The Social War and civil war

Questions

“Why are the “Equestrians” given that name?”

“In both texts, when the authors mention an appeal to the public, what constitutes this body of
people? Would it just be freely talking to people on the street, or a particular group of
influential people, or their own followers?”

“Who was Marius talking to in his speech? The population? His army? Did he practice? How
accurate is the account of his speech?”

“Was Marius really a virtuous and honorable person or was he trying to expand on a greater
political and military power by encouraging people to go off to war to their own detriment?”

“Why would the Roman government make an exception for Marius despite not having an
ancient lineage?”

“Did any of the writers and great thinkers of the time foresaw the constant upheaval/violence
resulting in a dictatorship (any literary proof?), where one person would promise security to all,
but at the cost of their individual liberty?”

“Why does Sallust seem to think that the Romans who fought the Punics were of such great
moral character when the stories we get of that period include some pretty flawed characters?
Did he not read similar things to what we read? (Sallust The War with Jugurtha 41)”

“Were political assassinations not illegal?”
Cicero
 Cicero
• Marcus Tullius Cicero
• Born 106 BCE in Arpinum
• New man, but some connections
• Rhetorical education, including in
Greece
• Military service under Pompey’s
father
• First case in 81 BCE, prominent
case in 80 BCE (critical of results
of proscriptions?)
 Cicero
• Early on, speeches against
provincial exploitation,
corruption
• Strongly invested in Roman
tradition
• Tension in earlier career over
need to criticize elite vs.
desire for acceptance; later
on, quite involved in
protection of elite/optimates
 Writings
• In career, 58 speeches extant
in whole or in part; evidence of
88 speeches
– 14 of those speeches
against one person! (second
nemesis, Marcus Antonius)
• Dialogues on rhetoric;
philosophy (19 or so)
• Letters
• Poems (lost)
 Reading speeches by Cicero
• Veracity?
– Pro Cluentio 139: “But whoever thinks that he
has my positive opinions recorded indelibly in
those orations which we have delivered in the
courts of justice, is greatly mistaken. For all
those speeches are speeches of the cause, and
of the occasion, and are not the speeches of the
men or of the advocates themselves. For if the
causes themselves could speak for themselves,
no one would employ an orator. But, as it is, we
are employed, in order to say, not things which
are to be considered as asserted on our own
authority, but things which are derived from the
circumstances of the cause itself.”
• Relationship between text and event?
– Some not actually given
– Usually written down afterwards; extent of edits
before publication?
 Cicero
• Elected to consulship for
63 BCE, first year for which
he was eligible
• New man (15 from 366-63
BCE)
• Considered an alliance
with one of his opponents
but decided not to, and
that man lost...
 Catiline
• L. Sergius Catilina
• Background of involvement with Sulla
• Two readings: Sallust, War with Catiline (written probably
20 or so years later); Cicero’s speech given after he has
learned about Catiline’s plans
The Social War and civil war
 Themes
• Long-standing issues reach breaking
points
– Longer-term commands, demands of veterans
– Citizenship
– Political violence
– Aristocratic competition?
– Ideological elements – no clear divisions
 L. Appuleius Saturninus
• Tribune in 103, passes law giving land to Marius’
African veterans (then Cimbric veterans in 100)
• Grain law
• Allows Marius to extend some citizenship to
colonies of veterans
• Use of force, reelection
 Saturninus

Tries to get associate,
Glaucia, elected consul
for 99

Followers kill rival
candidate

Senate passes senatus
consultum ultimum
(Marius is consul)

Marius traps them in
senate house, mob kills
 Citizenship
• Full citizenship, civitas
sine suffragio, Latin rights
• Slow extension of
citizenship (eg. Arpinum
in 188 BCE); citizenship
to elites
• Increasing desire by
some Italians to have a
share in the benefits of
citizenship as well as the
responsibilities
 M. Livius Drusus
• Tribune in 91
• 300 equestrians made senators; courts go
back to senators
• Foundation of colonies, distribution of land
• Grant Roman citizenship to all Italian allies
• Assassinated
 The Social War (91-87)
• Socii
• Almost a civil war
• 90 – grant of citizenship to allies not fighting
against Rome
• Generals: Sulla, Marius, others
 The Social War (91-87)
• Especially
Marsi, Oscans/
Samnites
• Lex Iulia of 90:
citizenship
granted to all
non-rebel allies
in Italy
 Sulla: the early years

