Quousque Tandem, Catilina? The dramatic escalation of a political conflict in ancient Rome

The famous Latin phrase “Quousque tandem, Catilina?” – translated as “How long, Catilina?” – is inextricably linked to the passionate speeches of the Roman orator Cicero against the conspirator Catilina. Already at the beginning of his first salutation in 63 BC, Cicero directs these haunting words directly to the senator and conspirator to address the urgency andto underline the situation seriously. With this sentence, a series of four speeches begins, in which Cicero reveals the impending danger to the Republic and takes energetic action against it. This dramatic situation, which began in the summer of the same year, reached its highest peak in November 63 BC, leading to a rapid escalation that led to the political landscape of Romedeeply shaken.

The dramatic start of the crisis: An assassination in the morning

The crisis began with a planned assassination of the two consuls Cicero and Hybrida on the morning of 8 November 63 BC This attack was thwarted by a revealed conspiracy. The plot, which had been forged by Catilina and his followers, was the most severe attack on the stability of the Roman Republic to date. It was an operation that was secretwas prepared, but the discovery by Cicero and his security measures prevented the catastrophe. This event marked the peak of a crisis that had already started in the summer when Catilina again undertook a series of actions to consolidate his power after his defeat in the consul elections.

The way to the civil war: From the beginnings to the escalation

In July 63 BC, Catilina failed again in the Consul elections. This setback drove him to send confidants to different regions of Italy to recruit troops there. The results of these undertakings were mixed, but the well-known centurion Gaius Manlius, who came from Sulla’s army and remained loyal to Catilina’s cause, succeeded in Etruriaand in the Po level to win a significant number of veterans for the conspirators. The goal was to build a radiant army that was scheduled to meet in Rome on October 27th. The plans envisaged to set the city on fire and to murder all the opposition leaders – so the intention – the next day. However, these gloomy plans were made by the discovery of aWriting by senators like Marcus Crassus already thwarted on October 20th. The threat was so acute that the senators and Cicero had to leave the city to ensure their safety. Crassus dutifully informed the consuls, whereupon Cicero made the Senate to impose the so-called “Senate Consultum Ultimum” – the state of emergency – which gave the authority to impose all necessaryto take measures to protect the Republic.

The mobilization of the troops and the struggle for the city

Cicero commissioned the governor Gallia Cisalpina, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, to crush the revolt in Etruria. The consul focused in the capital on the immediate danger in Rome. However, Catilina and his fellow conspirators quickly realized that their plans were hardly a chance of success due to the evidence discovered and the mobilization of the troopshad. They canceled the planned uprising and withdrew for the time being. As a result, Cicero was heavily criticized because some doubted whether the threat was really that serious or whether the whole crisis was just a consul’s invention to weaken political opponents. But the reality was already the next day: troops were mobilized all over the surrounding area of Rome, and Etruria was in theturmoil, and the situation continued to escalate. The attempt to conquer the city of Praeneste – about 25 kilometers east of Rome – on November 1st failed. Tensions in Italy increased, and Cicero restored order by mobilizing allies like Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus against Catilina to encourage the political and military activities of the conspirators.fight.

The plan of murder and the disclosure by betrayal

On November 6th, the conspirators gathered in the house of Marcus Porcius Laeca. They planned to have Cicero murdered by Gaius Cornelius and Lucius Vargunteius with the armed forces the next morning. The aim was to kill the consul to continue the uprising unhindered and conquer Rome. But this plan of murder was made by a traitor, Fulvia, the lover of Quintus Curius,revealed. Whether Fulvia acted independently or whether Curius warned her at the last moment is not clearly clarified in the sources. In any case, Cicero was well prepared and was able to thwart the attack. The next day he gave one of the most famous speeches against Catilina in the Senate. During this session, Catilina was present, which surprised many of his opponents and made them angry.Cicero confronted him with his sin register and described in detail how the conspirators had been uncovered. With rhetorical subtlety, quotes like “O times, o customs!” (O tempora, o mores!) or “By silent, call out loud” (cum tacent, clamant), Cicero proved his mastery of oratory. Although he explained the guilt in detail to Catilina, he did not have him arrested – the “Senatus Consultum Ultimum” would have empowered him to do so, but Cicero hesitated as there were still uncertainties about how many supporters of Catilina were left in Rome. He advised him to flee several times, but Catilina tried to justify himself, but becameyelled by the senators.

Catilina’s escape and the final defeat

Immediately after the session, Catilina left Rome and retired to Etruria with his army. He distributed weapons to the local population to consolidate his power. This escape was strategically wise, as she made proof of his guilt undeniable. On November 9, Cicero spoke to the people a second speech against Catilina, in which he was fleeing as a great success of hismeasures and at the same time impressively described the impending danger for Rome. The Senate finally declared Catilina and Manlius to be enemies of the state, the so-called “Hostes Publici”. The situation in Italy became increasingly controllable, but Catilina maintained a certain resistance in Etruria. He had his headquarters in Fasulae (now Fiesole), where his armystood. The political entanglements and the military threat caused the Roman leadership to contact the Allobrogers, a Celtic tribe stationed in Rome. Initially, the Allobrogers seemed to accept Catilina’s offer of alliance, but on December 2 they switched sides and informed Cicero about the plots of the conspirators. With this informationCicero managed to persuade the Allobrogers to continue playing and even to record the plans of the conspirators in Rome.

The final breakdown and execution

That same evening, encrypted letters from Lentulus, one of the leading conspirators, were intercepted by the republic’s loyal troops to Catilina. The next day, Cicero had the remaining conspirators – including Lentulus and Cethegus – arrested and brought to the Senate, which had gathered in the Concordia Temple on the forum. In another impressive speech againstCatilina, for whom he received great applause, presented Cicero the evidence for the conspiracy. The Senate again discussed the sentence: Most senators voted for the death penalty, while only Caesar, then a young politician, warned that the “Senate Consultum Ultimum” was questionable as a legal basis. However, the majority opted for the execution of the arrestedwhich was completed on the same day. With the collapse of the conspiracy, Catilina’s army in Etruria began to disintegrate. Although he managed to keep Quintus Metellus Celer, he was destroyed in a crucial battle of Cicero’s allied Hybrida in Pistoria (now Pistoia) on January 15, 62 BC, with Catilina losing his life. At that time, Cicero wasalready no longer consul, since on January 1, 62 BC he had to hand over his office to his successors. He looked back proudly at his performance of defending Rome against the coup, which he even recorded in a literary work – “De Consulatu suo”. But in the long run he should be right in skepticism about his approach, because the subsequent politicalDevelopments showed how fragile the republic was.

The rise of a new power center: Caesar and the end of the Republic

The consequences of the events surrounding Catilina were profound. Caesar, who formed the first triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey in 60 BC, used political upheavals to consolidate his power. He had been against the conspirators’ execution and was critical of Cicero’s policy. But Cicero had set a precedent through the “Senatus Consultum Ultimum”which was later also used by Caesar for his own purposes. With his rise in Roman politics and the formation of the triumvirate, an era began in which the old republic gradually broke. Caesar, who won the civil war against Pompey in 49 BC, ultimately became the undisputed ruler of Rome. The events around Catilina, the first major political conflicts and theThe resulting laws and measures were the basis for the profound change that Rome should experience in the coming years. And so the question “Quousque tandem?” remains the question. – How long – a reminder to the political actors and society to remain vigilant to the dangers of freedom and stability of the republic.