Lawless Republic

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A historian of Rome “at the height of his powers” (Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire ) narrates the erosion of law and order in the last years of the Roman Republic through the rise and fall of its most famous lawyer, Cicero In its final decades, the Roman Republic was engulfed by a crime wave. An epidemic of extortions, murders, and acts of insurrection tested the court system’s capacity to maintain order. As case after case filled the docket, an ambitious young lawyer named Cicero seized every opportunity to litigate, forging a reputation as a master debater with a bright future in politics. In Lawless Republic , historian Josiah Osgood recounts the legendary orator’s ascent and fall, and his pivotal role in the republic’s lurch toward autocracy. Cicero’s first appearance in the courts came shortly after the end of a brutal civil war. After leveraging his fame as a