Marcus Tullius Cicero was born outside of Rome in 106 B.C.E. Born to a wealthy family, Cicero received a quality education. After he served in the military, Cicero studied Roman law. He went on to be elected to each of Rome’s principal offices, becoming the youngest citizen to attain the highest rank of consul without coming from a political family.

Cicero remained loyal to the Roman Republic during his career. He viewed the informal alliance known as the First Triumvirate to be in direct opposition to the principles of the republic and authority of the Senate. By refusing to join this alliance, Cicero left himself vulnerable to attacks from his political enemies. This became an issue for Cicero when he came under fire for speaking out against the political figure and tribune Publius Clodius.

When Clodius was elected as a tribune, he introduced a bill that revoked the citizenship of anyone who killed a Roman citizen without granting them a trial. This was designed to strike at Cicero for his role in thwarting the Catilinarian conspiracy, the aristocrat Lucius Sirgius Catiline’s plot to assassinate multiple government officials and burn the city of Rome. Cicero ordered the execution of the revolutionaries without a trial due to the urgency that the rebellion needed to be ended. With no allies remaining to protect him from Clodius’s attacks, Cicero fled Rome and became an exile. After a year and a half, however, he was allowed to return back to Rome as a result of Pompey’s intervention following Clodius’s term as tribune.

When Cicero returned to Rome, he was forced to stay out of politics, so he turned to writing. He wrote many works relating to philosophy, such as On the Republic, On Invention, and On the Orator. He established himself as a prolific Roman author. He also made many speeches and wrote letters that have been preserved, allowing the modern world to gain knowledge of the politics and culture of Cicero’s era.

Cicero made a fatal misstep when he began speaking out against Mark Antony, who rose to power following Julius Caesar’s assassination. Once Cicero denounced Antony, he was declared a public enemy and was executed in 43 B.C.E.