Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, known simply as Sulla, was a important Roman general and leader who lived from 138 to 78 BC. He was famous for his skill in battle and for being the first Roman general to lead his army into Rome itself during a time of political fighting. After taking control, Sulla worked to change Rome's government rules to make the Senate stronger and limit the power of other leaders.

Sulla served as consul, or main leader, of Rome twice and was known for his successes in many wars, including battles against foreign enemies and rivals within Rome. He was awarded a special honor called the Grass Crown for his bravery in one battle. After winning a civil war, Sulla became dictator, a powerful role that had not been used in Rome for over a hundred years. He used this power to change Roman laws and then stepped down, leaving a strong example for later leaders like Pompey and Julius Caesar.

Family and youth

Sulla was born into a branch of the patrician gens Cornelia, but his family was poor at the time. One of his ancestors, Publius Cornelius Rufinus, was once a consul but was banned from the Senate for having too much silver.

Stories about Sulla's childhood are exaggerated. After his father died, Sulla had little money and spent time with actors, musicians, and dancers. He even wrote funny plays called Atellan farces.

Sulla received a good education and was known for being smart and able to speak well in Greek. He married twice and had one child. He also had relationships with other women. He gained wealth later in life through inheritances from his stepmother and a friend.

Early career

Sulla became a leader in Rome after he turned thirty. He first worked under a general named Gaius Marius.

Jugurthine War, 107–106 BC

The Jugurthine War began when a leader named Jugurtha tried to take control of a land called Numidia, going against Roman rules. Several Roman leaders were tricked by Jugurtha, but Sulla helped defeat him. He convinced another king, Bocchus, to turn Jugurtha over to Rome. This success made Sulla well-known and respected.

Cimbrian War, 104–101 BC

Around this time, two tribes called the Cimbri and the Teutons were moving toward Rome. Marius led the defense, and Sulla served under him. Sulla helped win battles against these tribes and earned praise for his skills. He later became a leader in his own right and was elected to an important position in Rome.

Cilician governorship, 96–93 BC

As a leader, Sulla was sent to a place called Cilicia. There, he helped restore a king named Ariobarzanes to his throne. He also met with leaders from a faraway empire called Parthia, establishing friendly relations and setting a boundary between their lands.

Social War

Tensions grew between Rome and its allies over many years. When a plan to give these allies Roman citizenship failed, some groups rebelled. Sulla led Roman forces in the south, winning several important battles and helping to bring the war to an end. His successes led to his election as one of Rome’s consuls in 88 BC.

First consulship, 88 BC

Sulla was elected consul in 88 BC, likely because of his success in battles the year before. His election was contested by Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo and Pompey Strabo, both of whom wanted the powerful military command against the king of Pontus, Mithridates VI.

After becoming consul, Sulla got caught up in a political fight with a tribune named Publius Sulpicius. Sulpicius wanted to change how new Italian citizens could vote. When Sulla and his fellow consul opposed this, Sulpicius made a secret deal with Marius, who wanted Sulla’s military command for himself. Sulpicius used armed supporters to push his plans through, leading to violence in Rome.

Sulla’s troops agreed to follow him when he marched on Rome to stop Marius from taking his command. Once in Rome, Sulla’s forces faced anger from ordinary people, but he managed to get the Senate to declare Marius, his son, Sulpicius, and others outlaws. Only Sulpicius was killed; Marius and his son escaped.

After this, Sulla cancelled Sulpicius’s laws and tried to strengthen the Senate’s power. He left Rome and took command of troops in Macedonia, beginning a long conflict that would later lead to civil war.

Main article: March on Rome (88 BC)

Proconsular command and civil war

First Mithridatic War

Main article: First Mithridatic War

When the Social War ended in 89 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus invaded Roman Asia. By 88 BC, he had taken control of the area and even tried to capture Rhodes. When Rome learned of this, they declared war but took a while to get ready. Sulla was given the job to lead the war but it took him eighteen months to gather five legions and set off. During this time, Mithridates killed many Romans and their families in an event known as the Asiatic vespers and took their property.

