It was at this meeting that Sulla was told by a Chaldean seer that he would die at the height of his fame and fortune. Rather than go into exile, Sulla chose to march on Rome. Sulla, when he came back from the East, came by ship and marched north up the Italian peninsula from Brundisium (modern Brindisi). In addition, possible Sullan supporters were murdered. Caesar was coming from the NW. Sulla then advanced on Athens. Sulla’s chief of staff was Lucullus, who went ahead of him to scout the way and negotiate with Bruttius Sura, the existing Roman commander in Greece. Sulla steadfastly defended Rome, its interests, and the republican status quo for much of his career, and if that was the breadth of his life’s work, then he would undoubtedly be hailed as a heroic guardian of the Republic. The government of Rome (under the de facto rule of Cinna) then sent out Lucius Valerius Flaccus with an army to relieve Sulla of command in the east. By 83 BCE, Sulla marched towards Rome at the head of an army intent on seizing control of the Republic’s capital to eliminate potential threats and enforce his will for a second time. First March on Rome by Sulla. When news of this reached Sulla he declined to punish the murderers. Sulla marched on Rome twice the first time was because Gaius Marius used a tribune of the plebs to take Sulla’s legal right as commander of an army from him. Sulla played an important role in the long political struggle between the Optimates and Populares factions at Rome. Sulla was the first Roman magistrate to meet a Parthian ambassador. [52] To further solidify the prestige and authority of the Senate, Sulla transferred the control of the courts from the equites, who had held control since the Gracchi reforms, to the senators. This "first hand" understanding of human motivations and the ordinary Roman citizen may explain why he was able to succeed as a general despite lacking any significant military experience before his 30s. [18], Sulla's campaign in Cappadocia had led him to the banks of the Euphrates, where he was approached by an embassy from the Parthian Empire. [33], After passing his laws Sulla temporarily left Rome to attend to the cleaning-up of the Italian Allies, especially Nola which was still holding out. Although Sulla had engineered this move, as Sulla was serving under Marius at the time, Marius took credit for this feat. Through Sulla's reforms to the Plebeian Council, tribunes lost the power to initiate legislation. These machinations caused calls for Metellus's removal; despite delaying tactics by Metellus, in 107 BC Marius returned to Rome to stand for the consulship. Sulla, however, refused to give up control of his 35,000 strong army and went on to take Rome and defeats Marius. These two reforms were enacted primarily to allow Sulla to increase the size of the Senate from 300 to 600 senators. Even the armed gladiators were unable to resist the organized Roman soldiers; and although Marius offered freedom to any slave that would fight with him against Sulla (an offer which Plutarch says only three slaves accepted)[41] he and his followers were forced to flee the city.[42]. 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Sulla consolidated his position, declared Marius and his allies hostes (enemies of the state) and addressed the Senate in a harsh tone, portraying himself as a victim, presumably to justify his violent entrance into the city. After his victory, some opposing legionaries were granted clemency, but others were not so fortunate as he butchered thousands of soldiers who had already surr… 49. Despite the complete encirclement of Athens and its port, and several attempts by Archelaus to raise the siege, a stalemate seemed to have developed. THE FIRST FRUITS OF SULLA 'S MARCH 103. However, neither Asiagenus nor his army, seemed to have any motivation to fight. Overconfident Catulus tried to stop the Cimbri, but he was severely outnumbered and his army suffered some losses. Cicero comments that Pompey once said "If Sulla could, why can't I?". Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a remarkable soldier. [52] Sulla retained his earlier reforms, which required senatorial approval before any bill could be submitted to the Plebeian Council (the principal popular assembly), and which had also restored the older, more aristocratic "Servian" organization to the Centuriate Assembly (assembly of soldiers). On November 1 of 82 BC, the two forces met at the Battle of the Colline Gate, just outside Rome. Marcus Licinius Crassus marched with an army from Spain, and would later play a pivotal role at the Colline Gates. Third wife, Cloelia. 50. Florus, a Roman historian of the 1 st century CE, describes Sulla in his The Epitome of Roman History as “unable to tolerate this injury” (Florus, Book II). His spies then informed him that Aristion was neglecting the Heptachalcum (part of the city wall). Cicero comments that Pompey would have said "If Sula can, why can't I?". What resulted was another civil war that climaxed (but didn’t end) just outside of Rome – at the Colline Gate – with the aid of two newcomers, Pompey and Crassus. Cinna's old co-consul, Papirius Carbo, and Gaius Marius the Younger, the 26-year-old son of the dead consul, were elected as consuls. When Sulla marched on Rome in 88, his principal justification was that he was about to deliver Rome "from her tyrants". Many deserted to Sulla before Flaccus packed up and moved on north to threaten Mithridates’ northern dominions. He returned victorious from the East in 82 BC, marched a second time on Rome, and crushed the Populares and their Italian allies at the Battle of the Colline Gate. [25] Sulla, being