sulla

Sulla, whose full name is Lucius Cornelius Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman who shaped the late Roman Republic. Born around 138 BCE into the patrician Cornelii clan, he built a career as a military commander aligned with the aristocratic optimates. He held the office of consul in 88 BCE and played a central role in Rome’s conflict with the Marius faction and in the campaigns against Mithridates VI of Pontus.

Sulla is best known for his decisive actions during the first civil wars. When ordered by the Senate to lead the war against Mithridates, he faced opposition from Gaius Marius and his supporters. He famously crossed from the Italian peninsula into Italy with his veteran legions and marched on Rome, seizing power and defeating his rivals. After consolidating his position abroad, he returned to Italy and secured his control as dictator.

As dictator from 82 to 79 BCE, Sulla implemented a series of constitutional reforms aimed at restoring the authority of the Senate and weakening the popular assemblies and the tribunates. The so-called Sullan constitution sought to curb the power of the equites and tribunes, and to reassert oligarchic control over the state. He also authorized proscriptions, a notorious program of political purges that confiscated property and led to executions of many opponents and their supporters. He resigned the dictatorship in 79 BCE and withdrew from public life, dying the following year.

Sulla’s career had a lasting impact on Roman politics. He established that military force could determine political power, contributing to the cycle of crises that ultimately weakened the Republic. Historians debate whether he stabilised the state in the short term or eroded republican norms in the long term.