Cicero and the Catiline Conspiracy

Did you know that the famous writer Cicero had accused criminals executed without a trial? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the two Roman men, Cicero and Catiline, who were at the center of a serious conspiracy towards the end of the Roman Republic. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. Before we get into the conspiracy, who are Cicero and Catiline and when was all this happening? The Catiline conspiracy was the attempt of the Roman senator Catiline to overthrow the government of Rome whilst Cicero was a consul. This happened during the Roman Republic which was the period of Rome's history before the Empire. The Roman Republic spanned from the late 6th century through the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE which caused the chaos that led to the birth of the Roman Empire under the first emperor Augustus Caesar. During the late Roman Republic, the state was experiencing threats to its stability including the social wars between 90 and 88 BCE, not to mention a large decrease in trade and a high unemployment rate. Cicero born Marcus Tullius Cicero was a statesman, orator, poet and writer. He was born January 6th BCE during the Roman Republic. As a young man he studied philosophy and law and at 17 he served in the social war under the father of Pompey the Great. He continued his education in Athens and learned from rhetoricians and philosophers. It was in Athens that he met his lifelong friend and correspondent Titus Pomponius Atticus. He married his first wife and then at 30 years old, the minimum age you could become one, he was voted a quaestor which was a lower ranked magistrate during the Roman Republic who looked over the treasury of the state. Cicero focused on his legal work and then in 69 BCE he became an aedile who was a Roman official in charge of maintaining roads, grain and water supply and provided the city with public games. Then just three years later at the age of 40 he became praetor which was an ancient Roman magistrate, an important role in the Roman government. So to sum up Cicero, he was from a wealthy family outside of Rome, had a good education, a successful law career and was a skilled orator who held various positions of power and prestige during the Roman Republic. Then we have Catiline who was born in circa 108 BCE to a distinguished patrician family. His full name was Lucius Sergius Catilina and he also served in the social war under Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompey the Great's father and was a praetor in 68 BCE before governing Africa for two years. He returned to Rome in 66 BCE and ran for the consulship but allegations of extortion in this province resulted in his candidacy being refused. In 65 BCE he was acquitted of the extortion charges but there were also some rumours surrounding the mysterious deaths of his wife and son. In 64 BCE he had support, monetary and otherwise, from Crassus and he ran for the consulship again only to end up coming third. Cicero won election with Antonius Hybrida who was a close friend of Catiline coming second and he was in debt. Finally he also had the support of Caesar who ended up later rescinding it. So to sum up Catiline at the point of the conspiracy in 63 BCE he was an aristocrat but nearing bankruptcy and had missed out on becoming consul. Where Cicero saw himself as a man who believed in upholding the law and the fundamental principles of the Republic, Catiline thought of himself as a champion for the poor, the dispossessed and the bankrupt veterans. Not long after the election Cicero began hearing whispers of a conspiracy, a plan to assassinate numerous prominent officials of the government including himself and then burn the city down. Initially many thought these whispers were simply rumours and they originated from Fulvia, the mistress of Quintus Curius who was a Because of his debt Fulvia was planning on leaving him for someone else and so he told her that soon his money problems would go away because of Catiline's plot. Fulvia told all of this to Terentia, Cicero's wife, who then told her husband. Not many people believed him though since there was little proof of the allegations but Cicero still hired himself a bodyguard which actually ended up being a wise choice since on November 7th 63 BCE someone tried to have him killed. What was helpful for Cicero was the unsigned letters addressed to a number of Roman senators and delivered to Crassus warning them to leave Rome. Each letter said the same thing and although they were unsigned they were believed to have come from a friend of both Catiline and Cicero, While all of this was happening angry mobs consisting mostly of the poor and veterans Catiline had appealed to were gathering to the north to support him believing they had been mistreated by the government and he offered something better. On November 8th however Catiline presented himself before the senate and denied any involvement in any kind of plot whilst also verbally attacking Cicero. He said he was happy to be put under house arrest even in Cicero's home if that would help clear his name but in the night he escaped to Etruria with 300 men and joined his fellow conspirator Caius Manlius. Both men were declared public enemies by the senate. The plot was coming together outside the city and this information came from The tribe were in the city appealing to the senate for relief from the taxes they were being forced to pay to the republic and while they were there they were confronted by several conspirators urging them to help the plot succeed by creating a revolt in Gaul. Without giving an answer they left the city and were intercepted by Caius Pomptinus who forced them to return and tell the everything they had learned from the conspirators. The senate finally believed the plot was real and the conspirators still in Rome were arrested. Cicero suggested that the conspirators be executed immediately without trial but Julius Caesar who was a friend of Catiline opposed it. Caesar suggested that the men be imprisoned until a trial could be held and that the senate shouldn't According to Suetonius in his The Twelve Caesars, The senate were going to agree with Caesar until Cato the Younger spoke who was and he agreed with Cicero in a rousing speech that the conspirators had to be executed, that there was no other choice and so they were executed without a trial even though it was dictated by law that they should have gotten a trial. Cicero used his power to support the plan. The men were hanged and Cicero was called the Pater Patriae, the father of the fatherland. Catiline's plans had all failed and with his army he tried to escape across the Apennine mountains but they were intercepted. By then three quarters of his supposed 20 000 strong force had deserted him and he ended up being defeated and killed. The plot came to a complete end with his death. Cicero thought that his victory over Catiline was his greatest achievement despite being a successful lawyer, consul and poet, but others disagreed and his reputation suffered as more people came to object to the execution of Roman citizens without trial. Do you believe Cicero was right in calling for the conspirators execution without trial? Let us know what you think in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content head to our website via the link below. If you like my shirt you can find this design and a bunch more in our shop at worldhistory.store or you can find a link for it down below. Thank you so much for watching and we will see you soon with another video.