Sulla

Lore & Background

Sulla rose to prominence during the war against the Numidian king Jugurtha, whom he captured as a result of Jugurtha's betrayal by the king's allies, although his superior Gaius Marius took credit for ending the war. He then fought successfully against Germanic tribes during the Cimbrian War, and Italian allies during the Social War. He was awarded the Grass Crown for his bravery at the Battle of Nola. Sulla was closely associated with Venus, adopting the title Epaphroditos, meaning 'favoured of Aphrodite.'

Sulla was elected consul for 88 BC; however, amid a dispute over the command of the war against Mithridates of Pontus – initially awarded to Sulla by the Senate but revoked as part of a political deal between Marius and the plebeian tribune Publius Sulpicius – Sulla, as consul, took command of his army and marched on Rome. As a result, Marius, Sulpicius, and several of their allies were violently expelled from the city while the rest were executed. Afterwards, Sulla left with his army at the end of his consular term to fight Mithridates in Greece. During his absence, Marius returned with Lucius Cornelius Cinna and they purged their opponents from the city, including Sulla, whom they declared a public enemy. In the East, Sulla crushed the Pontic armies at the battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenos (86 BC), but offered a generous peace to Mithridates, so he could return to Rome. Although Marius and Cinna had by this point died, Sulla crushed the successors of their faction and won a decisive victory outside Rome at the Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC).

Sulla, having seized control of Roman politics, revived the office of dictator, which had been dormant since the Second Punic War more than a century earlier. Even before his dictatorship, he initiated proscriptions to purge his opponents; with his dictatorial powers, he reformed Roman constitutional laws to restore the primacy of the Senate and limit the power of the tribunes of the plebs. He resigned his dictatorship at the start of 80 BC and assumed an ordinary consulship for the rest of the year. After that consulship, Sulla retired to private life and died shortly thereafter in 78 BC.

Reader's Guide

Sulla left a lasting impression on the next generation of leaders, such as Pompey and Julius Caesar, who followed his precedent in using force to attain political power. His march on Rome set a dangerous precedent for the late republic, demonstrating that a general could use his army to seize control of the state. His constitutional reforms, aimed at strengthening the Senate and curbing the tribunes, were largely undone after his death, but his dictatorship revived an office that had been dormant for over a century. The proscriptions he initiated to eliminate his enemies became a model for later political purges. Sulla's career illustrated the fragility of republican institutions when confronted by military ambition, and his actions contributed to the cycle of civil wars that eventually ended the republic.

Did You Know?

• Sulla was awarded the Grass Crown for his bravery at the Battle of Nola.
• He adopted the title Epaphroditos, meaning 'favoured of Aphrodite,' due to his close association with Venus.
• Sulla resigned his dictatorship at the start of 80 BC and assumed an ordinary consulship for the rest of the year.
• During his youth, Sulla wrote comedic plays called Atellan farces.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (c. 138 BC – 78 BC) was a Roman General and Dictator." — Sulla "How is this? Ought not the petitioner to speak first, and the conqueror to listen in silence?" — Sulla "I forgive the many for the sake of the few, the living for the dead." — Sulla "No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full." — Sulla