Sulla
Roman general and dictator who marched on Rome and reformed the republic
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (138–78 BC) was a Roman general and statesman active in the late Republic. He first gained fame through his military campaigns and became the first general of that era to lead an army against Rome and prevail in a civil war. After eliminating his enemies, he took the dictatorship, worked to reinforce the republican system with constitutional changes, and gave up his absolute authority once those reforms were in place.
Sulla served as consul twice and brought back the office of dictator, which had been unused for over a century since the Second Punic War. He was a skilled commander, winning campaigns against both foreign foes and domestic rivals. He rose to prominence during the war against the Numidian king Jugurtha, capturing him after the king’s allies betrayed him, though his superior Gaius Marius claimed credit for ending that conflict. Sulla later fought successfully against Germanic tribes in the Cimbrian War and against Italian allies in the Social War. For his bravery at the Battle of Nola, he received the Grass Crown. He was deeply devoted to Venus, taking the title Epaphroditos, meaning "favored of Aphrodite."
Elected consul for 88 BC, Sulla became embroiled in a dispute over command of the war against Mithridates of Pontus. The Senate had initially given him the command, but it was revoked as part of a political deal between Marius and the tribune Publius Sulpicius. In response, Sulla, still consul, took his army and marched on Rome. This forced Marius, Sulpicius, and several of their allies to flee the city, while others were executed. After his consular term ended, Sulla left to fight Mithridates in Greece. During his absence, Marius returned with Lucius Cornelius Cinna, who had succeeded Sulla as consul. They purged their opponents from Rome and declared Sulla a public enemy. In the East, Sulla crushed the Pontic armies at Chaeronea and Orchomenos in 86 BC, but then offered Mithridates generous peace terms so he could return to Italy. Though Marius and Cinna had died by then, Sulla defeated the remnants of their faction and won a decisive victory at the Battle of the Colline Gate in 82 BC.
Once in control of Rome, Sulla revived the dictatorship. Even before formally taking that office, he began proscriptions to eliminate his opponents. As dictator, he reformed Roman constitutional laws to restore the Senate’s primacy and limit the powers of the plebeian tribunes. He resigned the dictatorship at the start of 80 BC and served an ordinary consulship for the rest of that year. After that, he retired to private life and died soon after, in 78 BC. His example left a lasting mark on the next generation of leaders, including Pompey and Julius Caesar, who followed his precedent of using force to gain political power.
Sulla was born into the patrician Cornelia gens, the son of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and grandson of Publius Cornelius Sulla. His family had fallen into poverty by the time of his birth. One ancestor, Publius Cornelius Rufinus, had been the last of the family to hold a consulship, but was expelled from the Senate for owning more than ten pounds of silver plate. After that, no one in the family reached high office until Sulla himself. His father may have been a praetor. Sulla’s father married twice, and his stepmother was wealthy, which helped Sulla’s ambitions.
Stories about Sulla’s childhood are heavily embellished. One likely fictional tale says that when he was a baby, a strange woman told his nurse, “Puer tibi et reipublicae tuae felix”—“The boy will be a source of luck to you and your state.” After his father died, around the time Sulla became an adult, he found himself without money. He may have been disinherited, but it is more likely there was simply nothing to inherit. Lacking funds, he spent his youth among Rome’s comedians, actors, lute players, and dancers. He began by singing and later wrote comedic plays called Atellan farces. Plutarch notes that even during his last marriage to Valeria, Sulla kept company with actresses, musicians, and dancers, drinking with them day and night. Plutarch also mentions that Sulla had a long-term lover, the actor Metrobius, whom he kept until the end of his life, even when Metrobius was past his prime.
