When an out-of-pocket diplomat named Niccolò Machiavelli came to Rome in 1503, the city was a hotspot of intrigue, information gathering and spying.

Here, he would have picked up some of the important lessons that would go on to fill the pages of his notorious but often misunderstood book, The Prince, which he published a decade later. It's a book about greasing palms, exploiting weaknesses, and generally on how to get ahead in modern day diplomacy with the right doses of cunning, fortune and virtue.