Lucius Sergius Catilina (c. 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (/ˈkætəlaɪn/), was a Roman politician and soldier best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to seize control of the Roman state in 63 BC.
Born to an ancient patrician family, he joined Sulla during Sulla's civil war and profited from Sulla's purges of his political enemies, becoming a wealthy man. In the early 60s BC, he served as praetor and then as governor of Africa (67–66 BC). Upon his return to Rome, he attempted to stand for the consulship but was rebuffed; he then was beset with legal challenges over alleged corruption in Africa and his actions during Sulla's proscriptions (83–82 BC). Acquitted on all charges with the support of influential friends in Roman politics, he stood for the consulship in 64 and in 63 BC.
