The final decades of the second century BC, and the first decades of the first century
BC, were an incredibly tumultuous time in Roman history. Besides wars against Rome’s
allies on the Italian peninsula, Rome waged war against King Jugurtha of Numidia and King
Mithridates VI of Pontus. A lengthy period of instability culminated in the two civil
wars, which broke out after the rogue ex-consul Gaius Marius usurped power while the standing
consul was commanding a military expedition. This standing consul was Lucius Cornelius
Sulla. He revived Rome’s office of dictator, which
had been inactive for over a century… yet although oftentimes dictators enjoy their
position for life, Sulla voluntarily stepped down after he passed his reforms.
Decades of Instability (112-91BC)
During the last half of the second century BC, several socio-economic problems rose to
the surface of the Roman Republic. Among them was the ever-increasing social and legal divide
between Roman citizens and non-Romans living within their sphere of influence, often long-term
allies. The so-called Optimates, an aristocratic political faction, were opposed to granting
citizenship rights to these peoples, even to those living on the peninsula.
Already in 133 BC, Tribune Tiberius Gracchus, part of the reformist Populares, attempted
to issue reforms regarding both the disgruntled non-Romans within the Republic and the decrease
of smallholding farmers who were the backbone of the army. For his reform proposals, Tiberius
had to pay with his life as he was murdered upon encouragement by Roman senators. Ten
years later, his younger Populares brother, Gaius Gracchus, who walked a similar political
path, was executed together with a number of his followers.
Nearly four decades later, there still wasn’t much progress regarding agrarian reforms and
the citizenship issue. Sure, the Populares consul Gaius Marius instituted army reforms,
broadening the recruitment scope to Romans without property and promising land after
serving. Still, no solution was in sight for non-Romans.
Meanwhile, Rome kept expanding. King Attalus III of Pergamon bequeathed his kingdom to
the Roman Republic. After crushing a brief rebellion orchestrated by the pretender Euemens
III, it became the Roman Provincia Asia. In 121 BC, a Roman army came to the Greek colony
Massilia’s aid to fend off neighbouring Gallic tribes. This resulted in the new Provincia
Gallia Narbonensis. Three years later, the Numidian King Micipsa passed away, and his
adopted son Jugurtha usurped his throne. Numidia was a traditionally loyal ally to the Romans,
and they couldn’t let a rogue king destabilise this. After years of war, in 106 BC, Jugurtha’s
father-in-law Bocchus I betrayed him, handing him over to Rome. During this time, the non-noble
reformist Gaius Marius was elected as consul, rising to an unprecedented series of five
consulships in a row. We’ve already briefly glossed over Marius’
reforms, lowering the bar for legionnaire volunteers and promising land as a reward
for serving in the army. Thanks to the promise of land after serving, soldiers began considering
their commander as their patron rather than the Republic itself.
This new professionalised army consisting of lower social classes proved its worth when
the Germanic Cimbri trekked southward from Jutland. Supported by a mixture of Germanic-Celtic
tribes such as Teutons, they entered Gaul and Northern Italy. Marius and the new army
didn’t just defeat the tribes in two subsequent bloody battles but nearly exterminated them.
The fact his soldiers developed more personal loyalty to their commander would have considerable
effects in the decades to come. Many effects Marius had not foreseen.
The Social Wars (91-88BC)
But the Roman citizenship question wasn’t resolved and wouldn’t be for years. Although
Marius had modest progressive thoughts regarding the scope of army recruits, he wasn’t a
dead-set populist reformer. During his consulship in 100 BC, the clever tribune Lucius Apuleius
Saturninus proposed far-reaching reforms. This led to Marius disavowing him. During
subsequent riots in Rome, Saturninus was killed, and Marius sided with the optimates, at least
for the time being. Even so, what followed was far from a period of tranquillity.
