1. ROME
THE
LEGACY
OF
SULLA
Political
Developments in
the Late Republic

2. I Need To Know:
• relationship with Pompey and Crassus
• proscriptions
• Reforms
• Senate
• Tribunate
• Military Power and the Provinces

3. The Story
of
Sulla
and
Marius

4. Background: The dictatorship of Sulla
In 88BC Sulla was elected Consul. At
this time King Mithridates of Pontus
began his bid to conquer Rome's
eastern provinces and invaded
Greece. Rome needed to deal with
the problem and had a choice –
send Sulla or send Marius. The
Senate wanted Sulla to put down
Mithridates.
Unfortunately for Rome, popular
and equestrian interests (the
Assembly) chose Marius to replace
Sulla. Sulla convinced his army that
he should be in charge and had
them stone the representative from
the Assembly to death. Sulla fought
and defeated Mithridates at
Chaeronea and Orchomenus.
Silver denarius, military mint, 82 B.C.; obverse
head of Roma right, PROQ (proquaestor )
behind, MANLI before; reverse Sulla walking
in a quadriga right, holding reins in right hand
and caduceus in left, crowned by Victory
flying above, L SVLLA IM (imperator) in ex; ex
Sayles and Lavender

5. Sulla then commanded six legions
to march with him to Rome and
institute a civil war. This was a
momentous event, and a complete
shock to Marius, as no Roman
army had ever marched upon
Rome—it was forbidden by law
and ancient tradition. Sulla
returned and killed his apponents.
Marius tried to use gladiators to
fight Sulla, but the well trained
Sullan troops made easy work of
the gladiators. Marius was
defeated but escaped.
(IMPORTANT – use of armed force
to succeed politically). Sulla and
the Senate issued a death sentence
for Marius and some of his
supporters

6. Sulla soon returned to fight his
war. When he left, the infighting
began between the conservative
supporters of Sulla. Marius used
this as an opportunity to come
back to Rome with his troops.
This time it was the army of
Marius causing destruction. His
army went through Rome killing
Sulla’s main supporters. Their
heads were displayed in the
forum. The Senate then passed
a law exiling Sulla and appointed
Marius the new commander of
the war. He was elected consul
but died seventeen days into his
consulship.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla - a
denarius portrait issued by
his grandson

7. The consuls of 83 BC were preparing
armies to stop Sulla entering Rome.
He enlisted the help of Pompey and
Crassus to assist him with the
difficulties he was facing fighting his
war. Pompey had raised a private
army to assist Sulla. Battles were
fought with Marian supporters,
especially Carbo. On November 1 of
82 BC, the two forces met at the
battle of the Colline Gate, just
outside of Rome. The battle was a
huge and desperate final struggle
with both sides certainly believing
their own victory would save Rome.
Sulla was pushed hard on his left
flank with the situation so
dangerous that he and his men were
pushed right up against the city
walls. Crassus' forces, fighting on
Sulla's right however, managed to
turn the opposition's flank and drive
them back.
Rome mint. Front: Diana
wearing cruciform earring and
double necklace of pearls and
pendants, and jewels in hair
pulled into a knot; crescent
above, lituus behind. Reverse:
Sulla seated on a raised sea
with a bound Jugurtha kneeling
beside him; before him kneels
Bocchus, offering an olive-
branch. The coin portrays
Sulla's first great victory, in
which he ended the Jugurthine
War.

8. The two forces met at the
battle of the Colline Gate,
just outside of Rome. Sulla
was pushed hard on his left
flank with the situation so
dangerous that he and his
men were pushed right up
against the city walls.
Crassus' forces, fighting on
Sulla's right however,
managed to turn the
opposition's flank and drive
them back. In the end, over
50,000 combatants lost
their lives and Sulla stood
alone as the master of
Rome. Marius

9. At the end of 82 BC or the
beginning of 81 BC, the Senate
appointed Sulla dictator legibus
faciendis et reipublicae
constituendae causa ("dictator for
the making of laws and for the
settling of the constitution"). In
total control of the city and its
affairs, Sulla instituted a program
of executing those whom he
perceived to be enemies of the
state. Plutarch describes in Life of
Sulla (XXXI) "Sulla now began to
make blood flow, and he filled the
city with deaths without number
or limit" further alleging that
many of the murdered victims
had nothing to do with Sulla,
though Sulla killed them to
"please his adherents".
Sulla Wages Civil War Against Marius Captures
Rome and Threatens to Destroy It

