The Storm Before the Storm полностью

But while the Cinnans could call upon waves of recruits, Sulla could count on the strength of his five veteran legions that had now been following him since the Social War. In the spring of 83, these five legions were the best-trained and most experienced army anywhere in the Mediterranean. But that did not mean Sulla could trust them completely. The length of their service, and the hardships they had endured, meant there was a strong possibility they would demand to be demobilized upon return to Italy. Sulla had pointed them at Rome once before and they followed. But their obedience had been partly because they sought riches and glory in the east. Now that they had both, would they follow Sulla to Rome a second time? So as he prepared his men to sail for home, Sulla administered an oath that they faithfully fight for him until he released them from service—but how many would hold to that oath Sulla did not know.⁹

Sulla finally crossed the Adriatic and landed in Italy in the spring of 83. Arriving in the port of Brundisium, he got his first omen that things might work out. In his talks with the Senate, Sulla hinted that when he returned, he would accept both Italian civitas and suffragium without further argument. When he arrived in Brundisium, he followed through and declared the Italians had nothing to fear. He was as committed to their new place in the Republic as his enemies. The inhabitants of Brundisium were thrilled by this news, and any rising opposition to his arrival evaporated. Rather than fighting the first battle of a long hard slog to Rome, Sulla set out on the Via Appia without yet pulling sword from scabbard.¹⁰

But aside from the immediate impact on the course of the Civil War, Sulla’s arrival in Brundisium also marks the end of the long Social War between Romans and Italians. The question of Italian citizenship had been the third rail of Roman politics for fifty years. The conflict stretched as far back as Tiberius Gracchus’s Lex Agraria, then moved through the legislation of Fulvius Flaccus and Gaius Gracchus, then through the rise of Marius, the revolution of Saturninus, the expulsion bill of Crassus and Scaevola, and the assassination of Drusus. Fifty years of tension and hostility had exploded into the bitter and destructive Social War, which climaxed with Cinna capturing Rome with the help of an Italian army. The looming civil war with Sulla looked like it was going to be an extension of that long-running conflict. Had Sulla maintained hostility to Italian citizenship, it is entirely likely an ocean of Italian resistance would have swallowed his well-trained legions. But Sulla was an astute politician and unwilling to stake his life to the imagined purity of Roman citizenship. By announcing in the spring of 83 that he would maintain Italian civitas and suffragium, Sulla ended the Social War. No matter who won the coming war, the Italians would be integrated equally into the Republic.

As Sulla advanced up the Via Appia, he continued to demonstrate his benevolent intentions. His troops were not allowed to plunder or terrorize the countryside. And he further trumpeted his respect for the Italian citizenship to undermine whatever resistance might have been brewing the past few years. Wherever he passed, cities and towns welcomed him openly—even as he walked through Apulia and Samnium, two of the most implacably anti-Roman regions during the Social War.¹¹

Sulla’s promulgations and peaceful approach melted armed resistance, but his own civil status remained in doubt. TecÚically his command of the legions since 87 had been illegal. By law, he should have given up his command to Flaccus and gone into exile. Inside the Senate, men who might be willing to compromise with Sulla were troubled that he was operating an illegal command while the executive magistrates, the Senate, and the Assembly still considered him an outlaw.¹²

But the hand wringing of these nervous fence sitters was greatly reduced when powerful, but thus far neutral, parties started to join Sulla’s slow moving procession up the Via Appia. Of these the most important was Metellus Pius. After departing Italy, Pius had fled south to Africa to stay out of the way of both Cinna and Sulla. But after carefully considering the situation, Pius decided that Sulla represented the more legitimate side of the conflict—even if the returning proconsul was tecÚically an enemy of the state. So as Sulla moved up the Via Appia, he was delighted when Metellus Pius arrived to join the march. Sulla was aware what a boon this was to his fortunes and grandly welcomed Pius into camp, affording him every honor and all but naming Pius co-commander of the army.¹³