19. A New Kind of Dictator
Sulla won the war against Pontus, then returned to Rome, which he entered at the head of his army 82 BC after he defeated the Marians. He undid all their legislations, introduced reactionary conservative constitutional reforms that solidified the power of the aristocracy and weakened that of the middle classes, and got himself appointed dictator. The office of dictator was a legal one in Rome’s constitution, bestowed in emergencies for a maximum term of six months. Until then, Roman dictators had typically used their extraordinary powers to fight foreign enemies.
Sulla was a new kind of dictator: one who used his extraordinary powers against domestic opponents. He proceeded to massacre the Marians and populares by the thousands. He posted prescriptions, or lists that named enemies of the state who could be legally killed by anybody. The killer was rewarded with a share of the proscribed victim’s property upon the presentation of his head to Sulla’s agents. Sulla finally resigned in 79 BC, retreated into private life, and died a year later.
