Catiline

Catiline (108 B.C. - 62 B.C.) was a roman politician of the 1st century B.C. who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt at overthrowing the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate. Born from a noble but impoverished family, his political career found great hurdles because of his radical ideas and his criminal methods. In 63 B.C. Cicero, who was consul at the time, discovered and denounced his conspiracy to the Senate, and he had to flee from Rome. In January 62 B.C. he and his fellows were intercepted by the Roman army near Pistoia, and he died in the subsequent battle.

The conspiracy inspired several literary works: Cicero wrote down his orations to the Senate, which became a widely studied example of eloquence and rhetoric; also Sallust wrote an historical account of the events.