Marcus Tullius Cicero was born in 106 BC. He lived until 43 BC. He was a lawyer, a politician, a philosopher, and a writer. He had slaves. One of them was his secretary named Tiro.
We do not know when Tiro was born.
According to some observers, he was born in 103 BC. According to other observers, he was born much later, perhaps around 80 BC.
Tiro was very efficient:
** He made copies of letters written by Cicero and placed them in an archive
** He kept letters which were sent to Cicero in an archive
** He invented a special system for taking notes, which has been described as an ancient system of stenography
** He often accompanied his master when Cicero travelled to a new destination
Cicero and Tiro became close, even though one was a master and the other was a slave. They became so close that Cicero decided to give him his freedom. He manumitted him.
When did this happen?
** Perhaps in 54 BC
** Perhaps in 53 BC
When Tiro became a free man, he was known as libertus, a former slave who had gained his freedom. When Tiro became a free man, he added the name of his former master to his own. He became Marcus Tullius Tiro.
He continued to work with Cicero for several years. Following the death of Cicero in 43 BC, Tiro collected some of his letters and had them published.
Many letters written by Cicero and some letters written to Cicero have been preserved until our time.
Some letters are lost, but we still have more than nine hundred letters to or from Cicero. This is, in part, because of Tiro's activities.
The former slave outlived his former master by many years. He died in 04 BC.
REFERENCES
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Marcus Tullius Cicero
(106-43 BC)
A lawyer, a politician,
a philosopher, and a writer
Husband of Terentia
Father of two children:
Tullia and Cicero junior
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