the life of CInna
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Birth name:
Born: Died: Cause of death: Era: Political affiliation: Major conflicts: |
Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Rome, Italy 84 BC - Rome, Italy Murdered Roman Republic Populares Social War |
Early Life (?-87 BC)
Cinna's early life is mostly a mystery as he only came in to prominence when he was elected as consul in 87 BC, before this he appears to have been largely insignificant in Roman politics. He was born into a family of patrician status and it is known that he served during the Social War of 91-88 BC where he held the rank of legate, and prior to this he was a praetor. At this time the reigning consul was Sulla, who had recently fallen out of favour with the people of Rome after allying himself with the Senate. Sulla hoped by helping Cinna to be elected as his colleague it would act as a compromise while also blocking his sworn enemy Gaius Marius from being elected. Soon after Cinna became consul he was forced to swear allegiance to Sulla, clearly indicating there was distrust and animosity between the two. Sulla claimed that if Cinna betrayed him he would be exiled from Rome. In addition he chose a loyal man named Gnaeus Octavius to be Cinna's consular colleague in order to keep Cinna in check.
Cinna remained true to his original goal of helping the people of Rome, rather than obeying Sulla. Cinna tried to remove Sulla from Rome shortly after his appointment as consul by charging him with a crime but Sulla ignored the charges and left the city on his own accord, taking his army with him in order to fight in the First Mithridatic. War.
Cinna remained true to his original goal of helping the people of Rome, rather than obeying Sulla. Cinna tried to remove Sulla from Rome shortly after his appointment as consul by charging him with a crime but Sulla ignored the charges and left the city on his own accord, taking his army with him in order to fight in the First Mithridatic. War.
A coin bearing the name of Cinna. By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29849439
Consulship (87 BC)
With Sulla gone Cinna repealed many of his laws and invited Sulla's rival Gaius Marius back to Rome. Marius had been exiled by Sulla after his first march on Rome and had spent the previous few years in Carthage. With his return, many of his supporters flocked to his cause once more. Cinna decided to affiliate himself with this faction, having been sympathetic to their cause for some time already. Cinna also supported the "novus civis" or "new citizen" who he sympathised greatly with. The ''novus civis'', a group of people promised citizenship following the Social War, had technically be granted citizenship but in fact it came with none of the benefits of being a citizen. Despite Cinna's colleague Octavius' attempt to block his actions, Cinna pressed on with attempting to further their rights. Eventually fighting erupted throughout the city of Rome between the supporters of Cinna and Octavius. Most of the fighting took place in the Forum, where it was allegedly the largest fight ever to break out there. Octavius blamed the fight on Cinna and accused him of seeking dictatorship. Cinna was ultimately removed from office by Octavius, also exiling him and stripping him of his citizenship - a wholly illegal move.
Exile
Cinna did not take the actions against him lightly. While in exile he brooded and plotted revenge against Octavius. He still had swathes of supporters outside the city of Rome who felt they had also been wronged by Sulla and his ilk and thus, raising an army proved to be relatively easy for him. Marius, who had also been exiled, reunited with Cinna in the Italian countryside, bringing his own forces with him. Together they had a combined might capable of retaking Rome by force. They swept across the land surrounding Rome gathering more allies and cutting off supply routes to starve the city. When sufficient economic damage had been done they headed towards Rome itself for the final confrontation.
Return to Rome (87 BC)
Cinna and Marius engaged the forces of Octavius at the Janiculum, the second highest of Rome's hills. Octavius was ultimately victorious but he suffered huge losses and was now left unable to properly defend Rome. More battles occurred near Rome until eventually Octavius opted to negotiate with Cinna instead, fearing that he would eventually lose the city. In late 87 BC Cinna and his army were allowed to return to the city and be reinstated as consul on the condition that he would not take revenge upon anyone in Rome. Marius refused to join Cinna, rather remaining exiled from the city than forgive Octavius.
The Senate were just about to vote to agree to the terms laid out when Marius stormed the city with his soldiers and begun to slaughter all those who opposed himself and Cinna, and especially those who supported Sulla. Sulla himself does not mention this at all in his memoirs, so it is unclear if it is true, or has simply been exaggerated. While his support for Marius did not waiver, Cinna himself wanted no part in the bloodshed and deliberately made an effort to disassociate himself with it, although he did order the execution of Octavius.
Much of the killing was undertaken by Marius' personal slaves known as the Bardyiae who obeyed his command without question. Becoming horrified by the bloodshed, Cinna sought to put it to an end to it by having all of the Bardyiae killed and thus restoring order to the city, despite significant damage to relations already being done. It is unknown whether Marius knew Cinna was responsible for this, as soon after in 86 BC they were both elected as consuls for the year. Just over two weeks into their consulship Marius unexpectedly died, leaving only Cinna to rule the Roman Republic.
The Senate were just about to vote to agree to the terms laid out when Marius stormed the city with his soldiers and begun to slaughter all those who opposed himself and Cinna, and especially those who supported Sulla. Sulla himself does not mention this at all in his memoirs, so it is unclear if it is true, or has simply been exaggerated. While his support for Marius did not waiver, Cinna himself wanted no part in the bloodshed and deliberately made an effort to disassociate himself with it, although he did order the execution of Octavius.
Much of the killing was undertaken by Marius' personal slaves known as the Bardyiae who obeyed his command without question. Becoming horrified by the bloodshed, Cinna sought to put it to an end to it by having all of the Bardyiae killed and thus restoring order to the city, despite significant damage to relations already being done. It is unknown whether Marius knew Cinna was responsible for this, as soon after in 86 BC they were both elected as consuls for the year. Just over two weeks into their consulship Marius unexpectedly died, leaving only Cinna to rule the Roman Republic.