Sulla almost certainly received a standard education for his class, grounded in Greek and Latin classics. Sallust describes him as well-read, intelligent, and fluent in Greek. Still, by Roman political standards, he was very poor. His first wife was named either Ilia or Julia; if the latter, he may have married into the Julii Caesares. They had one child before she died. He then married a woman named Aelia, about whom nothing is known but her name. During these marriages, he had an affair with the older hetaira Nicopolis. How Sulla acquired the fortune that later allowed him to climb the political ladder is unclear. Plutarch mentions two inheritances: one from his stepmother, who loved him dearly, and another from his mistress Nicopolis. The classicist Arthur Keaveney accepts these as historical and places them around the time Sulla turned thirty.
After reaching the minimum age of thirty, Sulla stood for the quaestorship.
- born
- 138 BC
- died
- 78 BC
- field
- General, statesman
- nationality
- Roman
- known_for
- First general to march on Rome; revived the dictatorship; constitutional reforms; proscriptions
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 138 BC
- Death Date
- 78 BC (aged 60)
- Death Place
- Puteoli, Italy
- Credits
- Constitutional reforms of Sulla
- Office
- Legate during Social War (90–89 BC) / Consul (88 BC) / Proconsul against Mithridates (87–84 BC) / Dictator (82–80 BC)Badian · 2012 / Consul (80 BC)
- Opponents
- Gaius Marius
- Spouse
- Julia (Ilia?) · Aelia · Cloelia · Caecilia · Valeria
- Children
- Lucius Cornelius Sulla · Cornelia · Faustus Cornelius Sulla · Cornelia Fausta · Cornelia Postuma
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Sulla held the office of consul twice and revived the office of dictator. A gifted general, he achieved successes in wars against foreign and domestic opponents. 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 (who succeeded Sulla in the consulship) 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. Sulla left a lasting i
Reader's Guide
Sulla, the son of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the grandson of Publius Cornelius Sulla, was born into a branch of the patrician gens Cornelia, but his family had fallen to an impoverished condition at the time of his birth. Publius Cornelius Rufinus, one of Sulla's ancestors and also the last member of his family to be consul, was banished from the Senate after having been caught possessing more than 10 pounds of silver plate. Sulla's family thereafter did not reach the highest offices of the state until Sulla himself. His father may have served as praetor; he married twice, giving Sulla a stepmother of considerable wealth, which helped the young man's ambitions. Stories of Sulla's childhood are much embellished. One story, also likely fictitious, relates that, when Sulla was a baby and his nurse was carrying him around the streets, a strange woman walked up to her and said, 'Puer tibi et reipublicae tuae felix', which can be translated as 'The boy will be a source of luck to you and your state.' After his father's death, around the time Sulla reached adulthood, Sulla found himself impoverished. He may have been disinherited but it is more plausible that there simply was nothing to inherit. Lacking ready money, Sulla spent his youth among Rome's comedians, actors, lute players, and dancers. During these times on the stage, after initially only singing, he started writing comedic plays called Atellan farces. Plutarch mentions that during his last marriage to Valeria, he still kept company with 'actresses, musicians, and dancers, drinking with them on couches night and day.' Plutarch also singles out the actor Metrobius as one of Sulla's lovers and the one he carried on until the end of his life, when Metrobius himself was, in Plutarch's judgment, 'past his prime.' Sulla almost certainly received a normal education for his class, grounded in ancient Greek and Latin classics. Sallust declares him well read, intelligent, and fluent in Greek. Regardless, by the standards of the Roman political class, Sulla was a very poor man. His first wife was called either Ilia or Julia. If the latter, he may have married into the Julii Caesares. He had one child from this union, before his first wife's death. He married again, with a woman called Aelia, of whom nothing is known other than her name. During these marriages, he engaged in an affair with the hetaira Nicopolis, who
Did You Know?
- Sulla was awarded the Grass Crown for his bravery at the Battle of Nola.
- During his youth, Sulla started writing comedic plays called Atellan farces.
- When Sulla marched on Rome, Marius, Sulpicius, and several of their allies were violently expelled from the city while the rest were executed; Marius was not executed.
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
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