Sulla's proscription
Also known as: Sullan proscription · Sullan proscriptions
- 1Occurred in 82–81 BC.
- 2Initiated by Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
- 3Followed the civil war of 83–82 BC.
- 4Designed to eliminate political enemies.
- 5Used as a tool to consolidate power for a dictator.
Sulla's proscription was a reprisal campaign by the Roman proconsul and later dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, to eliminate his enemies in the aftermath of his victory in the civil war of 83–82 BC.
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Systematic elimination of political enemies
Sulla introduced proscriptions to legally execute his political opponents and seize their property, consolidating his power as dictator.
Systematic purge following the civil war
The proscriptions were the brutal mechanism used by Sulla to eliminate his political enemies and consolidate power after his victory.
direct consequence of the power struggle between Marius and Sulla
Following Sulla's victory in the civil war, he instituted proscriptions that targeted the supporters of Marius and the Populares faction.
Sulla's proscription was a systematic campaign of political violence and state-sanctioned murder initiated by the Roman proconsul and future dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Following his decisive victory in the civil war of 83–82 BC, Sulla utilized these measures to purge his political enemies and consolidate his control over the state.
A 1799 painting of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin depicting the fictional Marcus Sextus, returning to his home after his proscription by Sulla, an allusion to the Terror in Revolutionary France. [ 63 ] [ 64 ]Wikimedia Commons: File:The_Return_of_Marcus_Sextus_1799_Pierre-Narcisse_Guérin.jpgEtching of S.D. Mirys (c.1799), depicting Quintus Aurelius about to be murdered after he has found his name on the proscription list. [ 23 ]Wikimedia Commons: File:Augustyn_mirys-sulla_proscription.jpgPortrait of Sulla on a denarius minted in 54 BC by his grandson Pompeius Rufus. [ 1 ]Wikimedia Commons: File:Q._Pompeius_Rufus,_denarius,_54_BC,_RRC_434-1_(Sulla_only).jpg The proscriptions served as a mechanism to eliminate opposition, seize property, and restructure the Roman government under his authority. This period of reprisal remains a defining example of the extreme political instability and factional warfare that characterized the final decades of the Roman Republic.