Sulla !

 1-Acest articol este copiat !

2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr-1!

3-Marcus Sulla a fost unul dintre cei mai eficienti si cruzi generali-romani.

Fall of the Republic (Part IX)

“Sulla regarded his consulate as a very minor matter compared with future events. What fired his imagination was the thought of the war against Mithridates. Here, however, he found himself opposed by Marius.”

In the winter of 90/98 BC, while the Social War was concluding, two Roman senatorial emissaries took the incredibly stupid measure of beginning to provoke Mithridates VI to war. Sent to restore monarchs to two neighbouring kingdoms that the Pontic king had displaced, Mithridates did not support them, though nor did he oppose them. They thus took measures to close the Bospherous, preventing access from the Euxine (Black) Sea to the Mediterranean, and marched deep into Pontus with the King of Bithynia, despite having achieved their goal. Mithridates initially allowed this, knowing it made him look like the victim, before seeking redress from the legates. Marius likely approved of such provocative measures in the east, keen for a new theatre of war to arise in which he could prove himself again.

Once the Romans had left Pontus, Mithridates immediately moved back to occupy Cappadocia again, and reinstall his son on the throne. This was the final straw for Rome, with an eagerness for war now in the Senate. Rather than await an army, the initial senatorial mission set off back into Pontus with their hotchpotch legions, emboldened by Mithridates’ earlier flight from Marius and then Sulla. They were poorly coordinated, with their invasions arriving on three fronts with the intent of uniting in Pontus. Rather than facing a barbarian hoard, however, they faced the prepared phalanx of the Pontic army. The multi-pronged invasion gave Mithridates the opportunity to attack two of the armies in turn, slowly destroying them as they attempted retreat, with the third falling back to Bithynia upon hearing of the news. He then proceeded to storm into Rome’s Asia Province, acting as the liberator of Asia Minor.

In order to bind the Ionian Greeks to him and confirm their enmity to Rome, Mithridates began planning a great genocide. He wrote to every civil authority in the region, stipulating that the atrocity was to happen precisely a month after his letter, in early May 88 BC. At that time, every Roman and Italian citizen – regardless of age of gender – was put to death. Their bodies were not buried, put left in piles outside the city for wild animals to feast on. Mithridates took great pride in touring the piles of dead. Women and children were grabbed screaming from their homes as they hid in desperation, executed summarily by resentful neighbours who had long harboured a hatred of Rome. By ordering the authorities to do it rather than having his own troops do it, Mithridates ensured they were complicit, and the whole affair was carefully organised to ensure they could kill as many as possible. It must have been a terrifying time to be an Italian in Asia Minor – no trial, no hearing, just you and your family, your young children included, all dragged out and put to death to jeers from the baying mob. The piles of rotting bodies outside the city must have been a terrifying reminder of what was faced to those who did escape and were now in hiding. This truly was a First Century BC Holocaust. Publius Rutilius Rufus, who was in the province in exile but managed to escape, wrote to the Senate with the news. He estimated that around 80,000 Italians had been executed in the outrage.

Sulla began his consulship forcing through laws to improve Rome’s dire finances, including cancelling compound debt due on interest, and ensuring disputed debt cases had to be heard by a Praetor – as many smaller cases would not be, this made him immensely popular among the poor. Marius mocked Sulla’s dedication to finances, believing Rome should be focussed firmly on expelling Mithridates from Asia Province. As senior Consul, Sulla had been assigned the war against Mithridates, much to Marius chagrin as he coveted the position himself, though the Senate saw Marius as a fading star, Sulla as a rising one. Instead of immediately making for Asia Minor though, Sulla spent time tying up some loose ends from the Social War, including besieging Nola, with the Samnite capital still holding out. Though while he was away from the city, his enemies were moving against him.

Rioting broke out in Rome when Sulla’s supporters blocked legislation that would swiftly organise the Italians into Roman citizenship. When Sulla met with the senators they were attacked, forcing him to seek refuge in Marius’ house, and then support pro-Italian legislation for the mob to be called off. When Sulla left for Nola again, the Marian alley and tribune Sulpicius forced through legislation removing command from the war in the east from Sulla, and awarding it to Marius. He also expelled senators from the Senate so there were not enough to form a quorum. In the ensuing violence, a mob attempted to lynch Sulpicius, but were beaten back by his bodyguard of gladiators.

Sulla received the news while encamped at Nola at the head of his Social War veteran legions who had awarded him the Grass Crown. When emissaries arrived from the Senate to address the legions and announce that Sulla would not lead the invasion of Asia Minor, but Marius would, there was widespread booing and jeering. Soon a stone was hurled, then another, and the emissaries were stoned to death. Sulla said bemoaned that his soldiers, loyal legionaries of Rome, were to be denied this opportunity. The wealth of Pontus meant that the invasion promised to be a lucrative affair, with much loot and booty to be gained by all those involved – an enviable prospect for soldiers and commanders alike. Sulla said that the actions of the Senate had “neutered the way of the elders”, and that rule of law was no more. With no diplomatic recourse open to him, Sulla said his only option was to return to Rome to express his disagreement with the Senate. It would be a long walk, he mused, and wondered if any of his legionaries would like to join him. Full of cheer for their imperator, Sulla and his legions set off on the unprecedented measure of marching on the Eternal City.