Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, and philosopher (106–43 BC)
106 BCE – 43 BCE ·
Marcus Tullius Cicero (3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, and writer who lived during the Late Roman Republic [1][6]. Born into the equestrian order and a member of the Tullii Cicerones family, he rose as a novus homo to hold some of the highest offices in Rome, serving at various points as quaestor, praetor, consul, augur, and Roman governor [5][11][12]. Educated in Rome and Greece, he worked across the fields of philosophy, rhetoric, literature, and politics, and is regarded as one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists, as well as the originator of what came to be known as Ciceronian rhetoric [1][3].
Although he considered his political career his most significant achievement, Cicero was equally prolific as a writer, producing extensive treatises on rhetoric, philosophy, and politics [1][7]. His consulship in 63 BC was marked by his suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy, though his controversial decision to execute five conspirators without trial led to his exile in 58 BC; he was recalled the following year [7]. He later served as governor of Cilicia in 51 BC and returned to Italy on the eve of Caesar's civil war [7].
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