Marius vs Sulla
A Lesson from History
Patrick Prescott
Today we are facing an old man who is determined to destroy everything in his path no matter the consequences. He is delusional and is a raving maniac spitting invectives at anyone who stands in his way, promising that when he gets back into power the retribution he will mete out to his enemies.
The problem is he has a strong following and they were willing to attack the capital building and planned to lynch the sitting vice-president, a man from their own party for doing his constitutional responsibility. Capital guards died in this insurrection.
No matter that many of his cult followers have been convicted of their crimes and there are still numerous civil and criminal cases involving this tired, old, demented man. He is running for president as of today is opposed by only one from his party who is in a losing cause.
Let's look back in history at a time when there was another popular old man who became demented and wouldn’t relinquish let go of his popularity, power, and prestige. Gaius Marius (157–86 BCE) of Rome.
The demented man today and Marius share that they had great wealth, that they were old and have lost their mind. Then they stop being the same.
Marius was a great man. He was consul of Rome seven times. He was consul five times consecutively when by tradition there was to be ten years between them. But Rome faced a dire theat. Wandering tribes of Germans were invading the Roman provinces of Rome and were planning on settling in what is today Spain. Two large armies of Rome were squashed by the Germans. The last battle 80,000 men were steamrolled to destruction.
The tribes squabbled over the winnings and separated, but all in Rome knew they would be back and next time they’d head for Italy instead of Spain. Marius was then elected as consul a second time. He had just come back from winning a war in Numidia bringing back Jugurtha it’s king in chains. Marius needed three years as consul to raise a strong enough army to meet the Germans and was elected in abstensia. Before the Germans returned.
The Germans decided to invade Italy from three different routes through the Alps. This forced Marius to divide his army to meet the closest two routes. It took two years of fighting to defeat the Germans adding two more years of him being consul. He had the distinction of being consul of Rome six times. The problem was a sooth sayer told him that he would be consul seven times.
Marius then retired from politics for a while and traveled the empire.
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The next man to rise to fame in Rome was Lucius Cornelius Sulla. An able second in command in Numidia and fighting the Germans under Marius. Unlike Marius who was a wealthy man from the Latin rights outside of Rome. Sulla was pure bred patrician with a pedigree dating back four hundred years.
Rome was then embroiled in civil war among the Italians, that Gauls of northern Italy and the Greeks in Southern Italy. Sulla defeated the Greeks in the south and another general Pompey Strabo (father of Pompey the Great), defeated the Gauls in the north.
Sulla came back to Rome a hero and was elected consul. Then word came Mithridates the King of Pontus invaded the Roman province of Asia Minor. All the coastline of modern-day Turkey from Byzantium down to Syria was conquered in a matter of a month. Half of Greece from Macedonia to Athens was taken. It didn’t look like anything could stop him.
Rome was in dire straits. The senate charged Sulla with taking his legions and taking back what was lost. He went to his legions, but before he could depart Marius was upset, they didn’t give him the command and placed his bribed tribunes of the plebs to make the senate recall Sulla and place him in command of the legions.
The problem was that Marius had suffered two strokes. The left side of his body was affected. His face was deformed, he limped, his speech was slurred, and all reason left him. This was his way of getting his prophesied seventh consulship.
Sulla had no recourse but to march his legions on Rome. This was when Gaius Julius Caesar the dictator was still a child. He was not the first to be forced to march on Rome by his political enemies.
Sulla fought a short battle with Marius who only had rabble from the Sabura to fight for him. He killed those who sided with Marius and Marius with his followers were forced into exile.
Sulla then sailed to fight Mithridates of Pontus.
Marius returned from exile, formed legions, and marched on Rome. He entered Rome and killed all the followers of Sulla and became consul of Rome for the prophesied seventh time. He died two weeks later.
Sulla then returned to Rome and wrecked vengeance of the followers of Marius.
This was the result a vainglorious old man with dementia did to get what he wanted no matter how many died, no matter what was destroyed in his path, because he was once a great man and was idolized as a demi-god.
The tired old, demented man today has never been a great man. He was a disaster for the country for four years and when he refused to accept his defeat became a sore loser and people died. His followers today are buying guns and are randomly shooting people. A boy of 15 was able to travel across state lines join a group of protestors and kill people without consequence, he’s even become a hero.
It this what we want our country to descend into?
Patrick Prescott is a retired public-school teacher and author of: Optimus: Praetorian Guard, I Maury: The Life and Times of a Rebel, Human Sacrifices, The Fan Plan Tribology, Three Medieval Battles and others in e-books and paperbacks on Amazon.com.
