Condottieri

Politics

Condottieri gained a reputation in being quite untrustworthy when it came to protecting their allies. In many cases condottieri betrayed their employers for their own gain. Throughout the 14th century onwards, the condottiere would become an instrument of governance as well as a military expedient, with many political leaders taking control and establishing their own regimes through the aid of condottieri. The Italian city-states of Venice, Florence, and Genoa were very rich from trade yet possessed small armies, and had no desire to fight militarily. In the event that foreign powers and neighbors attacked, the ruling nobles hired foreign mercenaries to fight for them. Many mercenary leaders established states of their own. Francesco Sforza became Duke of Milan by marrying the daughter of Filippo Visconti. Federico da Montefeltro was the lord of the city of Urbino. Niccolo Machiavelli viewed that mercenary armies were generally inferior and instead preferred an army staffed with loyal, professional soldiers, a policy which he derived from observing antiquity.