ABSTRACT
The oligarchic system that Sulla created to stabilize the Roman Republic only destabilized it further and was impossible to maintain. His own example was a powerful incentive for ambitious men to circumvent the restraints that he tried to put on them. Sulla had alienated, frustrated, and embittered numerous groups within Roman society. They were willing to support any leader who courted popularity by challenging Sulla's repressive system, even one who was originally a part of that system. In addition, there was the need to control an extensive overseas empire. It inevitably required the creation of extraordinary military commands. Rome's permanent military presence included only two legions in Cilicia and two in Syria. Throughout the 70s and 60s BC., therefore, a series of domestic and foreign crises gave ambitious individuals opportunities to gain so much popularity, clientage, and military power that those who controlled the senate became powerless to restrain them.
