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Christopher Bohlin
Ms. Bergen, Mrs. Downer, Ms. Ibrahim
English 10-7, Latin II-4, World History-M/W/F
10 November 2010
The Life and Legacy of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a Roman general, consul, and dictator who lived from
ca.138 BC-78 BC. His impact on the Roman Republic was so significant that many historians
believe his decisions helped lead to the demise of the Republic. Throughout his life, Sulla was so
lucky that he believed that the gods were protecting him, so he chose the agnomen Felix. The
name means "the fortunate" and is sometimes written at the end of his full name (Keaveney 135).
This nickname was somewhat ironic, because many of Sulla's decisions led to the deaths of
thousands of his enemies, who weren't very fortunate themselves.
Although Sulla was raised in relative poverty, he grew to become a strong, powerful, and
effective general who would change the course of Roman history through his bold actions and
decisions. Sulla was the first Roman who dared to march on Rome with his own army. He did
this not once but twice. He was the first Roman dictator to be named without any limits on his
power or length of time that he could rule. While dictator, he made changes to the constitution
that ensured that the Senate had great power. Sulla also allowed Julius Caesar, who was the last
dictator of the Roman Republic, to live when he could have had him killed. All of these
decisions had an impact on Rome's future, which will be discussed on the next pages. Sulla was
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very fortunate himself to rise out of poverty and become powerful on the battlefield and in
politics, but his "luck" might have helped lead to the fall of the Roman Republic.
Not too much is known about the first thirty years of Sulla's life. It is only known that
"Sulla was a poor man of aristocratic descent, who lived in obscure lodgings while laying the
first foundations of his career" (Baker 31). He loved acting, singing, and works of art. He
enjoyed the company of philosophers, dancers, actors, artists, musicians, and mimes (Oman
118). His associations with these artists could have helped him learn creative and effective ways
to defeat his enemies such as Jugurtha and Mithradites. In the final years of his life, Sulla
shocked everyone by leaving the dictatorship so that he could write his memoirs, as well as to
enjoy life by drinking and partying with people in the fine arts (Plutarch 440).
Since Sulla was from an aristocratic family, he could choose to have a career in the
military or in politics. However, to do so, first he needed money. He was quite fortunate that he
was very close friends with two women who left him their money after they died. The first was a
wealthy plebian woman and the second was his stepmother (Keaveney 10). The wealth he
inherited changed his life. He soon became the quaestor to Gaius Marius and fought with him in
the Jugurthine War in Africa. Sulla helped end the war through "clever and unscrupulous
diplomacy" (Oman 120). Because of this, Sulla was given credit for winning the Jugurthine War
rather than Marius. This made Marius very resentful. The animosity between the two men lasted
until Marius died. It had long-lasting effects on the Roman Republic by causing years of civil
wars between followers of Sulla (the Optimates) and followers of Marius (the Populares).
In 88 BC, Marius convinced the Senate to place himself in charge of the Roman armies to
fight King Mithridates VI of Pontus (Mithraditic War). This made Sulla furious because he
believed it was his right as consul to be in charge of this war. Sulla then made the decision to
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recruit men into his own army. They marched into the city of Rome, which was the first time a
general had used a Roman army against Rome. Sulla then strengthened the Senate's power,
expelled Marius, and then left Rome to fight King Mithridates. During the years Sulla was gone,
Marius and his followers returned to Rome and massacred their enemies, including the followers
of Sulla. After Sulla had gotten King Mithridates to sign a peace treaty, Sulla returned to Rome
with his army of 40,000 men in 83 BC and fought the followers of Marius in a year-long civil
war to gain control of Rome. Sulla was the only person to have led an army into Rome twice.
Spann believes that Sulla caused great psychological damage to the Roman Republic with
these two marches on Rome and that the time period from 88 to 82 BC was when "the major
figures of the next generation acquired the personal and political hatreds, the cynicism, and the
contempt for the unwritten rules of the Republic that led them to destroy it in the 40s" (xiii).
Also, Spann believes that the second march on Rome damaged the Republic because Sulla used
his own army rather than an army the Senate had approved to carry out the Senate's wishes.
Sulla's violence against his enemies led Roman politicians to worry that their own opponents
might do the same rather than listen to the Senate (Spann 28). It was important that the soldiers
were loyal to Sulla rather than the Senate. Levick wrote that historians agree that Sulla was the
"first master of the client army" (505). Marsh wrote that this is "the first time a Roman general
had turned the swords of his soldiers against the country and against the government, and for the
first time the army had overruled the decision of the forum" (47).
After Sulla won the civil war, he had enormous power, and he used it to punish his
enemies and reward his friends. He brutally killed thousands of his enemies. When the Senate
asked him who else he planned to kill, Sulla provided proscription lists. Everyone who was on
the lists was marked for death, and those who kept them safe would also be killed (Beesly 192).
