Rome 11: Marius and Sulla

In this lecture, I want to discuss the immediate effects of these reforms by looking at two individuals, Marius, the man responsible for these reforms, and Sulla. If humans have archenemies, Sulla was Marius’. In other words, we are going to look at the effects of these Marian Reforms and the reaction to those effects. What should become clear by the end of this lecture, is that Romans used the precedents of the second century, specifically the events surrounding Scipio Aemilianus and the Gracchi, to gain personal glory, honor, power, and wealth. In other words, they placed the individual over the state.