Another nine years later, legislation to grant citizenship to non-Romans living on the peninsula
failed to pass. To give you an idea of the atmosphere it failed to pass in: the Tribune
proposing the law was murdered. This statement by the senatorial class to not grant tribes
living on the peninsula citizenship appeared to have been the straw that broke the camel’s
back. Former allies such as the Etruscans, Umbrians and Samnites united and took up arms
against the Republic. What followed was the so-called Social War.
An incredibly bloody and violent conflict, lasting for a bit over two years. It was akin
to a civil war; after all, the tribes living on the peninsula had been influenced by Roman
military culture for centuries. After a few years of bloodshed, the Senate eventually
backed down and granted citizenship to those tribes giving up the fight. Only the Samnites
continued their war, and were mercilessly fought, mainly by commander Cornelius Sulla.
Sulla had distinguished himself two decades earlier during the Jugurthine War. When Bocchus
I betrayed King Jugurtha, it was Sulla who led the dethroned King to Rome and paraded
him through the streets before throwing him in the Mamertine Prison where he passed away
not too soon after. A convinced Optimates supporter, Sulla became well-known as an able
military commander and would play the lead role in the near future.
But even before the Social War ended, another enormous war broke out in the East. The Kingdom
of Pontus, ruled by King Mithridates VI, had risen from the ashes of the Seleucid Empire
in Asia Minor. Reigning since 124 BC, Mithridates expanded
Pontus around the Black Sea. When Roman officials continued levying taxes on Asia Minor, the
King used Pontus’ considerable armament, the local population’s resentment of Rome,
and Rome’s instability. He swiftly expelled Roman officials and conquered the entirety
of Asia Minor without too much opposition. Latin speakers who remained were executed
during the conquest, with some sources indicating over 80.000 massacred.
Sulla’s First Civil War (88-87 BC)
Clearly, Rome couldn’t let this happen unpunished. There so happened to be a consular election
that year, with the Optimates-dominated senate voting Sulla to become consul. An army was
raised, and Sulla received command. With the prospect of riches and glory retaking Pontus,
Marius and his political allies weren’t happy Sulla received command. When Sulla left
Rome on his way to Pontus, they took action. The Populares tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus
used the threat of riots and anarchy to pacify the senate. He then took the vote to the tribunus
plebis. These removed Sulla as commander and granted the role to Marius, who was in his
sixties by now. Sulla received word of this when he was around
Nola, and wouldn’t let himself be cast aside that easily. Contrary to the Marian faction’s
expectations, as it went against ancient tradition and Roman law, Sulla’s army remained loyal
to him instead of the Republic and began a slow march on Rome. Ironically, Sulla claimed
to be championing the senatorial order. Yet, although his army remained loyal, all but
one of his officers defected during his march on Rome. Only quaestor Licinius Lucullus remained
loyal. At the core of this change in loyalty stood
the new composition of the Roman army. A considerable number of Sulla’s soldiers were formerly
non-Romans who took up arms against Rome during the Social War. Romans considered serving
the Republic a great honour and wouldn’t think of taking up arms against the eternal
city. Dr Philip Matyszak notes how this is the first time in Roman history that the Republic
faced an army more loyal to its commander than Rome itself, setting a precedent for
the decades, if not centuries to come. Panicked and in a corner, Marius promised
freedom to every slave and gladiator who took up arms to fight on his side. Yet, in the
ensuing battle, Sulla emerged victorious. Rome was captured, Sulpicius was killed, and
Marius narrowly escaped and went into exile in Carthage.
Sulla reinstated the Senate and left for Greece to reconquer territories lost to King Mithridates.
As Athens had turned its back to Rome and joined Mithridates, Sulla earned the dubious
honour of being the only man in history to have attacked both Athens and Rome. Sulla-supporting
consul Gnaeus Octavius remained behind in Rome to see day-to-day business. He was joined
by the Marian supported consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna, tolerated by Sulla, to show his good
faith. Approximately one year after Sulla left, his
enemies rapidly regained control in Rome. Marius returned from his exile, was re-elected
as consul, and together with his political allies, he purged Rome of most Sulla loyalists.