Mithridates's successes caused the Athenians to rebel against Rome. The Athenian leader Aristion took control of the city. Rome tried to defend Delos but failed against attacks from Athens and Pontus. However, Rome managed to hold Macedonia, thanks to the governor Gaius Sentius Saturninus and his officer Quintus Bruttius Sura.

Sack of Athens

Main article: Siege of Athens and Piraeus (87–86 BC)

Further information: Roman Greece

In early 87 BC, Sulla brought his five legions to Thessaly across the Adriatic Sea. He ordered his officer Lucullus to make another officer, Sura, retreat from Greece back to Macedonia. Sulla then besieged Athens and Piraeus, as the walls connecting them had been torn down. Threatened by the Pontic navy, Sulla sent Lucullus to find allied naval forces. Meanwhile, Mithridates tried to fight Sulla's forces on land in northern Greece, sending a large army over the Hellespont. The sieges continued until spring of 86 BC.

Sulla found a weak spot in the walls around Athens and captured most of the city on March 1, 86 BC, except for the Acropolis. Although Athens was saved from total destruction because of its importance, Sulla still took treasures from temples in Epidaurus, Delphi, and Olympia to get money and metal. After a battle outside Piraeus with the Pontic general Archelaus, Sulla's forces made the Pontic soldiers leave by sea. Sulla captured the city and had it destroyed.

Boeotian battles

Main articles: Battle of Chaeronea (86 BC) and Battle of Orchomenus

In summer of 86 BC, two big battles happened in Boeotia. The first was the Battle of Chaeronea, fought around the same time the Acropolis in Athens fell. The second was the battle of Orchomenus, fought later in the summer but before autumn rains. The numbers of enemy soldiers given by ancient writers Plutarch and Appian are likely too high; Sulla said he lost only fifteen men, which seems unlikely.

Sulla moved his army from Attica to central Greece, needing to find food and help a group of six thousand men trapped in Thessaly. He did not fight Pontic forces at Philoboetus hill near Chaeronea but instead climbed higher ground and built dirt walls. After a few days, the two sides fought. The Romans stopped a charge by Pontic chariots and then pushed back the Pontic soldiers across the field. Archelaus, the Pontic leader, had between 60,000 and 120,000 men; after the battle, he escaped with only about 10,000.

After the Battle of Chaeronea, Sulla learned that a leader named Cinna had sent Lucius Valerius Flaccus to take over his command. Sulla was declared an outlaw, and Flaccus was supposed to lead an army without a real leader. Sulla went to meet Flaccus's army in Thessaly but turned back when Pontic forces returned to Boeotia. He then fought the Pontic army of about 90,000 men on the plain of Orchomenus. Sulla's soldiers dug three trenches to stop the Pontic cavalry. When the cavalry attacked the diggers, Sulla's men almost lost but he rallied them. The Romans then surrounded the Pontic camp. Archelaus tried to escape but failed, and Sulla destroyed the Pontic army and took the camp. Archelaus ran away and hid in marshes before reaching Chalcis.

Peace with Mithridates

Further information: Treaty of Dardanos

After the battle, Sulla spoke with Archelaus about peace. With Mithridates's armies in Europe almost destroyed, they agreed to terms. Mithridates had to give Rome back Asia and Paphlagonia. He also had to return Bithynia and Cappadocia to Nicomedes and Ariobarzanes. Mithridates would give Sulla seventy or eighty ships and pay a fine of two or three thousand talents. In return, Sulla would recognize Mithridates as a Roman ally in Pontus.

Mithridates, back in Asia, faced uprisings against his rule. Lucullus's fleet, helped by Rhodian allies, also threatened him. When Flaccus's army moved through Macedonia towards Thrace, his officer Gaius Flavius Fimbria took control, killed Flaccus, and chased Mithridates into Asia. With Fimbria's army, Lucullus's fleet, and local unrest, Mithridates finally met Sulla at Dardanus in autumn 85 BC and agreed to the terms Archelaus had negotiated.

