Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix was born in Rome around 138 BC into a branch of the patrician gens Cornelia that had fallen to poverty. His father died when he was still a teenager, leaving him with little money and no political power. The family name once belonged to Publius Cornelius Rufinus, who had been banished from the Senate for possessing more than ten pounds of silver plate. This disgrace meant that Sulla's family did not hold high office until he himself rose to prominence.
Without ready cash, Sulla spent his youth among comedians, actors, lute players, and dancers in Rome. He began by singing on stage before writing comedic plays known as Atellan farces. Plutarch records that during his last marriage to Valeria, he kept company with actresses, musicians, and dancers, drinking with them night and day on couches. One specific figure named Metrobius appears in these accounts as one of Sulla's lovers whom he carried with him until the end of his life.
Sulla received a standard education for his class, grounded in ancient Greek and Latin classics. Sallust describes him as well-read, intelligent, and fluent in Greek. Despite this learning, he remained very poor by the standards of the Roman political class. His first wife was either Ilia or Julia, possibly linking him to the Julii Caesares through marriage. They had one child together before she died. Later marriages to Aelia and Cloelia followed, but it was an affair with Nicopolis, a hetaira older than him, that may have provided funds.
The means by which Sulla attained fortune remain unclear, though Plutarch mentions two inheritances: one from his stepmother who loved him dearly and another from his mistress Nicopolis. Classicist Arthur Keaveney accepts these inheritances as historical events occurring around Sulla's thirtieth year. This sudden wealth enabled him to ascend the ladder of Roman politics after years of obscurity.
Jugurthine War And Early Command
Gaius Marius elected consul in 107 BC took over the campaign against Jugurtha, grandson of Massinissa of Numidia. The war began in 112 BC when Jugurtha claimed the entire kingdom of Numidia despite Roman decrees dividing it among royal family members. After massacring Italian traders and using bribery to secure peace treaties, Jugurtha plotted the assassination of another claimant before returning home.
Sulla served under Marius as quaestor starting in 108 BC. Normally candidates needed ten years of military service, but age requirements had superseded this rule by Sulla's time. Marius entrusted Sulla with organizing cavalry in Italy to pursue mobile Numidians into the desert. If Sulla had married into the Julii Caesares, this might explain why Marius gave such an important task to a young man without experience.
Roman forces followed Metellus's plan, capturing fortified positions in Africa. Sulla proved popular with men and officers alike, building healthy rapport while winning popularity from other commanders including Marius himself. The Numidians were defeated in 106 BC largely due to Sulla's initiative in capturing King Jugurtha.
Jugurtha fled to his father-in-law King Bocchus I of Mauretania west of Numidia. Marius invaded Mauretania after a pitched battle where both Sulla and Marius played key roles securing victory. Bocchus was forced to betray Jugurtha when negotiations began. The Senate delegated talks to Marius who appointed Sulla as envoy plenipotentiary.
Winning Bocchus's friendship and making plain Rome's demands for Jugurtha's deliverance, Sulla successfully concluded negotiations. He secured Bocchus's capture of Jugurtha and the king's rendition to Marius's camp. This feat attracted publicity that boosted Sulla's reputation and political prospects for many years afterward. In 91 BC, Bocchus paid for a gilded equestrian statue depicting Sulla's capture of Jugurtha.