Publius Autronius Paetus was a politician of the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

who was involved in the conspiracy of

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the ...

. He was elected

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 66 BC (to serve in 65 BC), alongside

Publius Cornelius Sulla Publius Cornelius Sulla (died 45 BC) was a politician of the late Roman Republic and the nephew of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. He was also a brother-in-law of Pompey, having married his sister Pompeia. Early life Publius Cornelius Sulla was the son ...

, but before they could take office both were accused of electoral corruption by Lucius Aurelius Cotta and

Lucius Manlius Torquatus Lucius Manlius Torquatus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 65 BC, elected after the condemnation of Publius Cornelius Sulla and Publius Autronius Paetus. Biography Torquatus belonged to the patrician gens Manlii, one of the oldest Roma ...

. Dio 36.44.3-5 says they were found guilty, their election was declared void, and their accusers were elected consuls in their place. Some sources claim that Autronius conspired with Catiline to murder Cotta and Torquatus on the day of their installation, January 1, 65 BC, but the plot collapsed when Catiline gave the signal before all the conspirators were assembled. However, this conspiracy is not described consistently in contemporary sources. Modern historians doubt this account, and question whether this conspiracy actually existed. Later, Autronius was implicated in Catiline's failed conspiracy of 63 BC,Sallust, ''The War Against Catilina'', XVII, 3 and, after his old friend

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

refused to defend him, he was convicted and sent into exile in

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

. When Cicero himself was exiled in 58 BC, he was concerned that Autronius might attempt to kill him.

References

*William Smith (ed) (1870), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol 3 p. 84 Ancient Roman politicians Senators of the Roman Republic 1st-century BC Romans Paetus, Publius {{AncientRome-bio-stub

See also

References