In the spring of 83 BC, Sulla landed his army in two divisions at Brundisium and Tarentum. This military landing marked the beginning of a brutal civil war that would reshape Rome. Before this moment, Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna had wrested control from Sulla's supporters during his absence. They ordered soldiers to kill leading Sullan figures including Octavius. Their heads were exhibited in the Forum for days. Some 100 Roman nobles died in these purges. Marius declared all of Sulla's reforms invalid and exiled him officially. He then elected himself consul alongside Cinna for the year 86 BC. Marius died just a fortnight after taking office leaving Cinna alone in charge. The political vacuum allowed chaos to spread through the Republic. Flaccus was sent with an army to relieve Sulla but his second-in-command Fimbria murdered him instead. Many of Flaccus' troops deserted to join Sulla before he could move north.
Sullan Invasion Of Italy
As soon as Sulla set foot on Italian soil, outlawed nobles flocked to his banner. Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius raised an independent army while Marcus Licinius Crassus did the same. Lucius Marcius Philippus secured Sardinia for the Sullan cause. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus raised three legions from his father's veterans in Picenum. When Pompey met Sulla he addressed him as Imperator. Publius Cornelius Cethegus joined the Sullan faction despite being a former Marian supporter. Norbanus blocked Sulla's advance at Canusium becoming the first to engage him directly. Sulla inflicted a crushing defeat where Norbanus lost six thousand men to Sulla's seventy. Norbanus withdrew to Capua only to be stopped by Scipio Asiaticus. Scipio welcomed negotiations but his legate Quintus Sertorius captured Suessa breaking trust. Scipio's troops defected en masse swelling Sulla's ranks. The consul and his son were found cowering in tents and released after promising never to fight again. Scipio broke this promise immediately returning to Carbo in Rome. Sulla defeated Norbanus a second time before marching toward the capital.Decisive Battles Of Eighty Two BC
Marius the Younger marched his army south-east into Campania meeting Sulla's forces near Signia. While Sulla's men dug ditches and threw up earthworks Marius attacked suddenly. Sulla's veterans stuck their pila into the ground creating makeshift barricades. They drew swords and organized battle lines before counter-attacking. Five cohorts of foot soldiers and two of horse deserted to Sulla causing general collapse. Marius lost 28,000 men while Sulla claimed only 23 casualties. Marius retreated with 7,000 men to Praeneste but townspeople shut gates as Sullan forces approached. He had to be hoisted in on a rope while hundreds trapped between walls were massacred. Damasippus ordered killings of Sullan sympathizers inside Rome including Pontifex Maximus Quintus Mucius Scaevola murdered in the Temple of Vesta. Bodies were thrown into the Tiber River. Metellus and Pompey fought Carbo in northern Italy defeating Carrinas at the River Aesis. Neapolis fell through treachery with virtually the whole population massacred. Sulla surrounded Rome and took it without a fight as remaining Marians fled. The Samnite general Pontius Telesinus and Lucanian Marcus Lamponius commanded large armies trying to break the siege at Praeneste. They decided to march on Rome instead meeting Sulla outside its walls at the Battle of the Colline Gate. An estimated 50,000 men lost their lives that day.