Sallust, Latin Gaius Sallustius Crispus 86-34BC
Roman historian and politician

Born in Amiternum, in the Sabine country, he became tribune in 52BC when he helped to avenge the murder of Clodius upon Milo and his party. In 50BC he was expelled from the senate and joined the cause of Julius Caesar; and in 47BC he was made praetor and restored to senatorial rank. He served in Caesar's African campaign, and was left as Governor of Numidia. His administration was marked by oppression and extortion, and from his gains he laid out famous gardens on the Quirinal and built the mansion which became an imperial residence of Nerva, Vespasian and Aurelian. He was unsuccessfully prosecuted on his return to Rome. In his retirement he wrote his histories, the Bellum Catilinae, the Bellum Iugurthinum and the Historiarum Libri Quinque (78-67BC). Although weak on details, Sallust's work reflects a rigorous historical approach and a concern for causation, and his terse style anticipated that of Publius Tacitus.