Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction (usually called the Marians or the Cinnans after their former leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna), in the years 83–82 BC. The war ended with a decisive battle just outside Rome itself. After the war the victorious Sulla made himself dictator of the Roman Republic.
Prelude
Sulla had achieved temporary control of Rome and Marius's exile to Africa following his first march on Rome, but departed soon afterwards to lead the First Mithridatic War. This departure allowed Gaius Marius and his son Gaius Marius the Younger to return to Rome with an army and, with Lucius Cornelius Cinna, to wrestle control of Rome back from Sulla's supporter Gnaeus Octavius during Sulla's absence.
Based on the orders of Marius, some of his soldiers went through Rome killing the leading supporters of Sulla, including Octavius.
Their heads were exhibited in the Forum. After five days, Cinna ordered his more disciplined troops to kill Marius's rampaging soldiers. All told some 100 Roman nobles had been murdered. Marius declared Sulla's reforms and laws invalid, officially exiled Sulla, had himself elected to Sulla's eastern command, and Cinna and himself elected consuls for the year 86 BC. Marius died a fortnight after and Cinna was left in sole control of Rome.
Having managed this achievement, the Marians sent out Lucius Valerius Flaccus with an army to relieve Sulla of his command in the east. Flaccus had been given as second in command Gaius Flavius Fimbria, an individual who history records had few virtues. According to Plutarch's biography on Sulla, Gaius Flavius Fimbra eventually agitated against his commanding officer and incited the troops to murder Flaccus in 84 BC.
In the meantime, the two Roman armies camped next to each other, and Sulla, not for the first time, encouraged his soldiers to spread dissension among Flaccus’ army. Many deserted to Sulla before Flaccus had arranged to pack up and move on to north, to threaten Mithridates’ northern dominions. In the meantime Sulla moved to intercept the new Pontic army and end the war at Orchomenus.
Course
With Mithridates defeated for the moment and Cinna now dead as a result of a mutiny in Ancona, Sulla was determined to regain control of Rome from his enemies.
Events of 83 BC
In the spring of 83 BC Sulla landed his army in two divisions in southern Italy: one division at Brundisium and another at Tarentum. At Tarentum Sulla made sacrifices to the gods. As soon as he had set foot in Italy, the outlawed nobles and old Sullan supporters who had survived the Marian-Cinna regime flocked to his banner. The most prominent among them were Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Lucius Marcius Philippus. Metellus and Crassus did so at the head of their own independently-raised armies. Philippus, who was governing Sardinia, secured the island for the Sullan cause.
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), son of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, raised three legions from among his father's veterans in his native Picenum and, defeating and outmanoeuvering the Marian forces, made his way to join Sulla. When Pompey met Sulla, he addressed him as Imperator. Publius Cornelius Cethegus, a firm supporter of Marius, now also joined the Sullan cause.
To check his enemies' unresisted advance, Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC) sent his newly elected puppet consuls, Gaius Norbanus and Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, both with armies, against Sulla. When Sulla arrived in Campania he found the consul Norbanus blocking the road to Capua. Eager not to appear a war-hungry invader, Sulla sent deputations to Norbanus offering to negotiate, but these were rejected. Norbanus then moved to block Sulla's advance at Canusium and became the first to engage him in the Battle of Mount Tifata. Here Sulla inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marians, with Norbanus losing six thousand of his men to Sulla's seventy. Norbanus withdrew with the remnants of his army to Capua. Sulla pursued him, but was stopped by Norbanus' consular colleague, Scipio Asiagenus, who was encamped at Capua.
Scipio was unwilling to risk a battle with his opponent's battle-hardened army and welcomed Sulla's offer to negotiate. Quintus Sertorius, one of Scipio's legates, did not trust Sulla, and advised Scipio to force a decisive action. Instead, he was sent to Norbanus to explain that an armistice was in force and negotiations were under way. Sertorius made a small detour and captured the town of Suessa, which had gone over to the Sullan faction. When Sulla complained about this breach of trust, Scipio sent back the hostages Sulla had given as a sign of good faith. This behaviour by Scipio outraged Scipio's troops, who were already upset having to face Sulla's veterans. A deal was made between Scipio's soldiers and Sulla and they defected en masse, further swelling his ranks. The Consul and his son were found cowering in their tents and brought to Sulla, who released them after extracting a promise that they would never again fight against him or rejoin Carbo. However, Scipio broke his promise immediately after their release and went straight to Carbo in Rome. Sulla then defeated Norbanus for a second time. Norbanus, however, escaped back to Rome and had Metellus Pius and all other senators marching with Sulla declared enemies of the state.
In Rome the elections for the consulship of 82 were held; Gaius Marius the Younger (the son of the great Gaius Marius) and Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (re-elected for the second time) were elected. At the end of the campaigning season of 83 BC, Marcus Lucullus, one of Sulla's legates, defeated a numerically superior force (50 cohorts to his 16) at Fidentia.
Events of 82 BC
The new consuls for the year 82 BC were Gnaeus Papirius Carbo, for his third term, and Gaius Marius the Younger, who was only 26–28 years old at the time.
