Machiavelli Essay On The Prince

Good and bad princes are typically easily distinguishable, regardless of the time period from which they rule. For today’s rulers, we tend to gravitate towards leaders that we like or leaders who are popular. Standards for rulers have changed over time, but in the middle ages rulers were judged by a very strict set of criteria in which rulers were meant to be feared by all and loved by none. Kings and Princes of the middle ages were not necessarily popular as they are today. Instead, they strived to be competitive and feared. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a series of works regarding the guidelines that princes were to follow in order to be successful rulers. He gives examples of both successful and unsuccessful princes and greatly details
Viserys Targaryen embodies very specific characteristics of the prince that Machiavelli describes. The primary example that Viserys personifies is that of a prince only concerned with war. In The Prince, Machiavelli writes, “…for war is the sole art looked for in one who rules” (Machiavelli, 37). Machiavelli explains that princes should keep their focus on war and the preparation for war in order to be a good ruler. Viserys, as stated in the first episode of Game of Thrones, is only concerned with starting a war and recapturing the throne for himself. He knows that the only way for him to acquire power is to start a war with those currently on the throne. Machiavelli explicitly advocates this idea because he believes that “it is the surest way to acquire power” (Machiavelli, 37). This hunger for war is the most prominent Machiavellian factor in Viserys’ personality. Every action that he carries out derives from his need to win back the throne, which he knows can only be done by obtaining a powerful army and ensuring his victory in war. Furthermore, Viserys not only acknowledges that he must prepare for war, but he also immerses himself in the study of war. As