BC90-71 Lucius Cornelius Sulla the Dictator
The twenty years from 90-71 BC were dominated by the exploits of Lucius Cornelius Sulla (pictured) and Gaius Marius (who came out of retirement to gain some more glory).
Sulla had served under Marius as a officer and with Marius' retirement he thought the way was clear for his political career. Had Marius stayed in retirement, thousands of lives would have been spared in the ensuing struggle between the two men.
In 91 BC, Marcus Livius Drusus attempted to pass a law granting full Roman citizenship to all the Italian allies living south of the Po River. When Drusus was murdered, many of the Italian allies, especially those among the Samnites, rebelled against Rome in a Social war.
Wanting to cease the conflict, Rome offered full citizenship to rebels who ceased fighting. Most accepted this offer, but when the rebellion continued Marius came out of retirement, and commanded the Roman forces in northern Italy, while Lucius Cornelius Sulla commanded the Roman legions in southern Italy. The rebellion ended in 88 BC.
Following this victory, Sulla stood for election as Consul, and was elected and was given Consular command of an expeditionary force sent to exact revenge against Mithridates VI of Pontus who had overran Bithynia and slaughtered thousands of Roman citizens in the Asiatic Vespers.
Marius did not wish to return to retirement and bribed the passage of a bill through the Plebeian Assembly giving him command of Sulla's armies. When Sulla heard of this, he turned his army on Rome itself, captured the city and Marius was forced to flee to Africa.
When Sulla left to confront Mithridates and his allies, Marius returned to Rome with Lucius Cornelius Cinna and captured the city with his legions. Marius appointed himself Consul for a seventh time and proceeded to butcher Sulla's supporters. Shortly after, Marius died of a brain hemorrhage and Cinna retained power and unwisely decided to ignore Sulla's existence completely going so far as to send a second army to Pontus. Sulla just took over that army, combined it with his own and closed the war with the Treaty of Dardanos in 85 BC.
By the time Sulla returned to Rome in 83 BC, Cinna had been killed by his own troops leaving Gnaeus Papirius Carbo and other of Marius's supporters to deal with Sulla. A full scale civil war broke out in the Italian countryside, but Sulla's legions finally prevailed, taking the city of Rome at the Battle of the Colline Gate.
Sulla then instituted proscription -- a process named for the lists of enemies posted in the Roman forum. People whose names appeared on the lists were stripped of their legal rights and protection, their family's property was impounded by the state, and a bounty was placed on their lives. Thousands of Romans who opposed Sulla, or even those who simply had wealth that he and his followers coveted, were butchered in this fashion over a period of two years.
Sulla was appointed dictator and began reorganizing Roman political institutions to return power to the Senate. He curtailed the Plebeian Assembly, expanded the Roman Senate (giving the Senate veto power over the Plebeian Assembly), stripped the Tribunes of much of their power, reorganized the legal system and curtailed the power of provincial governors.
With his reforms in place, Sulla then resigned the dictatorship in 80 BC, and was elected consul with Metellus Pius as his colleague. In 79 BC he withdrew completely from public life, and retired to his country estates, dying in 78 BC.
In 73-71 BC came the Slave War of Spartacus. Spartacus was a slave and a trained gladiator who led a class rebellion against Rome in an attempted flight to freedom. He defeated numerous Roman battalions, but was finally defeated by Crassus, with the aid of Pompey.
Sulla had served under Marius as a officer and with Marius' retirement he thought the way was clear for his political career. Had Marius stayed in retirement, thousands of lives would have been spared in the ensuing struggle between the two men.
In 91 BC, Marcus Livius Drusus attempted to pass a law granting full Roman citizenship to all the Italian allies living south of the Po River. When Drusus was murdered, many of the Italian allies, especially those among the Samnites, rebelled against Rome in a Social war.
Wanting to cease the conflict, Rome offered full citizenship to rebels who ceased fighting. Most accepted this offer, but when the rebellion continued Marius came out of retirement, and commanded the Roman forces in northern Italy, while Lucius Cornelius Sulla commanded the Roman legions in southern Italy. The rebellion ended in 88 BC.
Following this victory, Sulla stood for election as Consul, and was elected and was given Consular command of an expeditionary force sent to exact revenge against Mithridates VI of Pontus who had overran Bithynia and slaughtered thousands of Roman citizens in the Asiatic Vespers.
Marius did not wish to return to retirement and bribed the passage of a bill through the Plebeian Assembly giving him command of Sulla's armies. When Sulla heard of this, he turned his army on Rome itself, captured the city and Marius was forced to flee to Africa.
When Sulla left to confront Mithridates and his allies, Marius returned to Rome with Lucius Cornelius Cinna and captured the city with his legions. Marius appointed himself Consul for a seventh time and proceeded to butcher Sulla's supporters. Shortly after, Marius died of a brain hemorrhage and Cinna retained power and unwisely decided to ignore Sulla's existence completely going so far as to send a second army to Pontus. Sulla just took over that army, combined it with his own and closed the war with the Treaty of Dardanos in 85 BC.
By the time Sulla returned to Rome in 83 BC, Cinna had been killed by his own troops leaving Gnaeus Papirius Carbo and other of Marius's supporters to deal with Sulla. A full scale civil war broke out in the Italian countryside, but Sulla's legions finally prevailed, taking the city of Rome at the Battle of the Colline Gate.
Sulla then instituted proscription -- a process named for the lists of enemies posted in the Roman forum. People whose names appeared on the lists were stripped of their legal rights and protection, their family's property was impounded by the state, and a bounty was placed on their lives. Thousands of Romans who opposed Sulla, or even those who simply had wealth that he and his followers coveted, were butchered in this fashion over a period of two years.
Sulla was appointed dictator and began reorganizing Roman political institutions to return power to the Senate. He curtailed the Plebeian Assembly, expanded the Roman Senate (giving the Senate veto power over the Plebeian Assembly), stripped the Tribunes of much of their power, reorganized the legal system and curtailed the power of provincial governors.
With his reforms in place, Sulla then resigned the dictatorship in 80 BC, and was elected consul with Metellus Pius as his colleague. In 79 BC he withdrew completely from public life, and retired to his country estates, dying in 78 BC.
In 73-71 BC came the Slave War of Spartacus. Spartacus was a slave and a trained gladiator who led a class rebellion against Rome in an attempted flight to freedom. He defeated numerous Roman battalions, but was finally defeated by Crassus, with the aid of Pompey.
Labels: bc90, cinna, drusus, gaius marius, mithridates, spartacus, sulla
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