In “The Prince”, Machiavelli believes that good laws and good rulers are derived naturally from a good military. He talks about the topic of war as an almost necessary thing to go through for the development of countries. Machiavelli insinuates that successful countries/rulers are built upon their success in wars. Machiavelli’s description of war touches on more than just the direct use of military force. When he talks about war, he touches on different topics such as, tactical strategy, prowess, geographic mastery, etc. Alongside wars is obviously violence, and Machiavelli talks about that tremendously in the Prince. He discusses ways to become a successful prince, using violence (chapter 8), and then goes on to give an example. He mentions the military commander, and Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles. In order to become a ruler, he called the leading citizens and the Senate together for a meeting, and then proceeded to massacre them. To Machiavelli, Cruel and evil acts could be justified when done (but not repeated) to establish a prince’s power and to benefit his subjects.