Sulla's Civil War and Dictatorship
The First Civil War of the Roman Republic erupted in 88 BCE when the Senate assigned Lucius Cornelius Sulla command of the war against Mithridates VI of Pontus, only for the tribune Sulpicius Rufus to transfer it to the popular general Marius. Sulla's response was unprecedented: he marched his army on Rome itself, captured the city, and reversed Sulpicius's legislation — the first time a Roman general had led troops against Rome. After departing for the east, Marius and his allies seized power and conducted bloody proscriptions against Sulla's supporters. When Sulla returned victorious from the east in 83 BCE, a second round of civil war ended with his capture of Rome and the dictatorship he held from 82-79 BCE. Sulla reorganized the Roman constitution to strengthen senatorial power and then, extraordinarily, resigned the dictatorship and retired to private life. His precedent — that military force could determine Roman politics — proved impossible to contain.
- Category: Political
