Machiavelli's statecraft, as his writings are sometimes called, was developed in the context of the emergence of the so-called state. Once Italy had achieved statehood, Machiavelli believed his country could again establish dominance over the civilised world. Since Rome had succeeded in doing this, the descendants of the Romans(whom he regarded as superior to other humans), with a similarly effective political organisation and with favourable fortune,could entertain the hope of doing so again. But what did Machiavelli and later writers have in mind when the word state was used. This is an important term (.....)language of politics which has been defined according to various (....) legal and moral considerations. Most definitions, however,(....) that presented by Roberts: