Lucius Sergius Catiline was a Roman patrician and politician, famous for plotting a conspiracy to seize power in 63 BC. Exposed by Cicero, he died fighting at the Battle of Pistoria in 62 BC.
Catiline(107 av. J.-C. — 61 av. J.-C.)
Catiline
Rome antique
7 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born around 108 BC into the patrician family of the Sergii
- Served under Sulla during the proscriptions of the 80s BC
- Failed multiple times to be elected consul (66–63 BC)
- Catilinarian conspiracy exposed by Cicero in 63 BC (Catilinarian Orations)
- Died in battle at the Battle of Pistoria in 62 BC
Works & Achievements
A vast plot to seize power in Rome through an armed coup, combining a military uprising in Etruria with violent actions in the capital. Thwarted by Cicero, it remains one of the most famous and studied episodes of the crisis of the Roman Republic.
Catiline recruited about 10,000 men among Sulla's ruined veterans and insolvent debtors in Etruria. This military force constituted the armed wing of his attempt at social and political revolution.
Catiline went through the standard stages of the Roman *cursus honorum*, reaching the praetorship and a provincial governorship. His career was marred by accusations of extortion and dissolute morals, which blocked his access to the consulship.
Anecdotes
In the night of November 6–7, 63 BC, Catiline sent two men to assassinate Cicero at his home at dawn. But the consul had been warned by Fulvia, the mistress of the conspirator Quintus Curius. The next morning, Cicero summoned the Senate and confronted Catiline face-to-face in his First Catilinarian: "How long will you abuse our patience, Catiline?"
On November 8, 63 BC, Catiline dared to appear in the Senate despite Cicero's public accusations. The senators ostentatiously moved away from him, refusing to sit by his side. Humiliated but not arrested—for lack of formal evidence at that time—he left Rome two days later to join his troops in Etruria.
At the Battle of Pistoria in January 62 BC, Catiline's troops, surrounded by the republican armies, had no escape. Catiline chose to die fighting, throwing himself into the thick of the battle. His body was found in front of his soldiers' lines, which impressed even his enemies with this desperate courage.
Sallust reports that during a secret banquet where the conspirators sealed their pact, they allegedly drank human blood mixed with wine to seal their oath. This detail is probably a propagandistic invention by his opponents, but it illustrates the reputation of excess and immorality that Roman tradition durably attached to Catiline.
Primary Sources
“How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience? How long will that madness of yours mock us?”
“Catiline was of noble family; he had remarkable vigor of body and mind, but a perverse and depraved nature.”
Cicero, defending Murena against Catiline, who contested his election to the consulship of 62 BC, paints a damning portrait of the man and denounces his dangerous alliances.
Cicero relates to his friend Atticus the unfolding of the conspiracy and his own decisions, notably the execution of the accomplices without a formal trial.
Key Places
Political heart of the Roman Republic, where electoral assemblies and oratorical contests took place. Catiline sought the consulship there several times and was publicly challenged by Cicero.
Meeting place of the Senate where Cicero delivered his four Catilinarian Orations. It was here that Catiline was publicly denounced, the senators turned away from him, and the execution of his accomplices was voted.
Ancient Etruscan town in Tuscany where the main military contingent of the conspirators was concentrated, commanded by Gaius Manlius, awaiting Catiline's orders.
Site of the final battle (January 62 BC) where Catiline's troops, surrounded by the consular armies, were annihilated. Catiline died fighting there.
Roman province of which Catiline was governor in 67-66 BC. He was accused of extortion (squeezing the provincials), a trial that temporarily blocked his political career.
