptersRuthless Renaissance pope who expands papal temporal power through patronage, deceit, and the agency of his son Cesare Borgia.
Francesco SforzaMajor character · 5 chaptersCondottiero who rose by his own arms to become Duke of Milan and serves as Machiavelli’s model of martial prudence and secure rule.
Ferdinand II of AragonMajor character · 4 chaptersA shrewd Iberian monarch who uses religion, continuous military enterprise, and reputation-building to secure and aggrandize his state.- AAlexander the GreatMajor character · 3 chaptersMacedonian conqueror whose swift victories and martial example Machiavelli uses as a model and explanation for holding power.
- FFlorentinesMajor character · 3 chaptersA collective of a formerly free Italian city whose republican memory and civic habits shape its politics and military choices.
Lorenzo de' MediciMajor character · 3 chaptersDedicatee and intended patron of The Prince, emblem of Medici splendor and Florentine rule.
Louis XIIMajor character · 3 chaptersKing of France whose Italian campaigns illustrate the dangers of strategic errors when acquiring and holding states.- PPope JuliusMajor character · 3 chaptersA powerful Renaissance pope who consolidates papal temporal power through force, wealth, and political calculation.
Cyrus the GreatMajor character · 2 chaptersA paradigmatic founder-ruler whose talent and force establish a durable principality by his own arms and laws.
MosesMajor character · 2 chaptersA paradigmatic founder-prince who establishes a people, laws, and lasting order through exceptional ability and force.
TheseusMajor character · 2 chaptersA paradigmatic founder-ruler whom Machiavelli cites as a model of virtù converting opportunity into lasting rule.
Agathocles of SyracuseMajor character · 1 chapterA low-born soldier who seizes Syracuse through calculated massacre and rules by force, a case study in wicked ascent to power.
RomulusMajor character · 1 chapterLegendary founder of Rome cited as an exemplar of a prince who seizes power and establishes enduring institutions.
Septimius SeverusMajor character · 1 chapterA Roman emperor used by Machiavelli as the model who combines the lion's force with the fox's cunning to secure power.
All chapter summaries ›Characters ›
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