The Life of Sulla: Rome’s first Dictator for Life

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix was an important Roman general and politician, who had an unconventional rise to power. This is a chronicle of Sulla's fascinating life.

[Dovahhatty]

There's no greater frustration than finding a great video, from an abandoned channel

[wednesdaynightbusiness]

Sulla: These constitutional reforms will stop any other man seizing power as I have
Gauis Julius Caesar: Hold my grapes

[Dapssmonk]

This painted Sulla in a much more positive light than I'm used to. Thanks for the new perspective.

[JoelJames]

You know, after hearing references to him in Historia Civilis’s videos, I didn’t expect his ending to be like this.

[psammiad]

I didn't actually realise Sulla died peacefully in retirement - and how much he really achieved for Rome. Later writers are so scathing about his "proscriptions" you'd think he was just a madman.

[MarsFKA]

The first three books of Colleen McCullough's Masters Of Rome series, "The First Man In Rome", The Grass Crown" and "Fortune's Favourites", contain, in great detail, the rise and life, both military and political, of Sulla. I recommend them to anyone with an interest in the last century of the Roman republic. Bottom line: they played for keeps in those days and their enemies expected, and received, no mercy.

[noryette]

What an interesting figure. Rises to absolute power, reformations to prevent others from doing as he did, and then retires with his wife and boyfriend. That's amazing.

[goldennugget]

This gives me the vibes of "fine I'll do it myself"
I had a hard time finding someone who covered sulla in a good manner like this. Alot of people ramble and paint sulla as a villain without any fans. This is a great video kudos

[vvventure]

you forgot to mention he also has no nose.

[garys]

Excellent- really enjoyed it! If I remember correctly Scipio Asiaticus said that Sulla was “both the lion and the fox...” [the lion cos he was strong and ferocious, the fox cos he was cunning and could avoid traps] “...and of them both it is the fox that you should fear.”-No better friend! No worse enemy!

[flioink]

Why aren't there any movies about this guy's life?

[elani]

Defeats everyone
Becomes dictator for life
Resigns after 1 year
Retires to a country side villa
ABSOLUTELY BASED

[wiskeeamazingdancer]

Was so exited that I'd found your your channel as I watched this. Only to learn this was your only video =(
Great work!

[poisonpotato]

Everyone knows romans are actually red squares

[kevinrex]

Sulla would walk the streets without bodyguards during his retirement. He literally killed all the people who would do him harm. Sulla killed a ton of people.

[atreides]

“Are you feeling ill? Let me write you a prescription.” -Sulla MD

[KTChamberlain]

Sulla's brutal policy with the proscriptions seems to give us an idea of what it would've been like had Pompey Magnus won the Civil War against Julius Caesar. Caesar was famous for showing clemency to all those who fought against him. He would have definitely done the same for Pompey had Ptolemy XIII not betrayed and murdered him on arrival. However, Pompey was Sulla's lieutenant during the Sulla-Marius Civil War, or as I like to call it "The Consul Wars" so he might've taken a page from the man who gave him the moniker "Magnus" meaning "the Great". Plus, kudos to Caesar for having Pompey and Crassus on his side. I'm guessing he understood that it was much better to have them with him than against him, and it worked...for a time at least.

[godwantsplastic]

This is perfect. Keep it simple.

Just checked your channel, you need to make more videos exactly like this one. No dramatic music, no verbosity...just the facts and some underwhelming visuals.

[zach]

I think leaving out Sulla's effect on the upper class was a big mistake. He had a list what they called "prescriptions" of who he wanted dead. This was mostly of rich people and his enemies. This took all of the strong individuals in the roman ruling class and butchered them. That means they killed all the wolf (or most) and left sheep to fill its place. Sulla and partly Marius are the reason why the senate was so weak going forward in Roman history. He also inspired Julius Caesar to cross the Rubicon and started the tradition of creating a list of rich people and enemies to kill. To add to people being inspired off of that, take a look at Augustus Caesar. He used his own version of "prescriptions" to butcher the senate and ruling class so they would be, "tamable". Because Sulla, Marius, Julius Caesar made the senate so weak by killing the "wolfs" of the ruling class they made it easy for Augustus to tame the senate and proclaim himself Emperor of Rome, thus starting the Roman Empire. In the end, Sulla ended the republic no matter how much he loved it.

[kaloarepo]

I think Julius Caesar was married to Sulla's daughter at one stage and when a friend of a friend of hers was involved in a religious scandal (The Bona Dea cult) Caesar divorced her saying that Caesar's wife should be above suspicion.Colleen McCullogh, the Australian novelist, gives a vivid account of the life of Sulla in her historical novels series set in Republican Rome.