Catilina

Catiline, whose full name is Lucius Sergius Catilina, was a Roman senator and member of the patrician Sergii family who lived in the late Roman Republic. Born about 108 BCE, he is best known for the Catilinarian Conspiracy of 63 BCE, an abortive attempt to overthrow the Roman government and cancel the debts of the urban poor and armed supporters. He ran unsuccessfully for the consulship in 63 BCE, and soon after formed a conspiratorial faction with a mix of accomplices, including other aristocrats and debtors who sought greater power.

According to Cicero and other ancient writers, the plot involved assassinating several leading Romans, seizing the government, and leading an armed uprising during the consular elections to prevent rival factions from seizing control. The conspiracy was uncovered in October 63 BCE when Cicero, then consul-elect, exposed the scheme in public orations to the Senate; Catiline fled Rome and went to Etruria, attempting to gather troops and join his allies in Gaul and the Cisalpine provinces.

In 62 BCE Catiline took to the field with a small army but was defeated at the Battle of Pistoria in Umbria or Etruria; He died during the battle or shortly after, ending the immediate threat.

Catiline's affair became a defining episode in Roman history. The primary sources include Sallust's Bellum Catilinae and Cicero's Catilinarian Orations; later antiquarian writers continued to discuss his motives and character. The term Catiline has become a byword for dangerous conspiracy against the state.