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In 82 BC, Sulla again used the Senate for his benefit. He made the Senate approve all of his acts
and also had the Senate elect an Interrex since both of the consuls had died. The Interrex was to
call together a committee to determine who should be the next rulers. Sulla's boldness and
confidence was apparent again when "he wrote to the Interrex and recommended that a Dictator
should be appointed, not for a limited time, but till he had restored quiet in the Roman world,
and...went on to say that he thought himself the best man for the post" (Beesly 196). As a result,
the Senate appointed Sulla perpetual dictator with absolute power for as long as he wanted the
position. The previous limit had been for six months. This was another example of how Sulla's
actions led to a weakened Republic, as his rule with unlimited power seemed more like that of a
monarch or an emperor.
Although he was brutal to his enemies, Sulla was very generous to his friends and to his
thousands of military supporters. Sulla always kept his loyal armies intact so that he could use
them for invasions or to defend him. Sulla was one of the first Roman leaders not to completely
disband the army when it wasn't needed to fight an enemy. Sulla established military colonies
that "formed a devoted body of militia upon which he could rely" (Morey 177). This helped
Sulla to remain powerful and intimidating to his enemies.
While he was dictator, Sulla used this position to reform the Roman constitution. He
wanted to return the Senate to its powerful position in the Roman Republic. Sulla increased the
size of the Senate by three hundred men. These were mostly aristocratic and equestrian men who
had supported him. Sulla also increased the number and quality of courts. This reform has been
viewed as his most important part of his constitutional changes (Morey 178). Since the juries and
judges were senators, the power of the Senate was made even greater (Gabba). Many of these
reforms lasted after he died and were examples of Sulla's influence. Oman does point out one
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problem that Sulla didn't really consider (152). Sulla should not have let governors lead the
army. The armies should have been led by someone who was loyal to the Senate rather than to
the governor. This was another decision by Sulla that helped lead to the fall of the Republic.
Later, a governor named Julius Caesar led his army over the Rubicon, which started a civil war.
This was similar to what Sulla had done earlier in Rome.
Yet another decision that Sulla made helped to lead to the destruction of the Roman
Republic. After Sulla became dictator, he tried to force Julius Caesar to give up his wife, but
Caesar refused. Caesar knew that this decision would put his life in danger, so he left Rome.
Amazingly enough, Sulla later pardoned Caesar. Thirty years after Sulla's dictatorship, Julius
Caesar also became a powerful dictator and led a loyal army. The Senate continued to be very
powerful and feared that Caesar had too much ambition, like Sulla. This helped lead to Caesar's
murder and to more chaos in the Republic. Not many years after Caesar's death, the Roman
Republic was destroyed and replaced by the Roman Empire (Ridley 229).
Although Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix lived in relative poverty for the first thirty years of
his life, he became a famous figure in the history of the Roman Republic. Many of his political
and military actions had lasting impact. His decisions helped lead to the end of the Republic and
the beginning of the Roman Empire. Sulla demonstrated that a powerful person with a large,
loyal army could be victorious, even against fellow Romans in Rome. Sulla was the first Roman
dictator without any limits placed on his power or on his term. He was therefore more like an
emperor or king than the head of a republic. Sulla also made changes to the Roman constitution
and gave great power to the Senate. This helped the wealthy (Optimates) to have more power
and caused the Populares to lose power. This created great resentment and unrest. Sulla also
could have had Julius Caesar killed when Caesar was a teenager for disobeying an order. Instead,
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Sulla pardoned him, and within three decades, Caesar became a dictator who was as ambitious
and powerful as Sulla. Caesar's own actions eventually led to his murder by members of the
Roman Senate, which he and Sulla had made so strong. In less than twenty years after Caesar's
death, the 500-year-old Roman Republic was no more. It was replaced by the Roman Empire,
which itself survived nearly 500 years.
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Works Cited
Baker, G.P. Sulla the Fortunate. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1967. Print.
Beesly, Augustus Henry. The Gracchi, Marius, and Sulla. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1891. Print.
Gabba, Emilio. Republican Rome, The Army and the Allies. California: Berkley: University of
California Press, 1976. Print.
Keaveney, Arthur. The Last Republican. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.
Levick, B. M. "Sulla's March on Rome." Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 31. 4 (4th Qtr.,
1982): 503-508. Web. 21 Sept. 2010.
Marsh, Frank Burr. The Founding of the Roman Empire. Austin: The University of Texas, 1922.
Print.
Morey, William Carey. Outlines of Roman History. New York: American Book Company, 1900.
Web. 30 Oct. 2010.
Oman, C.W.C. Seven Roman Statesmen. London: Arnold, 1902. Print.
Plutarch. "The Life of Sulla." Parallel Lives. 5 Sept. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2010.
Ridley, Ronald T. "The Dictator's Mistake: Caesar's Escape from Sulla." Historia: Zeitschrift für
Alte Geschichte. 49. 2 (2nd Qtr., 2000): 211-29. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
Spann, Philip O. Quintus Sertorius. California: Berkeley: University of Arkansas Press, 1987.
Print.