Dominatio Cinnae (87-84 BC)
Cinna's rule of Rome from this point is referred to by historians as the 'Dominatio Cinnae' or 'Domination of Cinna'. Unfortunately, there is also very little written about this period, so much of Cinna's actions are unknown. Cinna begun to grant more people official citizenship status and by 85 BC the number of citizens had risen to just under half a million people.
Cinna's new co-consul, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, had replaced Marius and was setting about restoring the Republic's finances after a severe depression caused by the Social War. Flaccus proposed a bill be introduced to resolve the issues many were facing, such as extortionate interest rates and counterfeiting. Cinna supported Flaccus in his proposed bill, and even set up stations across Rome and many other cities to detect counterfeit coins and remove them from circulation.
Cinna knew that Sulla was still a threat to his rule and so set about preparing for his eventual return. Things took a turn for the worse when Flaccus was appointed as the new commander in the Mithridatic War. Sulla was greatly displeased and moved his forces against Flaccus. Flaccus' forces were not overly fond of him, and many deserted to Sulla, although the legate Fimbria managed to convince many soldiers to remain loyal. However Fimbria also lost faith in Flaccus and took many of the troops with him, forming another military force separate from both Flaccus and Sulla. Fimbria attempted to make peace with Sulla, but his own army deserted him in favour of Sulla resulting in Fimbria's suicide. With no one to oppose him, Sulla marched on Rome.
Cinna and his new colleague Gnaeus Papirius Carbo prepared Rome for the inevitable attack by Sulla. They elected themselves as consuls for the next year, citing the threat of Sulla as their reason, so that there would be no interference in the coming conflict.
Cinna's new co-consul, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, had replaced Marius and was setting about restoring the Republic's finances after a severe depression caused by the Social War. Flaccus proposed a bill be introduced to resolve the issues many were facing, such as extortionate interest rates and counterfeiting. Cinna supported Flaccus in his proposed bill, and even set up stations across Rome and many other cities to detect counterfeit coins and remove them from circulation.
Cinna knew that Sulla was still a threat to his rule and so set about preparing for his eventual return. Things took a turn for the worse when Flaccus was appointed as the new commander in the Mithridatic War. Sulla was greatly displeased and moved his forces against Flaccus. Flaccus' forces were not overly fond of him, and many deserted to Sulla, although the legate Fimbria managed to convince many soldiers to remain loyal. However Fimbria also lost faith in Flaccus and took many of the troops with him, forming another military force separate from both Flaccus and Sulla. Fimbria attempted to make peace with Sulla, but his own army deserted him in favour of Sulla resulting in Fimbria's suicide. With no one to oppose him, Sulla marched on Rome.
Cinna and his new colleague Gnaeus Papirius Carbo prepared Rome for the inevitable attack by Sulla. They elected themselves as consuls for the next year, citing the threat of Sulla as their reason, so that there would be no interference in the coming conflict.
Death & Legacy (84 BC)
Cinna would never see the conflict with Sulla. In 84 BC Cinna was murdered by his own soldiers in his camp in Dalmatia, located in modern day Croatia, while preparing for war. The exact reason for the mutiny is unknown however some theories have been put forth. It is possible that his troops were simply unwilling to fight against Sulla, who had a proven record of being a capable military commander. The battle also would have provided little in the way of payment for the soldiers. The only way out of war, in their eyes, was to kill Cinna.
It is also possible that while preparing for battle his army heard news that reinforcements had been sent back by a storm, and would not arrive for some time. A commotion erupted in Cinna's camp and before long a mob brutally murdered the commanding officers, including Cinna.
Plutarch states that Pompey was in Cinna's camp acting as an envoy of Sulla. He was accused of some misdemeanor and subsequently fled, resulting in the soldiers believing Cinna had helped him to escape. Seeing him as a traitor, they killed him.
It is clear Cinna was murdered by a mob of his own troops - only the exact reason is unknown. It could be argued that Cinna's actions during the Dominatio Cinnae acted as a catalyst for the fall of the Roman Republic, as many would follow in his footsteps of authoritarian rule. Sulla took Rome after Cinna's death and was elected dictator from 82-81 BC, as did Julius Caesar some decades later.
It is also possible that while preparing for battle his army heard news that reinforcements had been sent back by a storm, and would not arrive for some time. A commotion erupted in Cinna's camp and before long a mob brutally murdered the commanding officers, including Cinna.
Plutarch states that Pompey was in Cinna's camp acting as an envoy of Sulla. He was accused of some misdemeanor and subsequently fled, resulting in the soldiers believing Cinna had helped him to escape. Seeing him as a traitor, they killed him.
It is clear Cinna was murdered by a mob of his own troops - only the exact reason is unknown. It could be argued that Cinna's actions during the Dominatio Cinnae acted as a catalyst for the fall of the Roman Republic, as many would follow in his footsteps of authoritarian rule. Sulla took Rome after Cinna's death and was elected dictator from 82-81 BC, as did Julius Caesar some decades later.
Trivia
- Cinna was consul every year from 87-84 BC
- One of Cinna's daughters, Cornelia Minor married Julius Caesar around the year 84 BC. She was his first wife.
- Cinna's son, of the same name, fled Rome when Sulla returned to power but came back to the city to help Lepidus in his revolt.