10. "Sulla immediately proscribed
eighty persons without
communicating with any
magistrate. As this caused a
general murmur, he let one day
pass, and then proscribed two
hundred and twenty more, and
again on the third day as many. In
an harangue to the people, he
said, with reference to these
measures, that he had proscribed
all he could think of, and as to
those who now escaped his
memory, he would proscribe them
at some future time." -Plutarch,
Life of Sulla (XXXI)
Sulla also introduced a series of
reforms that significantly impacted
on the remaining years of the
republic.
Sulla Now Dictator Posts Lists of Proscribed
Citizens

11. The Legacy of Sulla
The Legacy
of
Sulla

12. Relationship with Pompey
• During the war many Marians had fled to Sicily,
Africa and Spain. It was imperative for Sulla to
secure these provinces and rid them of the
opposition so he sent Pompey (only 24 years
old) with special imperium, to deal with
organised opposition in Sicily and Africa.
• Sulla granted Pompey a triumph, although he
strongly objected. Pompey was contravening
Sulla’s own revision of the lex Villia Annalis. He
had not held even the quaestorship.
• SIGNIFICANCE = Provided a precedent for other
powerful individuals with military backing to
subvert the power of the Senate

13. Proscriptions
* Sulla introduced proscriptions “Sulla now devoted
himself entirely to the work of butchery” “There was
much massacre, banishment and a confiscation also
among those Italians who had obeyed Carbo or Marius’
SIGNIFICANCE = The example of Sulla killing his
enemies was the greatest legacy: Pompey laid down his
arms when he returned from the east, Caesar showed
clemency towards his enemies following his victory in
the Civil War. However, Octavian and Antony learnt
from the death of Caesar and carried out a brutal
program of proscriptions under the second Triumvirate.
“They forgot the examples of Caesar and remembered
Marius and Sulla” SCULLARD

14. Reforms
Sulla’s objective was clear-cut: to establish stable
and efficient government in Rome.
His aims:
1. To strengthen the senate
2. To restrict the powers of the tribunes
3. To curb the independence of regular
magistrates
4. To avoid dangers from proconsuls in the
provinces
5. To increase the number of magistrates
available for administration and jurisdiction
6. To reorganise the courts and juries

15. Reforms
SIGNIFICANCE: Attempts to restore
the republic. It wasn’t long after Sulla
died that these reforms were ignored
/ challenged and changed – Why?
Sulla had set the precedent for
unusual powers for those with
military backing. Pompey, Crassus and
Caesar demanded powers and
manipulated laws for their own gain.

16. The Senate
• Sulla enlarged the senate by 300 new members (had
been deleted by massacres and proscriptions)
• Provided for future automatic recruitment from ex-
quaestors
• Senate’s approval was necessary before legislation
was presented to the people
• The Senate was to continue to decide provincial
commands.
SIGNIFICANCE = These reforms provided a challenge for
Pompey, Crassus and Caesar – The senate was
responsible for the move of Pompey towards Caesar
and the instability and rivalry in the city (Syme)

17. The Tribunes
• Sulla destroyed the tribunate, stripping it of
those powers with which it had undermined the
authority of the senate since the time of the
Gracchi
SIGNIFICANCE = Pompey and Crassus restored the
powers of the tribunate of the legislative powers
and the right to veto in the Year 70BC – They were
backed by armies and intended to use the
Tribunes to further their career / appose the
Senate.

18. • Sulla tried to minimise the dangers from ambitious
proconsuls in the provinces by limiting their term of
office to one year and by having enough ex-consuls
and ex-praetors to become governors.
• He regulated methods of appointing provincial
governors, made clear time frames.
• SIGNIFICANCE = It was not from provincial governors
that a future threat to the state would come. The
greatest failure of Sulla’s reforms was in not taking
precautions against the abuse of the imperium by
those men who would be granted extraordinary
commands to deal with the increasing threats to the
empire. (Pompey and Crassus)
Military Power and the Provinces

19. The most
important
thing to
remember:

20. His REAL legacy…..
• Sulla’s greatest legacy however, was
paving the way for use of force as a
political tool. “It was the memory of
Sulla’s example and methods that
proved most enduring” BRUNT
• “Even Sulla could not abolish his own
example not to preclude a successor
to his domination” SYME
• He achieved all with military force
and violence, a combination that
would be used by others following
him.
• “But the chief danger to the republic
was, as Sulla’s own career had shown,
the rebellious proconsul at the head
of an army more loyal to himself than
to Rome” SEAGER