The Roman republic has come a long way from her founding, traditionally, by Romulus in 753 BC, and the assassination of its tyrant king, Tarquin the Proud, in 509 BC. She had since the last century also become more than an Italian city-state; she had made wars against the might of Carthage and won, and then gone on to conquer other territories as far away as Spain, north Africa, Greece, and then into the eastern Mediterranean. Conquests brought vast riches but also constant wars. At home also, things were not well. Conflict of interest between the aristocrats and the plebs led to civil unrest, while strong families of the ruling class struggled against one another for power. The 1st Cent BC would see Rome raked with four civil wars.
A minor war in north Africa had turned into a drawn-out campaign. Though the general, Gaius Marius 157-86 BC), had succeeded in the end, he succeeded too well. He went on to win other wars against Rome's enemies, which turned him into a powerful demagogue. The fear of dictatorship had led the Romans to rule than a person can only hold the consulship once. That Marius could get himself elected consul a total of seven times—an unparalleled record in Roman history—tells the story of what Rome was becoming. Marius's hold on power was soon challenged by Sulla (138-78 BC), a former lieutenant of Marius, resulting eventually in Sulla marching on Rome and installing himself as dictator in the city. For a while Marius had to flee Rome to save himself (he died two years later). Sulla, meanwhile, went on to subdue Greece (Athens fell to him in 86 BC) and made peace with Mithridates (one of Rome's most intractable enemies). Sulla then began a bloody and systematic programme of political murders, issuing lists after lists of persons proscribed for the kill, from which Julius Caesar (deemed an enemy because he was Marius's nephew) managed to escape only by a very fine line. Sulla retired in 79, and died a few months later, but he had already set the tone and pattern for life at the top for Romans for centuries to come: the way to power is to gather to yourself a powerful army and muscle your way in, work with "them" if you have to, but, yes, risk a civil war also if you need to.
It was, therefore, in the shadows of Sulla's draconian reign that Gaius Pompey, Julius Ceasar and their contemporaries, learned the ropes and rose to power, the rhythm of Roman rule during the 1st Cent BC.
©ALBERITH
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