Niccolò Machiavelli died on June 21, 1527. Or did he? If you spend enough time in the darker corners of political theory forums or TikTok history rabbit holes, you’ll eventually run into the wild theory that Machiavelli faked his own death to test his own theories on deception and power. It’s a captivating thought. The man who literally wrote the book on how to be a calculating, ruthless leader pulling off the ultimate "prince" move—vanishing into thin air to watch his legacy unfold from the shadows.
But here’s the thing. History is rarely that cinematic.
Most people who stumble onto the idea that Machiavelli faked his own death are actually looking at a weird cultural crossover. This isn't just about a 16th-century Florentine diplomat. It’s about 2Pac. Seriously. The "Machiavelli faked his death" legend gained massive traction in the late 90s because Tupac Shakur started calling himself "Makaveli" and supposedly read The Prince while in prison. Fans began theorizing that Tupac was following a blueprint laid out by the Italian philosopher. The rumor mill claimed Machiavelli wrote about faking death in his books to fool enemies.
Except he didn't.
The Boring Truth About How Machiavelli Actually Died
Let’s look at the facts. In 1527, Florence was a mess. The city had just ousted the Medici family, and Machiavelli—who had spent years trying to get back into their good graces—suddenly found himself on the wrong side of the new republican government. He was 58 years old. That’s not exactly "old" by our standards, but in the 1500s, with a diet of heavy wine and questionable medicine, it was up there.
He didn't go out in a blaze of glory or a faked assassination. He died of a stomach ailment. Likely peritonitis or a severe ulcer. His son, Piero, wrote a heartbreakingly mundane letter about it. He mentioned his father took some "preventative" medicine that backfired. Basically, the medicine killed him faster than the illness did.
He was buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. You can go there today. You can see the tomb. It says Tanto nomini nullum par elogium—"No praise is a match for so great a name." There’s no secret compartment. No empty casket.
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Why the "Faked Death" Theory Won't Die
Why do we want to believe Machiavelli faked his own death so badly?
It’s because of the brand. Machiavelli’s name is synonymous with being a puppet master. If anyone was going to fake their exit, it would be the guy who said, "Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are." We project our desire for a "master plan" onto him. We want the world to be more interesting than a guy dying of a stomach ache in a small house outside Florence.
The "Seven Year" Myth
One of the specific claims in the "Machiavelli faked his death" lore is that he advocated for faking your death to return seven years later to defeat your enemies. People cite this constantly.
I’ve read The Prince. I’ve read The Discourses on Livy. I’ve even slogged through The Art of War.
He never says it.
There is no passage in his collected works where he advises a ruler to stage a funeral. In fact, Machiavelli was actually pretty big on the idea of "virtù"—which wasn't about being a "virtuous" person in the religious sense, but about being bold, visible, and effective. Faking your death and hiding in a basement for a decade is the opposite of bold. It’s a loss of power. For Machiavelli, power was meant to be used, not shelved.
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The Tupac Connection: Where the Rumor Got Its Legs
You can't talk about the idea that Machiavelli faked his own death without talking about the 1996 rap scene. When Tupac Shakur released The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory under the name Makaveli, the world went nuts. The album cover showed Tupac on a cross. The "7 Day Theory" led fans to look for clues.
They found the Machiavelli connection and distorted it. They claimed Machiavelli faked his death at 25 and returned at 43.
Math check: Machiavelli died at 58. He didn't disappear at 25. He was actually just starting his career in the Florentine Chancery at 29. He was a civil servant. He was busy writing memos about troop movements and trying to convince the city to stop hiring mercenaries.
The rumor became a self-sustaining loop. Fans wanted Tupac to be alive, so they "found" a historical precedent in Machiavelli. They attributed quotes to Machiavelli that he never wrote to justify their hope. It’s a classic example of how a myth can overshadow historical reality when the myth is more comforting than the truth.
The Real Deceptions of Niccolò Machiavelli
If you want to find actual "Machiavellian" deception, look at his life, not his death. He was a master of the "pivot."
- The Medici Flip: He spent his early career serving the Republic that hated the Medici. When the Medici came back to power and tortured him (the "strappado"—look it up, it’s brutal), he didn't fake his death. He went to his farm and wrote The Prince as a job application to the very people who just broke his shoulders.
- The Mandragola: He wrote a play. It’s a comedy about a guy tricking a husband into letting him sleep with his wife. It’s full of actual "faked" scenarios. This is where people might get confused. He wrote about deception in fiction, but he was always clear-eyed about the consequences of deception in real politics.
Machiavelli was a realist. He knew that if you disappear, someone else takes your chair. In the power dynamics of the Renaissance, "out of sight" meant "out of the game."
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How to Read Machiavelli Without the Conspiracy Theories
If you’re genuinely interested in the man rather than the myths, stop looking for "hidden codes." The real Machiavelli is much more fascinating because he was a loser.
Wait. Let me rephrase.
He was a political failure. Most of his big ideas—like the Florentine citizen militia—failed miserably. He died relatively poor and largely ignored by the big power players of his day. His "fame" is almost entirely posthumous.
What You Should Actually Do Next
Forget the faked death theories. If you want to understand why this guy still matters 500 years later, do these three things:
- Read the actual text. Start with The Prince, but don't stop there. Read Chapter 18. That’s where he talks about the Lion and the Fox. It’s about appearing to be one thing while being another. That is the "faking" he actually advocated for—faking a personality, not a heartbeat.
- Look at the context of 1527. Rome had just been sacked. Italy was a playground for foreign kings. Machiavelli wasn't writing a "how-to" for villains; he was writing a desperate plea for an Italian leader to step up and stop the chaos.
- Differentiate between the man and the "ism." "Machiavellian" is a slur used to describe people like Frank Underwood from House of Cards. The real Machiavelli was a guy who loved his city, loved his friends, and wrote dirty jokes in his letters.
The idea that Machiavelli faked his own death is a fun "what if," but it ignores the most important lesson the man ever taught:
Reality is what matters.
He called it the verità effettuale—the "effectual truth." The effectual truth is that Niccolò Machiavelli died in his bed, surrounded by a few friends, leaving behind a body of work that would change the world. He didn't need to fake his death to become immortal. His ideas did that for him.
Next Steps for History Buffs:
Check out the digital archives of the National Library of Italy to see Machiavelli's actual correspondence. If you're still convinced there's a conspiracy, look into the specific history of the "Makaveli" album release—it's a masterclass in how modern PR can accidentally create historical myths. Stop looking for the seven-year rule in his books; you won't find it. Instead, focus on his analysis of "Fortune" in Chapter 25 of The Prince. It explains more about his life than any faked death theory ever could.