L. Cornelius Sulla AR Denarius (Sulla's Triumph, RRC 367/3)

L. CORNELIUS SULLA with L. MANLIUS TORQUATUS
AR Denarius (18.56mm, 3.56g, 2h)
Struck 82 BC. Military mint travelling with Sulla
Obverse: L MANLI T PRO Q, helmeted head of Roma right
Reverse: Sulla in triumphal quadriga right, holding caduceus, crowned by Victory flying left above; L SVLLA IM[P] in exergue
References: RRC 367/3; RCV 287.

Toned and struck on a typically tight flan. These coins were minted to pay Sulla's troops during the civil wars of 82 BC.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (138-78 BC) was an important figure in the history of the late Roman Republic. Born into a patrician but impoverished family, he first distinguished himself as an officer under Gaius Marius during the Jugurthine War of 107-106 BC by negotiating the capture of the Numidian king Jugurtha. Sulla also displayed his military abilities later against the Germanic tribes during the Cimbrian War and against the Italian allies during the Social Wars.
Sulla is most famous for his unprecedented march on Rome and the seizure of political power by force of arms, first in 85 BC in response to the Senate’s rescinding his military command at the instigation of his former commander Gaius Marius, and later in 82 BC after Marian forces had retaken the city and declared Sulla an outlaw. After Sulla took control the second time, he assumed the hitherto archaic office of Dictator and instituted an extensive proscription or purge of his political enemies. He also reformed the laws, reinforcing the power of the Senate while restricting that of the tribunes of the plebs. Sulla resigned the office of Dictator in 79 BC and died later the following year.

Collection : Roman Republic