Marian Civil War — Marius's Seventh Consulship
The first crack in Republican norms came in 88 BCE when the tribune Sulpicius transferred command of the Mithridatic War from Sulla to Marius by popular vote. Sulla responded by marching his legions into Rome itself. Marius fled. The moment Sulla's back was turned, the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna revived the Marian cause. Together Cinna and Marius besieged Rome in late 87 BCE. What followed was Rome's first political terror: the senator Marcus Antonius was hunted down and beheaded; heads of Sulla's allies were displayed on the Rostra. Marius declared himself consul for the seventh time — an unprecedented honour. He did not enjoy it. Old, sick, and reportedly plagued by nightmares, he died in January 86 BCE, seventeen days into his consulship. Cinna would dominate Rome until Sulla returned in 83 BCE.
- Year: 88 BCE
- Category: Political
