90 BC – 80 BCs

Events in 90 BC – 80 BC 2

• 107 BC – 86 BC Gaius Marius — the new army Gaius Marius, elected consul seven times (unprecedented), reforms the Roman army by abolishing the property qualification for military service. The Roman legions are now professional soldiers equipped and paid by the state — loyal to their general, not to Rome. Marius defeats Jugurtha of Numidia (106 BC) and destroys two Germanic tribes threatening Italy (Cimbri and Teutones, 102–101 BC). His army reforms, intended to strengthen Rome, create the conditions for a century of civil war.
• 88 BC – 78 BC Sulla — first march on Rome Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a general of the optimates faction, marches his legions on Rome in 88 BC after the popular assembly strips him of his eastern command — the first time a Roman general uses his army against the city itself. He captures Rome, kills his opponents, and departs for the east. On his return in 83 BC he wins a civil war, is appointed dictator, and carries out the first proscriptions — published death lists of political enemies. He resigns voluntarily in 79 BC. The precedent of using army against city is now set.