Octavianus too was killed in the chaos. The now Populares-dominated Senate declared a
separate war against Mithridates and outlawed Sulla. Yet, just seventeen days after retaking
control, Marius passed away. Cinna succeeded him.
While all this was going on, Sulla emerged victorious in reconquering territory from
Mithridates. After retaking Greece, he entered Asia Minor in 85 BC where he defeated Mithridates
and exiled him towards the east. Once he re-established control, he returned in 83 BC with his veteran
army, to recapture Rome. The Populares had ample time and opportunity
to prepare themselves for Sulla’s return, but still they weren’t up to the task of
stopping him. Cinna had prepared to meet him on foreign soil, but was murdered by his own
soldiers in a most likely a-political mutiny. Sulla was able to trek all the way to Rome
and several Roman nobiles even raised their own armies and joined Sulla’s side. Among
these nobiles was the young volunteer general, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo. The bond of trust
between these men was strong enough for Pompeius’ son marrying Sulla’s daughter.
Although the war lasted for a short while, it was incredibly violent. In 82 BC, Sulla
forced a decisive battle at the Colline Gate just outside of Rome. He defeated the Populares
forces. Meanwhile, Pompeius reconquered the North African territories from the Marian
faction. The last ‘bastion’ was the Iberian peninsula, where Marian general Quintus Sertorius
resided. He managed to hold off Sulla’s forces for a considerable time, using the
native tribes to wage guerilla warfare of sorts. It wasn’t until Sertorius was assassinated
in 73 BC that this final thorn in the side of the Optimate senate was removed, although
by then, Sulla wasn’t there to see the results.
Dictator Sulla (82-79BC)
As Sulla victoriously marched into Rome, the Senate was once again dominated by the optimates.
This body now elected Sulla as dictator for an unspecified amount of time, tasking him
with reorganising Rome’s governmental structure. ‘Settling the state,’ so to speak. Rome
hadn’t seen a dictator since the Second Punic War, over a century ago.
Sulla ruled as dictator for the next three years, using his omnipotent position to persecute
and execute remaining Populares and their followers. He did so by issuing the infamous
lex Cornelia de proscriptione. For the first time in Roman history, he published a list
with the names of senators and military commanders who fought against him. Through this terror,
he managed to purge his enemies, and much later, Roman rulers would use similar tactics
to get rid of opposition. He also increased the power and influence
of the Senate as opposed to the tribunus plebis and made it more difficult for men of non-noble
descent such as Gaius Marius to rise to the function of consul. He increased the number
of standing-jury courts but removed the equal liberty principle, granting the senatorial
class the position of jury. Decisions by the ordinary people’s tribune
had to be agreed to by the aristocratic senate, while members of the tribune were excluded
from any future positions within the Roman government. Ambitious men would now shy away
from this body. He disconnected the position of consul from having supreme command over
the military. From now on, consuls had to remain in Italy while the provincial authorities
received command over the military. He also ensured land was distributed to his
veterans who had remained loyal through the past turbulent years. Fiesole and Pompeii
received a considerable influx of settles, becoming somewhat of Sullan colonies.
Sulla voluntarily stepped down from his position as dictator in 79 BC. He passed away one year
later, without any official function. But he didn’t leave a stable Rome. Although
his new constitution prevented aristocracy and ordinary men alike from assuming too much
power, there was constant agitation against the Optimates dominated senate. Not to mention
that this period saw piratery on the Meditteranean run wild. Another sign of just how unstable
Rome was, was the great slave revolt led by the Thracian slave Spartacus, which broke
out just six years after Sulla’s death. Eventually, this revolt was suppressed by
Rome’s richest man: Crassus, with the help of a well-known general: Pompeius. Both men
assumed a position of influence in Roman politics and twisted the senate’s arm to elect both
of them as consul in 70 BC. It marked the beginning of the direct downfall of the Roman
Republic, although a case can be made for the downfall to be set in motion decades earlier
already.
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