Cataclysm 90 BC: The Forgotten War that Almost Destroyed Rome

by Philip Matyszak

By now Marius was out of the war. Either he had withdrawn under the pretext of ill-health because he felt his efforts to date had been underappreciated, or because he was genuinely ill. It was certainly true that his recent efforts had been uninspired, and it may be that when his command lapsed at the end of 90 BC the government in Rome simply did not renew it. In any case, Marius was out of a job. In retirement he had plenty of time to watch his rival and ex-subordinate Lucius Sulla cover himself in glory. Sulla was now praetor and operating in the hills near Pompeii. When his opponent Cluentius pitched his camp almost on top of Sulla’s own, an infuriated Sulla immediately launched an attack upon it. This attack possessed more impetuosity than planning, for in this case Sulla was living up to his publicly stated dictum that he did his best work on the spur of the moment.9 He very nearly came to grief, but eventually prevailed thanks to some last-minute reinforcement by troops who returned from foraging.