Publius Rutilius Rufus was a Roman statesman, orator, and historian who lived from approximately 158 BCE to sometime after 78 BCE. His distinguished political career included holding the consulship in 105 BCE. He later served as a legate in Asia, where his strict anti-corruption measures provoked the hostility of the equestrian order. This led to his prosecution and conviction for extortion in a politically motivated trial in 92 BCE. He chose exile in Smyrna, where he wrote his historical work and lived to see the law under which he was convicted repealed.

His only known work is the Historiae, also referred to as De Re Publica. This was a history of Rome in at least five books, composed in Greek during his exile. The work is now lost, surviving only in fragments preserved through citations by later authors.

Rutilius Rufus holds significance as a Roman statesman who wrote history in Greek, following an earlier tradition. His work served as a source for later historians including Sallust and Plutarch. His unjust trial and his Stoic integrity, shaped by his friendship with the philosopher Panaetius, made him a celebrated exemplum of principled conduct for Cicero and subsequent writers.