The rulers of the Kingdom of Mali and the great Ottoman Empire had many traits of a leader described by Machiavelli in his book of basic leadership, "The Prince." In Mali, Sundiata can be seen as a powerful leader described in The Prince while in the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent can be used to show traits of an Machiavellian leader. To begin, In Mali, Sundiata was a leader who displayed many qualities described by Machiavelli, "giving rare proofs of his own abilities" (Machiavelli 83). Sundiata was a leader who founded the kingdom of Mali by using his combat capabilities to win battles and wars. In winning battles such as the Battle of Kirina, Sundiata becomes a highly respected ruler just as Machiavelli says what will happen in victory. Sundiata is also seen combining forces with neighboring territories to align against a common foe as Machiavelli suggests to do. "He acts as a true ally or enemy" (Machiavelli 84). For instance, Sundiata received many allies to face the pure evil of Sumanguru and his Sosso Kingdom. Sundiata follows Machiavelli's advice to stay focused on war and to make friends.
Furthermore, The Ottoman Empire had the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent who also followed what Machiavelli wrote in the prince in some ways, but in other ways, Suleiman did .
not act according to the guidebook. When Suleiman ran the empire, he followed Machiavelli's advice of constantly bringing the fight to others and not the opposite. "Nor Take up any profession but that of war" (Machiavelli 59). After a year in office, Suleiman made sure everyone knew that he would be a powerful leader with his conqueror of Belgrade. According to Machiavelli, it would boost the leaders respect. Eventually, after many territorial gains, Suleiman becomes feared which makes him an even greater leader to his subjects. Even though Suleiman followed Machiavelli's take on war, Suleiman did not choose his "ministers" as wisely as Machiavelli would have liked.
