The Battle of Sacriportus also called the Battle of Sacriporto took place in April of 82 BC during

Sulla's Second Civil War Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction (usually called the Marians or the Cinnans after their former leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna), in the y ...

. The battle pitted the

Optimates Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...

under the command of

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

against the Populares forces commanded by

Gaius Marius the Younger Gaius Marius "the Younger" (c. 110 – 82 BC) was a Roman republican general and politician who became consul in 82 BC with Papirius Carbo. He fought in Sulla's civil war. He committed suicide that same year at Praeneste, after his defeat by ...

. The battle resulted in a decisive Optimate victory.

Context

After signing the peace treaty at Dardanos, Sulla returned to Italy at the head of his battle-hardened army with the intention of confronting his political opponents, the Populares. They were led by

and by

Gnaeus Papirius Carbo Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (c. 129 – 82 BC) was thrice consul of the Roman Republic in 85, 84, and 82 BC. He was the head of the Marianists after the death of Cinna in 84 and led the resistance to Sulla during the civil war. He was proscribed by S ...

. Sulla therefore invaded

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...

in 83 BC, routing various Populares armies. Encamping for the winter, both sides made preparations to continue the fighting with the start of the Spring war season when the war became intensified and bloody.

The battle

According to historical accounts, one night in April, Sulla had a dream that

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

told his son,

, that he should not give battle to Sulla's forces the following day. Encouraged by this premonition, Sulla decided to immediately give combat and called on

Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella was a consul of the Roman Republic in 81 BC, with Marcus Tullius Decula, during the dictatorship of Sulla. Biography Possibly a military tribune in 89 BC, Dolabella soon was attached to the staff of Sulla as a legate, h ...

, who was encamped nearby. Dolabella's army was exhausted from marching in an intense rainstorm and the

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

s had ordered that the army make camp rather than give battle. Emboldened by the enemy's lack of offensive action, Gaius Marius decided to attack thinking he would be able to surprise the Optimates and win the day. Sulla's veterans simply stuck their

pila Pila may refer to: Architecture * Pila (architecture), a type of veranda in Sri Lankan farm houses Places *Pila, Buenos Aires, a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina *Pila Partido, a country subdivision in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina * ...

into the ground to create a makeshift barricade, drew their swords, formed battle lines and counter-attacked. The Sullans' counter-attack put the Marians on the defensive, eventually, their left began to waver and either slowly or speedily (the accounts differ) they were driven back. In the end five cohorts of foot and two of horse deserted to Sulla causing a general collapse and Marius' army scattered in rout. Marius lost 28,000 men (killed, captured, turned coat or fled) while Sulla claimed to have only lost 23 men.

Consequences

The surviving Populares forces, including Marius, took refuge at

Preneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

to escape the pursuing Sullan forces. Sulla arrived shortly thereafter and besieged the city. The city fell on 4 November, holding out surprisingly until all of Italy was under Sulla's direct control.

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

, ''The Civil Wars'', 1, 88.

References

Bibliography

Classic sources

, ''The Civil Wars''. *

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, ''Sulla''.

Modern sources

* * * *Angelo Luttazzi, ''Sacriporto. Luogo della battaglia combattuta tra Silla ed il figlio di Mario nell’82 a.C''., “Studi e Rcerche sull’Ager Signinus”, 3, Colleferro 2004. * Lynda Telford (2014). Sulla: A Dictator Reconsidered. Pen & Sword Military. . * Philip Matyszak (2014). Cataclysm 90 BC. Pen & Sword Military. . 82 BC Sacriportus Sacriportus Sacriportus {{AncientRome-battle-stub