Invasion and Slaughter of Rome
The first major battle of the conflict occurred at the Janiculum, where Octavius’ forces prevailed, but with heavy losses, including the general Pompeius Strabo. This demoralized Octavius’ army, but did not hinder the siege of Cinna and Marius, further weakening Rome. Eventually, after various skirmishes around the outskirts of Rome, negotiators secured Cinna’s assurance that he would not “willingly cause anyone’s death on reentering Rome”. Thus, in late 87 BC, Cinna was reinstated as consul and the armies reentered the city. As Cinna and his bodyguard entered, however, Marius refused to enter Rome until his exile was officially repealed. The Senate quickly began to vote to approve this, but before it finished, Marius had given up all pretense and entered the city with his bodyguard, the Bardyiae. This unit consisted of Marius’ slaves who killed at Marius’ orders. Marius, according to the ancient historians, filled the city with blood, slaughtering anyone who remotely supported Sulla, had a lot of property, or was a personal enemy of Marius. These claims are most likely exaggerated, as they do not appear in Sulla’s memoirs, a source that would seem biased against Marius. These seem to appear later, but all agree that Cinna distanced himself from the indiscriminate slaughter, ordering only the deaths of Octavius and others who were direct political threats.
Eventually, “Cinna had had enough of murder”, and he and Quintus Sertorius, a general who supported Marius and later governed Spain, had their troops ambush the sleeping Bardyiae, ending their reign of terror. Soon after this, in 86 BC, Marius and Cinna were reelected for consulship. Seventeen days after attaining his much sought seventh consulship, Marius died. This began the era many historians have termed the “Dominatio Cinnae” (Domination of Cinna).
Read more about this topic: Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Famous quotes containing the words invasion, slaughter and/or rome:
“We should have an army so organized and so officered as to be capable in time of emergency, in cooperation with the National Militia, and under the provision of a proper national volunteer law, rapidly to expand into a force sufficient to resist all probable invasion from abroad and to furnish a respectable expeditionary force if necessary in the maintenance of our traditional American policy which bears the name of President Monroe.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Once I went so far as to slaughter a woodchuck which ravaged my bean-field,—effect his transmigration, as a Tartar would say,—and devour him, partly for experiment’s sake; but though it afforded me a momentary enjoyment, notwithstanding a musky flavor, I saw that the longest use would not make that a good practice, however it might seem to have your woodchucks ready dressed by the village butcher.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What? Rome dares not desire what you desire? How do you use your absolute power?”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)