• Patrician, slow start

• Served under Marius in
Jugurthine, German wars
• Marries Caecilia Metella
• General in Social Wars
 Mithradates VI
• King of Pontus (in Asia
Minor)
 Mithradates VI
• Small contact with both
Marius and Sulla earlier
• Huge expansion throughout
Asia, Greece
• Massacre of resident
Romans and Italians of
province of Asia (80,000)
 The command against
Mithradates
• Sulla elected consul in 88, given command
against Mithradates
• P. Sulpicius Rufus, tribune of the plebs,
wants to distribute new citizens throughout
35 tribes
• Sulpicius makes alliance with Marius
• Law about new citizens passes, command
against Mithradates given to Marius
 Sulla marches on Rome
• Sulla was with his army in
Campania when the
command was transferred
• 88 BCE: first time a Roman
army attacks Rome
• Sulla takes over, Marius and
others totally surprised
• Sulpicius killed while still
tribune, Marius and others
condemned without trial
 88/87 BCE
• Sulla undoes
distribution of citizens
• Sulla sends army
away, consuls elected
for 87 (L. Cornelius
Cinna) opposed to him
• Leaves Rome, takes
army east to fight
Mithradates
 Cinna and Marius
• Tries again to distribute citizens
• Co-consul, L. Octavius, drives
Cinna out of Rome
• Joins with Marius, raises army
• Marius and Cinna march on Rome
in 87
• Lots of violence in capture
• Marius and Cinna elected consuls
for 86
• Marius dies of natural causes in
his seventh consulship at age of
70
 Cinna
• Consul for 86-84
• Prepares for Sulla’s return (peace with
Mithridates in 85) by raising an army
• Killed in a mutiny

Coin of 86 BCE – Ceres; aediles on Coin of 84 BCE – Apollo and Minerva (by
curule chairs C. Licinius Macer)
 Sulla returns to Rome
• Lands at
Brundisium
• Met by some
supportive
Romans with
armies,
including M.
Licinius
Crassus and
Cn. Pompeius
(only 23 years
old)
 Sulla returns to Rome
• Big battle to control
Rome
• Sulla made dictator
• Pompey goes to
Sicily and Africa to
attack Sulla’s
enemies
• Sulla grudgingly
grants him a triumph
on his return
 Sulla’s dictatorship (81)
• Adds to senate – 600
• Changes tribunate:
– Senate needs to approve
laws
– Intercessio limited
– Can’t hold any other
magistracies afterwards
 Sulla’s dictatorship (81-80)
• Proscriptions
– Declaration that a person
was an outlaw and his
property was forfeit
– Total of about 520
people?
– Property auctioned off –
Sulla’s friends get
extremely rich
 Sulla’s dictatorship
• More praetors and
quaestors
• Stricter rules about cursus
honorum
• Juries back to senators
• Lays down dictatorship,
dies of natural causes in 78
 Pompey
• Born 106 BCE
• Father Cn.
Pompeius Strabo
• Triumph after
victories in Sicily
and Africa in 81
• “Magnus”

Coin of 71 BCE commemorating Pompey’s victory in Africa

 Q. Sertorius
• Ally of Cinna and
Marius, governor of
Spain in 83
• 81: proscribed, goes
to Africa
• 80: Native Iberians
(esp. Lusitanians)
and exiled Romans
ask him to come back
 M. Aemilius Lepidus
• Elected consul 78, supported by Pompey
• Tries to undo all of Sulla’s reforms
• Goes to deal with revolt in Etruria
• Marches on Rome in 77, fails
• Pompey defends city, keeps army
 Sertorius
• Pompey goes to fight
him in 77
• Alliance with…
Mithradates!
• 73, killed by his own
officers
• 73, Pompey defeats
rest of rebellion
 Spartacus
• Thracian gladiator, had
served in Roman
auxiliary forces
• Escaped from gladiatorial
school in Capua with 74
other slaves
• Rebellion settled near Mt.
Vesuvius; 70,000 –
120,000 people
 Spartacus
• Defeats two Roman
commanders in 73
• One section (led by
Crixus) defeated in
72
• Goes north, goes
south
• Aims of rebellion?
 M. Licinius Crassus
• Met Sulla at
Brundisium
• Extremely rich,
especially due to
proscriptions
• Raised additional
legions
• Chases Spartacus
south in 72
 Spartacus and Crassus
• Spartacus tries to
get his army over
to Sicily with help
from pirates,
doesn’t work
• Crassus wins
battle in Lucania
• Crucifies 6000
captives
 Crassus and Pompey
• Pompey gets back from
Spain in time to defeat
those who escaped Crassus
• Claims victory
• Try to reconcile and get
elected consuls together in
70
 Questions
• What are the causes of political violence?
What allows it to happen? What are the
consequences?
• How does Late Republican political
competition work? Is it based on personal
prestige? Ideological differences?
• How do internal and external factors
interact? Role of Italian allies,
Mithradates, Spartacus, etc.