After peace was made, Sulla went after Fimbria's forces, who deserted their leader. Fimbria then died after failing to attack Sulla. Sulla settled matters in Asia until 84 BC and then sailed for Italy with 1,200 ships. Ancient writers called this peace a betrayal of Rome for Sulla's own benefit, but modern views are less harsh, noting that defeating Pontus quickly was hard as long as Mithridates lived. Sulla's time in Asia gave him forces and money useful later in Italy.

Civil war

Sulla crossed to Brundisium in spring 83 BC with five legions of veterans from the Mithridatic war. He took the city without a fight. Leader Metellus Pius had already joined Sulla, and his arrival brought more senators to his side. Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had fled earlier, gathered an army in Spain and went to Africa to join Metellus Pius. Pompey, son of Pompey Strabo, raised a group from Picenum and also joined Sulla. Sulla treated him with respect and called him imperator before sending him to gather more troops. Even people Sulla had quarrels with, like Publius Cornelius Cethegus, joined him.

Many in Italy did not support Sulla and feared his anger, remembering his unpopular time as consul. The Senate declared him an enemy and gathered many soldiers and supplies. Sulla, having looted Asia, moved quickly without needing to take from the land. He went toward Capua and met the two consuls of the year – Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and Gaius Norbanus – who had split their forces. Sulla beat Norbanus at the Battle of Mount Tifata, making him retreat. As Sulla moved toward Scipio at Teanum Sidicinum, he made a truce and almost convinced Scipio to join him. But one of Scipio's officers took a town Sulla held, breaking the truce. This let Sulla seem like the peacemaker and blame his enemies for any more fighting. Scipio's soldiers did not want to fight Sulla and told their leader they would not. Sulla pretended to attack but told his veterans to mix with Scipio's new soldiers. Scipio's men left him for Sulla. When Scipio refused to join, Sulla let him go. Sulla tried to talk to Norbanus at Capua, but Norbanus refused and went to Praeneste as Sulla advanced. While Sulla moved south, Scipio fought Pompey in Picenum but lost when his troops left him.

For 82 BC, the consuls were Gnaeus Papirius Carbo and the younger Gaius Marius, son of the famous leader. The rest of 83 BC was spent getting ready for next year's fighting in bad weather. Leader Quintus Sertorius had raised a big group in Etruria but left after the consuls chose Gaius Marius's son over him. Sulla did not recognize treaties with the Samnites because he did not think they were true Romans after Marius and Cinna's actions in 87 BC. Fighting in 82 BC started badly for Sulla's opponents; leaders in Africa and Sardinia were removed. In Italy, two areas of fighting opened. Sulla faced the younger Marius in the south, and Metellus Pius faced Carbo in the north. Marius, helped by the Samnites, fought Sulla hard at Sacriportus but lost when five of his groups switched sides. Marius then went to Praeneste, where Sulla's forces laid siege.

After beating Marius, Sulla had Samnite prisoners killed, causing rebellion behind him. He left an ally, Quintus Lucretius Afella, to keep the siege at Praeneste and went toward Rome. Marius told the Senate to remove Sullan supporters, and the urban praetor Lucius Junius Brutus Damasippus killed four important men at a meeting. This did not help; when Sulla reached Rome, the city gates opened and his opponents ran away. Sulla declared his enemies as enemies of the state and spoke to a group of people, saying sorry for the war. He then went to fight Carbo in Etruria.

Carbo, defeated by Metellus Pius and Pompey, tried to help his co-consul Marius at Praeneste by moving toward Clusium. He gave command to Norbanus to hold Metellus Pius. Sulla attacked Norbanus and the battle was not decided. Pompey attacked eight groups sent to help Praeneste, and the Samnites and Lucanians tried to help Praeneste or join Carbo in the north. Sulla went south to stop them. In the north, Norbanus was defeated and fled to Rhodes, where he later died. After another failed try to help Praeneste, Carbo lost hope and tried to escape to Africa. His officers tried again to help Praeneste but failed, then went toward Rome to make Sulla leave his strong positions. Sulla hurried to Rome and fought the Battle of the Colline Gate on November 1, 82 BC. Sulla's part of the battle lost, and he hid in his camp, but his officer Crassus won on the other side. Sulla's soldiers fled toward Rome but found the gate closed, so they stood and fought. They won during the night. With Crassus chasing the enemy far away and winning at the Colline Gate, Sulla's forces had won. The civil war in Italy was mostly over; anti-Sullan leaders were hunted down.

