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[–] Cato_the_Elder [S] ago  (edited ago)

"Sulla Belongs In Our Pantheon Of Heroes

In 88 B.C., Lucius Cornelius Sulla took his army in hand and marched upon Rome. If you’ve ever heard this story before, you probably think it goes like so: Sulla was a successful general whose ambition was suspected by the Senate. Concerned about his rising popularity, the Senate ordered Sulla to give up his command and return to Rome. Instead, Sulla marched on Rome, installed himself as dictator, and massacred his political opponents.

If this is the story you’ve heard, then I hate to break it to you, but you’ve been had. This narrative about Sulla’s first march on Rome gets one thing right: Sulla did march on Rome in 88 B.C. Otherwise, it’s a strange mish-mash of obfuscation, conflation, and outright deception. In antiquity, Sulla was fiercely hated for a variety of acts but also tremendously respected for stabilizing the Roman state and defending the empire from foreign aggression. This modern story is the result of dumbed-down and over-simplified history..."

An excellent article; Sulla was every bit the anti-Caesar and he is the only Roman political leader that I know of, other than Diocletian, to voluntarily retire from his office.