Sulla's proscription

• 1. The Lists of Death

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  Lucius Cornelius Sulla published two lists containing 520 names on the forum in November 82 BC. These white planks displayed the names of senators and equites who had opposed him during the civil war. The first list held 80 names, while a second list added another 440 names over the following days. A herald read these names aloud to the public assembly. Only 75 of those 520 names survive in modern historical records today. Sulla personally composed both lists without allowing anyone to remove a name once it appeared. The four consuls for 82 BC stood at the top of that initial list. Gnaeus Papirius Carbo led the group followed by Marius the Younger, Gaius Norbanus, and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus. Almost every magistrate elected since Sulla left Italy in 88 BC faced this fate. The lists targeted only Roman aristocrats rather than common citizens or foreigners. Lower-ranking Romans faced show trials instead but were not part of the proscription itself.

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• 2. Rituals of Execution

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  A reward of 48,000 sesterces waited for anyone bringing a severed head from the lists. Slaves received freedom if they killed their own masters listed as enemies. Full immunity applied to any citizen who committed murder against a proscribed individual. Victims usually died by beheading because rewards required physical proof of death. The heads of prominent enemies paraded through Roman streets before display on the rostra. Some victims arrived alive at Sulla's command for official execution with an axe. Catiline famously mutilated the body of Gratidianus after decapitation. Headless corpses sometimes rotted near the Servilius Lacus fountain before being dragged into the Tiber river. Burial remained forbidden to deny the dead peace in the afterlife. Physical integrity held spiritual importance for ancient Roman beliefs about the soul. The edict likely contained specific clauses denying burial rights to all listed individuals.

• 3. The Wealth Transfer

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  One quarter of the known proscribed escaped Italy to join Quintus Sertorius in Spain. Scipio Asiagenus survived exile in Massalia and remained alive until at least 57 BC. He owed his life to his illustrious lineage rather than any bribe or deal. Gaius Norbanus fled to Rhodes but committed suicide when forced to surrender by Sulla. The Sertorian War lasted from 80 BC to 72 BC partly because leaders could not recover status. Sertius himself died in 73 or 72 BC murdered by fellow proscribed conspirators. Aufidius was the only murderer of Sertorius to survive the conflict. He later died in misery within a Spanish town without rehabilitation. Six proscribed individuals remained alive after 72 BC according to surviving records. Marcus Varius died at the battle of Lemnos in 73 BC while fighting for Mithridates. Other exiles joined forces with King Mithridates VI against Rome. Many perished during battles in Asia Minor or Spain over the following decade.

  A lex Plautia passed possibly in 70 BC granted asylum to some proscribed

• 4. Exiles In Spain

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  supporters. Julius Caesar supported this tribune named Plautius as brother-in-law to the younger Cinna. The law allowed descendants to return to Rome but deprived them of political rights. They could not run for offices or launch judicial accusations against enemies. Cicero fought against amnesty laws fearing chaos would erupt if revenge occurred. Servilius Rullus proposed bills in 63 BC to restore political rights for sons of proscribed men. His agrarian reform bill succeeded while his amnesty proposal failed completely. Only minor figures like L. Luscius and L. Bellienus faced condemnation years later. Catilina escaped prosecution despite being one of Sulla's most violent agents. Caesar took control of Rome in 49 BC and asked Mark Antony to pass the lex Antonia de proscriptorum liberis. This restored political rights including eligibility for magistracies to the children of victims. Caesar did not restore their properties to avoid challenging his own acquisitions from Pompey. He instead gave these freedmen properties seized from

• 5. Restoring Rights

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  his former enemies. Marcus Junius Brutus recovered full status through adoption by Quintus Servilius Caepio in 59 BC.

  Sulla's proscription served as a direct model for the Second Triumvirate in 43 BC. Six individuals survived past 72 BC only to be proscribed again during that later campaign. Lucius Cornelius Cinna and Lucius Fidustius died after facing execution twice over decades. The pattern of lists, rewards, and property confiscation repeated with brutal efficiency. Ancient writers debated whether senators limited Sulla's scope or if he chose restraint voluntarily. Orosius named Catulus while Plutarch cited Gaius Caecilius Metellus and Fufidius as moderating influences. The Senate rejected Sulla's initial proposal on the 2nd of November 82 BC inside the Temple of Bellona. That session occurred next to the slaughter of Samnite prisoners whose shouts reached the assembly. Moderate senators like the Julii Caesares opposed the measure out of horror at ongoing massacres. Extremists like Marcus Licinius Crassus feared limits would prevent indiscriminate purges. The law lex Cornelia de hostibus rei publicae retroactively legalized all actions taken since 82 BC. This legislation made the edict permanent under Roman legal standards where magistrates' mandates ended

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• 6. Echoes In History

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  naturally. The final outcome left descendants deprived of properties and civic rights until Caesar intervened.