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).