In the respite from campaigning provided by winter, the Marians set about replenishing their forces. Quintus Sertorius levied men in Etruria, old veterans of Marius came out of retirement to fight under his son, and the Samnites gathered their warriors in support of Carbo, hoping to destroy Sulla, the man who defeated them in the Social War. Meanwhile, Sulla had sent Crassus to recruit troops from among the Marsi and Pompey to raise further legions in Picenum, also recruiting soldiers from Calabria and Apulia.
As the campaigning season opened, Sulla advanced along the Via Latina towards the capital and Metellus supported by Pompey led Sullan forces into northern Italy. Carbo threw himself against Metellus whilst the young Marius defended the city of Rome itself. Marius the Younger marched his army south-east into Campania and met Sulla's forces at Sacriportus (near Signia). After an initial engagement Sulla decided to pitch camp. While Sulla's men were preparing the camp (digging a ditch, throwing up earthworks) Marius suddenly attacked. Sulla's veterans simply stuck their pila into the ground to create a makeshift barricade and drew their swords. When they had organized their battle lines the Sullans counter-attacked. Marius' force were put on the defensive, their left began to waver and five cohorts of foot soldiers and two of horse deserted to Sulla. This caused a general collapse and Marius army scattered in rout. Marius lost 28,000 men (killed, captured, turned coat or fled) while Sulla is claimed to have only lost 23 men.
Marius survived the Battle of Sacriportus and retreated with 7,000 men to Praeneste. The first to arrive were lucky and could enter through the gates, but as the Sullan forces got closer the terrified townspeople of Praeneste shut the gates. Marius himself had to be hoisted in on a rope, while hundreds of Marians trapped between the walls and the Marians were massacred by Sullans. Sulla then left his lieutenant Lucretius Afella besieging Praeneste and moved on the now-undefended Rome. Upon his defeat Marius sent word to the praetor Lucius Junius Brutus Damasippus in Rome, to kill any remaining Sullan sympathisers left before Sulla could take the city. Damasippus called a meeting of the Senate and there, in the Curia itself, the marked men were cut down by assassins. Some, such as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus were killed on the senate steps as they tried to flee, and the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of Rome, Quintus Mucius Scaevola was murdered in the Temple of Vesta; the bodies of the murdered were then thrown into the Tiber.
Meanwhile in the north, Metellus working in tandem with Pompey fought the consul Carbo and his legates Gaius Carrinas and Gaius Marcius Censorinus. Metellus defeated Carrinas at the River Aesis, only to be blockaded by Carbo himself. Upon hearing that Marius the Younger had been defeated at Sacriportus, Carbo withdrew to Ariminum, severely harassed by cavalry attacks on his rearguard by Pompey. Some time later Metellus and Pompey defeated Censorinus near Sena Gallica and sacked the town. Neapolis fell to the Sullans through treachery; virtually the whole population was massacred. Consequently, Appian remarks that the towns nearest to Rome surrendered without a fight. As Sulla surrounded Rome with his troops, the gates were opened by the people and he took Rome without a fight, the remaining Marians having fled.
Most of southern Italy now belonged to Sulla, though some cities, such as Praeneste, remained under siege. Sulla now set out for Etruria to the north. Sulla divided his army in two, sending one division to Saturnia by way of the Via Clodia while he commanded the other division to Clusium along the Via Cassia. Carbo decided to take on Sulla himself. Their two armies met near Clussium, where an indecisive all-day battle was fought. The next day Sulla retreated because he was informed that the Samnites and Lucanians were threatening Afella's army at Praeneste. The other Sullan force had meanwhile been completely successful, defeating its opponent near Saturnia. Lucius Marcius Philippus enjoyed another success on Sardinia, slowly winning the island for the Sullan cause.
Marcus Lucullus, bottled up in Placentia, was able to break the siege. Norbanus coming to the rescue of the besiegers tried to surprise Lucullus by a forced-march, but Lucullus was ready for him and slaughtered his exhausted troops.
Having taken and looted the town of Sena, Crassus and Pompey severely defeated Carrinas who had marched against them, killing 3,000 Marian soldiers and forcing him to seek refuge in Spoletium. On his way to Praeneste, Sulla was able to ambush reinforcement on their way to Carrinas in Spoletium, killing 2,000 Marian soldiers. Carbo sent another army from Etruria to raise the siege of Praeneste. They were ambushed along the way by Pompey, who forced them back.
A Marian attack on Metellus near Faventia went horribly wrong for them. This caused the Lucanians in Norbanus' army to contemplate to defect to Sulla. Their commander, a man called Albinovanus, hatched a plan with the Sullans to assassinate Norbanus and his senior officers (to show his good faith). Albinovanus thus organized a feast, in which Norbanus' officers were murdered. Norbanus himself was unable to attend the feast and survived. After the assassination and the Lucanians' defection, Ariminum went over to Sulla as well. Norbanus abandoned his army and fled from Italy. Meanwhile, Sulla and his army had arrived at the siege of Praeneste, where he blocked an attempt by Damasippus to reach Marius the Younger. After Damasippus's failure, Carbo lost heart and fled to Sicily. With their leader gone, the remainder of the Marian forces united for one final stand.