40
to Rome in 83 BCE. For a second time,
he led his soldiers against the capital and
provoked outrage among the citizenry.
First, he announced that he had made
himself Rome’s dictator, which he claimed
gave him the authority to do whatever he
deemed necessary to restore order. Then
he sent hundreds of his soldiers out to
kill Marius’s supporters, along with their families. In Plutarch’s words,
“Sulla now devoted himself entirely to the work of butchery. The city
was filled with murder and there was no counting the executions or
setting a limit to them.”
23
PompeyVersus Crassus
Luckily for the Roman people, Sulla’s brutal reign of terror was rela-
tively brief, as he died in 78 BCE. For a while, political and social af-
fairs in the capital seemed to return to normal.This was largely an illu-
sion, however, because the damage the violent confrontation between
Marius and Sulla had done to Roman politics and military culture
was permanent. Other conceited, ruthless men possessing wealth and
military backing now knew it was possible to manipulate the govern-
ment to their own ends.
The next military strongman who ended up following this omi-
nous path was one of the Republic’s greatest national heroes—Gnaeus
Pompeius Magnus, widely known as Pompey. Born in 106 BCE, he
gained fame in his twenties and thirties as a bold and brilliant military
leader, and by the mid-70s BCE Romans everywhere admired him.
There was at least one exception to that claim, however. Another
Roman notable, a rich businessman named Marcus Crassus, fancied
himself becoming a renowned military leader like Pompey. Extremely
vain, Crassus became increasingly jealous of Pompey’s growing repu-
tation.
Fortunately for Crassus, an unexpected opportunity arose that
gave him the chance to prove himself as a soldier. In 73 BCE sev-
eral slaves from a training school for gladiators escaped. Led by one
of their number—a talented fighter and leader named Spartacus—
“Sulla now devoted
himself entirely to
the work of butchery.
The citywas filled
with murder.”
23
—First-century-CE Greek
biographer Plutarch
