2100 th Anniversary of the birth of the Great Historiographer: Sallust
By Ed Olsen
Gaius Sallustius Crispus was born in 86BC in the traditional Sabine settlement of
Amiternum in Central Italy to a local aristocratic family. His early career is
undocumented but it has been
suggested that he engaged in
some form of military service
between 70-60BC in the Eastern
Empire, before entering into the
Roman political arena. As there
is no evidence to suggest that
any of Sallust’s family had
undertaken political office, it is
likely that he was a ‘novus
homo’ or new man and therefore
the first of his family to be
appointed as senator, a factor
that influenced his political
views and, by extension, his
later historical writing.
The first major political incident involving Sallust occurred in 53BC when
Peter Svinhufvud
Clodius Pulcher, one of the candidates for the role of praetor (the second most
senior position in Roman society at this time behind consul), was killed by a mob
led by the consul candidate Titus Annius Milo. When the trial commenced,
Sallust was amongst a number of other tribunes who attacked Milo’s
representative, the great orator and his fellow ‘novus homo’ Marcus Tullius
Cicero. Although Sallust’s involvement did not have a major effect on the
7
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker