Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Encyclopedia
Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 Cinna
Cinna
Cinna was a cognomen that distinguished a patrician branch of the gens Cornelia, particularly in the late Roman Republic.Prominent members of this family include:...

 family of the Cornelii gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...

.

Cinna's influence in Rome exacerbated the tensions which existed between Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...

 and Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...

. After the death of Marius, he became the leading power in Rome until his own death. His main impact upon Roman politics was his ability to veil his tyranny and make it appear that he was working under a constitutional government. His policies also impinged on Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, who married his daughter.

Rise to power

Not much is known about Cinna before his bid for the consulship of 87 BC. He had praetorian rank in the Social War (91-88 BC), and had most likely also been praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...

 previous to this time. Cinna was elected as Roman consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 in 87 BC, but historians disagree about who supported his election and what his own original political goals and causes were. All seem to agree on a basic chain of events however. Cinna was elected at a time when Sulla (the current consul) was very unpopular with the lower classes and the Latin allies, because he had sided with the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

, blocking the advancement of their rights as citizens. The people had intentionally elected candidates (probably for Tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

) who were not supported by Sulla. Sulla had a little more control over the election for consul, or at least, had enough power to be certain no one who supported his rival, Marius could be elected.
Sulla seems to have supported Cinna as a compromise candidate, but clearly did not trust him, as seen from an anecdote from Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

. Immediately after Cinna’s election, Sulla made Cinna swear loyalty to him by taking a stone up to the Capitol
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...

 and cast it down, “praying that, if he failed to preserve his goodwill for Sulla, he might be thrown out of Rome as the stone was thrown out of his hand.” Somehow then, Cinna had enough support to be elected. Various theories on who supported him and why are postulated based on what he did while in office, but all agree, Sulla was correct in his distrust. Gnaeus Octavius
Gnaeus Octavius
Gnaeus Octavius was a senator and later consul of the Roman Republic. His father, also called Gnaeus Octavius, was Consul in 128 BC.His uncle, Marcus Octavius, was a key figure in opposition to the reforms of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC...

 was elected as Cinna’s colleague under relatively similar circumstances, though Octavius probably had more support from Sulla.

First consulship and exile

One of Cinna’s first decisions as consul was to not let his oath to Sulla influence his decisions as consul. Cinna argued that the oath should not prevent him from helping the people of Rome. Soon after this, Cinna sought to remove Sulla from the city. He brought some sort of charge against Sulla soon after coming to power. Sulla, rather than facing the charge, escaped with his army and led them to fight the army of Mithridates VI of Pontus in Boeotia. This left only Octavius and the Senate to defend the causes of Sulla in Rome. Cinna eventually supported many causes, which leads to some debate concerning his original goals and to accusations that he chose his issues based on bribes.

Two causes predominated, that of the exiles and that of the Italians. Marius and his supporters, as well as many prominent supporters of Publius Sulpicius Rufus
Publius Sulpicius Rufus
Publius Sulpicius Rufus was an orator and statesman of the Roman Republic, legate in 89 to Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo in the Social War, and in 88 tribune of the plebs....

 had been exiled from Rome under Sulla’s rule, but were still very popular amongst the people. It is clear that there were later connections between Cinna and this group (see “Exile and Alliance with Marius”), but it is not clear at what point he took up this cause. The other cause, to which Cinna can be more clearly connected, is that of the “Novus Homo
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...

” or “New Citizens.” These were members of Italian tribes who had been promised citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

 as a condition of peace in the Social War. Technically they had been given citizenship, but in such a way that they had no real power. Cinna, even before his election, seems to have favored this cause. Certainly after his election, he worked to increase their rights, fighting against Octavius, who tried to maintain the status quo. This feud ended in one of the largest street fights ever to occur in Rome, between the supporters of Octavius and the supporters of Cinna. Although Appian stated that Cinna had no support from the “old citizens” in anything, including the street fight, this is highly unlikely, as none of his laws would have been a threat without at least some support from this quarter. Why the “old citizens” supported him, and how many of them supported him, is entirely unknown. Octavius used the street fight to justify exiling Cinna immediately, deposing him of his office and citizenship, an accusation that seems to have stuck with many historians, who accused Cinna of acting as a dictator. The deposition of Cinna was unconstitutional and the only instance of its kind in the history of the Roman Republic.

Preparations while in exile

Cinna then began to raise an army from the Italian countryside. His connections with the Italian groups seem to have been quite strong, as they quickly joined his forces (although accusations of bribery abound among the ancient historians ). At this point, the connections between Marius and Cinna become quite clear. Because they shared the support of the Italians, Cinna was willing to join forces with Marius. Together they planned to retake the city. Cinna and Marius’ army moved through the countryside, cutting off supply routes and cities used for food storage from the city.

Invasion and slaughter of Rome

The first major battle of the conflict occurred at the Janiculum
Janiculum
The Janiculum is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although the second-tallest hill in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbial Seven Hills of Rome, being west of the Tiber and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.-Sights:The Janiculum is one of the...

, where Octavius’ forces prevailed, but with heavy losses, including the general Pompeius Strabo
Pompeius Strabo
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo , whose cognomen means "cross eyed", is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo to distinguish him from Strabo, the geographer. Strabo lived in the Roman Republic. Strabo was born and raised into a noble family in Picenum a rural district in Northern Italy, off the...

. This demoralized Octavius’ army, but did not hinder the siege of Cinna and Marius, further weakening Rome. Eventually, after various skirmishes around the outskirts of Rome, negotiators secured Cinna’s assurance that he would not “willingly cause anyone’s death on reentering Rome.” Thus, in late 87 BC, Cinna was reinstated as consul and the armies reentered the city. As Cinna and his bodyguard entered, however, Marius refused to enter Rome until his exile was officially repealed. The senate quickly began to vote to approve this, but before they were finished, Marius gave up all pretense and entered the city with his bodyguard, the Bardyiae. This unit consisted of Marius’ slaves who killed at Marius’ orders. Marius, according to the ancient historians, filled the city with blood, slaughtering anyone who remotely supported Sulla, had a lot of property, or was a personal enemy of Marius. These claims are most likely exaggerated, as they do not appear in Sulla’s memoirs, a location which would seem biased against Marius. These seem to appear later, but all agree that Cinna distanced himself from the indiscriminate slaughter, only ordering the deaths of Octavius and others who were direct political threats.

Eventually, “Cinna had had enough of murder,” and he and Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...

, a general who supported Marius and later governed Spain, had their troops ambush the sleeping Bardyiae, ending their reign of terror. Soon after this, in 86 BC, Marius and Cinna were reelected for consulship. Seventeen days after attaining his much sought seventh consulship, Marius died. This began the era many historians have termed the “Dominatio Cinnae,” (the Domination of Cinna.)

Dominatio Cinnae

What occurred during this period is not as well documented as other parts of Cinna’s life. After the death of Marius, Lucius Valerius Flaccus (suffect consul 86 BC) succeeded him. Flaccus’ major contribution was to submit a bill attempting to solve a financial crisis. The Social War had caused a financial depression, resulting in exorbitant interest on loans and collapsing financial confidence in Rome after the start of the Mithridatic War. Counterfeiting became rampant, forcing Cinna and the government to develop testing stations to discover the false coins and replace them with good ones.

In 85 BC, Cinna attempted to revive Sulpicius’ bill to solidify the citizenship of the Italian groups, but it was not in practice quickly as the census the next year lists 463,000 citizens. This is not a large enough increase from 115/114 BC, where the total was 394,336 to have included the Italians. Much of what Cinna’s attention while ruling Rome was focused on was dealing with Sulla. Flaccus soon took over the war against Mithridates, which Sulla interpreted as a threat; he then moved to intercept Flaccus.

Flaccus was disliked by his soldiers and many deserted to Sulla. That any remained was due to the legate Fimbria, who used his popularity and influence with the troops to convince them to stay. This did not benefit Flaccus for long though, as Fimbria later had the army rebel against Flaccus and continue against Mithridates under his own leadership. Fimbria tried to offer peace with Sulla, but Sulla and Mithridates were already in negotiations which were favorable to both parties, therefore negating any necessity for Fimbria’s offer to Mithridates. After confirming peace with Mithridates, Sulla went to negotiate with Fimbria, at which point Fimbria’s army deserted to Sulla and Fimbria committed suicide.

After finishing his war, Sulla returned to Italy. He sent out letters to the Italians in order to sooth the fear that he would take away their citizenship. Sulla also sent a letter to the Senate regaling them of his victories over Mithridates and assuring them that he had received those exiled by Cinna and that he would provide swift retribution to those who were guilty of causing himself and the Senate to suffer. Cinna and his colleague, Carbo, prepared for war. They postponed the elections of that year, declaring themselves reelected so that they would not have to return to Rome early to participate in an election. It is unlikely that this was contested because Cinna and his allies had enough power that no one dared to run in opposition to them. Although this complied with the constitution, it allowed Cinna to act as monarch while still appearing to follow the will of the population. As Cinna and Carbo doubled their efforts for war with the looming threat of Sulla, Cinna was unaware that it would not be battle, but his preparations for war which would cost him his life.

Death

Cinna was murdered in a mutiny of his own soldiers in 84 BC. He had been working to transport his troops across the Adriatic in order to meet Sulla on foreign soil. The troops were not relishing the upcoming fight, which promised no booty. Their dissatisfaction was increased when they heard that the second convoy of troops who had been in transport had been shipwrecked in a storm. Those that survived had returned to their homes. Cinna ordered an assembly in order to terrorize the troops back into obedience. One of his lictors struck a soldier who had been standing in the way as Cinna entered the gathering and when the soldier hit back Cinna ordered his arrest. This caused another soldier to throw a stone at Cinna, which struck him. The spirit of the mob then took hold as more missiles were thrown and the nearest soldiers stabbed Cinna to death.

Plutarch tells a slightly different story, stating that Pompey visited Cinna’s camp and escaped accused of doing some wrong. The soldiers assumed that Cinna had helped Pompey escape and killed Cinna for this breach of their trust. In either account, Cinna was murdered not due to his politics, but as more of a brief flare up of the mob spirit within his troops. Christoph Bulst argues that Cinna was killed in “an absolutely un-political mutiny,” pointing out that there is no mention of specific opposition against Cinna, and that he did not even feel the need to travel with a bodyguard.

Family

Cinna was married to Annia, who was the daughter of Annius (unidentifiable). They had two daughters and a son. One of his daughters married one of Cinna’s supporters named Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus. His other daughter, Cornelia, married Julius Caesar around 86 BC and died in 69 BC after bearing a daughter Julia.

Cinna’s son, the younger Lucius Cornelius Cinna, fled Italy when Sulla returned, most likely to Spain. He returned briefly in 78 BC to help in the rebellion of Lepidus, then again fled to Spain after the plot fell through. He was able to return to Rome in 78 BC due to Lex Plautia, which extended an amnesty to all exiles of the civil war era. The son of this Cinna was Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus
Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus
Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus was the son of suffect consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna and Pompeia Magna. His sister was Cornelia Pompeia Magna....

, who was pardoned twice, once after his support for Marc Antony, then again later for conspiracy against the emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

. Surprisingly he was then honored as a consul in AD 5 with the Emperor.

Cinna's legacy

Lucius Cornelius Cinna was important within Roman history. He played an important role in the dispute between Gaius Marius and Lucius Sulla, allowing Marius to return to Rome for his seventh consulship. Cinna’s rule was not well documented and many argue that his only goal was his own advancement. His alliance with Marius was to better his interests rather than as a statement of his politics. He attempted to become a tyrant behind a veiled disguise of a republic under a strict constitution. His only real cause was that of the equalization of the Italian groups. Although he was not as well documented as his contemporaries, Cinna was still an essential player in the fall of the system of the Roman Republic, ushering in a thinly veiled form of tyranny.

Further reading

  • Lovano, Michael. The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002. Limited preview online.
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