Dictatorship and constitutional reforms

After winning a battle, Sulla called a meeting with leaders and made big changes to how Rome was ruled. He wanted to make the government stronger and more organized. To do this, he became a dictator, which meant he had a lot of power to change things.

Sulla made several important changes. He created new laws to control leaders in faraway places and set up special courts to make sure everyone followed the rules. He also changed how leaders were chosen and made it harder for some people to make big decisions. He wanted to make sure the group of leaders, called the Senate, had more control.

Even though Sulla tried to fix things, some of his changes didn’t work very well. The new rules were too strict, and without the old ways of discussing and deciding, many laws weren’t followed properly. Also, because many leaders had been lost in wars, the new group of leaders didn’t have as much experience.

Retirement and death

Sulla married Valeria during his time as consul in 80 BC and prepared for elections to choose his successors. He chose to retire to his villa near Puteoli rather than take control of a province. There, he enjoyed a comfortable life, surrounded by artists and musicians, and wrote about his experiences. He still had great influence in Rome’s government.

As the years passed, some of Sulla’s supporters began to disagree with his decisions. In 78 BC, his old friend Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus won an election with Sulla’s help. Sadly, Sulla passed away that same year after becoming very upset over a problem in Puteoli. His funeral in Rome was very grand, with many important people speaking in his honor. His body was burned, and his ashes were placed in a tomb on the Campus Martius. He had written his own words to be remembered there: “No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full.”

Legacy

After Sulla stepped down and later passed away, people began to argue about his actions and what they meant for Rome. Some saw him as a harsh ruler who used too much force, while others thought his changes were needed to protect the government. His decision to use his army to take control of Rome set an example that others, like Julius Caesar, later followed.

Sulla tried to make laws to stop generals from abusing their power, but these didn’t stop ambitious leaders later on. Even so, some of his rules stayed in place for a long time. His family remained important in Roman politics for many years after him.

Cultural references

Sulla has been featured in many stories, including four Italian operas. Two famous ones are Lucio Silla by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Silla by George Frideric Handel. In these stories, Sulla is shown as a strong but harsh leader who later regrets his actions.

He also appears in books such as A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell and the first three Masters of Rome novels by Colleen McCullough. In these stories, Sulla is portrayed as a brave and clever leader who faces many challenges. He is also a character in other books and a TV miniseries, showing his lasting impact on history and stories.

Marriages and children

Sulla married several times and had children with some of his wives. His first wife was Ilia, or possibly Julia, who was related to Julius Caesar. They had two children: Cornelia and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, though Lucius died when he was young.

Sulla’s fourth wife was Caecilia Metella, and they had three children together: twins named Faustus Cornelius Sulla and Fausta Cornelia, and another son who died young. His last wife was Valeria, and they had one daughter named Cornelia Postuma, who was born after Sulla passed away.

Appearance and character

Sulla had red-blond hair, blue eyes, and a pale face with red marks. People said his golden hair made him look special. He could be very friendly and funny, even joking with ordinary people. But when he was a leader, he could also be very serious and strict.

Because of his hard early life, Sulla learned about different kinds of people. This helped him become a good leader, even though he didn’t have much military training when he was young. He was smart and good at making friends, but he could also keep his plans secret when he needed to.

Chronology

Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a key Roman leader. He was born in Rome around 138 BC. Over the years, he held many important positions. In 107 BC, he served with General Gaius Marius in a war in Numidia. He later fought in battles against groups like the Cimbri.

Sulla became consul in 88 BC and led his army into Rome. He fought in wars, including against King Mithridates of Pontus. After winning a civil war, he became dictator to make changes to Rome's government. He stepped down from this role in 79 BC and passed away the following year in 78 BC.