an experienced military man, took command of Rome's southern army and continued the fight against the Samnites and their allies. Perhaps in an attempt to gain experience for an army to act as a counter to Sulla's forces, or to show Sulla that the Senate also had some strength of its own, Cinna raised an army to deal with this Illyrian problem. Sulpicius was later betrayed and killed by one of his slaves, whom Sulla subsequently freed and then executed (being freed for giving the information leading to Sulpicius, but sentenced to death for betraying his master). Read your article online and download the PDF from your email or your account. He had the Senate draw up a list of those he considered enemies of the state and published the list in the Roman Forum. Sula demonstrated what could be done and therefore inspired others to try; and, for this reason, it has been considered as another step in the inevitable fall of the Roman Republic. Why did Sulla march on Rome in 88BC? See timelines for the life of Sulla here! [27] Sulla drove off Cleuntius and his men and pursued them all the way to the city of Nola, a town to the north east of Pompeii. In the spring of 87 BC Sulla landed at Dyrrachium, in Illyria, at the head of five veteran legions. The novel is in the form of an autobiography. This action was an unprecedented event. Attempts to defeat Pompey failed and Metellus with his African forces along with Pompey secured northern Italy for Sulla. Sulla, by way of his patrician rank, skipped military service and was elected to the junior magistracy of quaestor in 108 BCE. As Marius, fresh from his victory over Jugurtha, was considered to be Rome's best military commander at that particular time, the Senate allowed him to lead the campaign against the northern invaders. During the battle Sulla commanded the cavalry on the right and was instrumental in achieving victory. On arrival, Sulla threw up siege works encompassing not only Athens but also the port of Piraeus. Cato got himself killed early on while storming a rebel camp. Select the purchase The "Assembly of the People" subsequently ratified the decision, with no limit set on his time in office. Sulla’s march on Rome exposed the weaknesses of the republic and after his dictatorship many political leaders tried to restore the constitution to its formal glory. In November 1921, the fascist parties of Italy joined forces to create the Fascist Party. 49. However, it was only a matter of time before the tensions between political leaders broke this socio political balance. As a politician he was equally successful, becoming consul for the first time in 88 BC, aged around 50 years old, and for the second in 80 BC. Sulla unconstitutionally marched his armies into Rome and defeated his enemy Gaius Marius in battle. This item is part of JSTOR collection Sulla received news of this new turmoil while at his camp at Nola, surrounded by his Social War veterans, the men whom he had personally led to victory, the men who had hailed him Imperator and who had awarded him the Grass Crown (Corona Graminea). Contents[show] Prelude Sulla had achieved temporary control of Rome and Marius's exile to Africa through his first march on Rome, but departed soon afterwards to lead the First Mithridatic War. [43] Asia was occupied by the forces of Mithridates under the command of Archelaus. In 86 BC, after Sulla's victory in Orchomenos, he initially spent some time re-establishing Roman authority. The army preferred Fimbria (not surprising considering his leniency in regard to plunder) and a general revolt ensued. Possibly to protect himself from future political retribution, Sulla had the sons and grandsons of the proscribed banned from running for political office, a restriction not removed for over 30 years. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Read Online (Free) relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. The reason behind this was because an ancestor, Publius Cornelius Rufinius, was banished from the senate after having been caught possessing more than ten pounds of silver plate. Why did Sulla march on Rome?? He made a name for himself by not only capturing King Jugurtha of Numidia, but also by doing it his own way. Sulla, by contrast, would use the ideas and systems begun by Marius and take them to their final conclusion. Sulla's body was brought into the city on a golden bier, escorted by his veteran soldiers, and orations were delivered by several eminent senators: the main funeral oration was delivered by Lucius Marcius Philippus. Original articles feature research on Greek and Hellenistic history, the Roman Republic and Empire as well as late antiquity. On the second day, Archelaus made a determined effort to escape Sulla’s web of dikes—the entire Pontic army was hurled at the Romans—but the Roman legionaries were pressed together so tightly that their short swords were like an impenetrable barrier, through which the enemy could not escape. Camped with his army in Campanian Nola in 88 BCE, the Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla made the unprecedented decision to march against Rome. Sulla had defeated a vastly superior force in terms of numbers. He was pissed off at being replaced as commander of the expedition against the Samnites by his arch-enemy Marius. Violence in the Forum ensued, some nobles tried to lynch Sulpicius (as had been done to the brothers Gracchi, and to Saturninus) but failed in the face of his bodyguard of gladiators. During his period of exile, Marius became determined that he would hold a seventh consulship, as foretold by the Sibyl decades earlier. 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