Roman Civil War: Master of the Republic (Part 4)

What you'll learn

• 1 (00:00) **Ominous Omen: The Temple of Jupiter Burns** - Tom Holland reads a dramatic passage from his book *Rubicon* describing the lightning strike and fire that destroyed Rome’s holiest temple in 83 BC, framing it as a portent of the coming civil war.
• 2 (06:30) **The Republic’s Rivals: Sulla vs. Cinna** - The narrative introduces Cinna, Sulla’s main enemy, who has ruled Rome unconstitutionally by holding consecutive consulships for three years.
• 3 (12:27) **Cinna’s Fatal Mutiny** - Cinna attempts to take the offensive against Sulla by crossing the Adriatic to Greece, but his army mutinies after a storm delays the crossing.
• 4 (18:46) **The Rise of Crassus and Pompey** - Two young, ambitious men from wealthy families throw their lot in with Sulla, seeing civil war as an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog normal political restrictions.
• 5 (26:26) **Young Marius vs. Sulla** - The young Marius uses the treasure from the burning Temple of Jupiter to bribe voters and pay for legions, becoming consul at age 26—an unprecedented and shocking violation of Roman tradition.
• 6 (29:56) **The Samnites’ Last Stand** - The only remaining enemy army in the field is the Samnites, who hate Sulla and Rome itself. They feint toward Praeneste but instead double back to attack the undefended city of Rome.
• 7 (33:29) **The Massacre at the Villa Publica** - The day after the Battle of the Colline Gate, Sulla addresses the Senate in the Temple of Bellona while 6,000 Samnite prisoners are systematically massacred in the nearby Villa Publica.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app