88 BC was followed by three civil wars:

· Sulla's first civil war (88-87 BC) fought between Lucius Cornelius Sulla's supporters and Gaius Marius' forces. Sulla won.

· Sulla's second civil war (83-82 BC) fought between Sulla and Marius' supporters. Sulla won again.

· The Sertorian War (80-72 BC) fought between Rome (led by Sulla) and the provinces of Hispania under the leadership of Quintus Sertorius, a supporter of Gaius Marius. Sulla won.

In 88 BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla was elected as consul together with Quintus Pompeius Rufus. Sulla was a leader of the optimates, a political faction which supported the interests of the aristocracy. He was supported by the senate because it was concerned about the power of Gaius Marius who had been consul for a record 6 times. Moreover, Marius was a leading figure of the rival populares, a political faction which championed the cause of the poor.

As a consul, Sulla was given the command of the army for the First Mithridatic War against Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus (in northeastern Turkey). Marius allied with the plebeian tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus to get the plebeian council to call for withdrawing Sulla's military command. Rufus also used the council to expel senators to deprive the senate of its quorum. Due to a senator-sponsored rebellion, violence broke out. This sparked Sulla's First Civil War 88-87 BC). Sulla marched on Rome and seized this. This was the first time that a Roman military commander had taken Rome by force. Rufus was betrayed by his slaves and was killed. Marius fled to Africa.

In 87 BC Sulla left Rome to fight the First Mithridatic War. Marius plotted to become consul again. the consul Cinna led a revolt and fought Gnaeus Octavius, the other consul for the year and leader for the forces of the opimates. Marius returned to Rome with an army he had raised in Africa.

The forces of Marius, Cinna and Quintus Sertorius (a hero of the Italian/social war) deposed Octavius and seized the city. Freedmen in Marius' army begun to kill Sulla's supporters until the more disciplined forces of Cinna and Sertorius put an end to this. Marius banned Sulla, had himself elected as commander in the east to take over in the Mithridatic War and had Cinna elected consul for 86 BC. However, Marius died two weeks later. This situation led to Sulla's Second Civil War (83-82 BC).

In 83 BC, having won the Mithridatic War, Sulla returned to Italy and planned to march on Rome again. He gathered many supporters and led his army towards Rome, while one of his supporter, Metellus, marched towards northern Italy. Historian calls Sulla's opponents in this war the Marians. They were led by the consuls of the year, Carbo and Gaius Marius the Younger, Marius' son. Sulla defeated the Marian forces in a battle and then besieged them at Praeneste (south of Rome). The Marians arranged killing of Sulla's supporters in Rome. Sulla marched on Rome and took it without resistance. He then marched to Umbria, in central Italy, where he won more battles. Meanwhile Metellus defeated the Marian forces at Placentia in northern Italy. There was a final showdown at Rome's Colline Gate, which Sulla won.

Sulla was appointed dictator. This was an extraordinary office of state which had extraordinary powers and was appointed in times of emergency by a senatorial decree which established the mandate of the dictator. The term of this office was normally 6 months, but Sulla was appointed for one year. His mandate was to make new laws and to reform the constitution. Some of his measures were designed to strengthen the power of the senate and the senators, the aristocracy and the conservative forces and to weaken the power of the plebeian tribunes, the representatives of the poor. He also persecuted his political opponents. He had an estimated 9,000 people executed or murdered and confiscated their property.

In 80 BC Quintus Sertorius started an eight-year long resistance campaign against the optimates in Spain which has been called by historians the Sertonian War (80-72 BC).

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