Cahiers Glotz, XV, 2004, p. 37-84 FREDERIK JULIAAN VERVAET
THE LEX VALERIA
AND SULLAâS EMPOWERMENT AS DICTATOR (82-79 BCE)*
1. Introduction
* All years are consular years BCE. The term imperator is used in its broad sense of official
cum imperio suo iure. I wish to warmly thank Professors Fergus Millar (Oxford), David Wardle (Cape Town) and Frédéric Hurlet (Nantes), and Marcia DeVoe, graduate student at UC Berkeley, for their elaborate and useful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Responsibility for all remaining flaws and errors is mine alone. All translations are those of LCL, modified where necessary. To a certain extent, this article may be construed as a complement to Frédéric Hurletâs La dictature de Sylla: monarchie ou magistrature républicaine? Essai dâhistoire constitutionelle,
Brussel-Rome, 1993, the first comprehensive study of the public nature of Sullaâs dictatorship in all its respects, which also gathers a wide variety of valuable source material concerning the Roman dictatorship in general. In recognition of Professor Hurletâs ongoing and inspiring contributions to the field of Roman political and institutional history, this far more modest contribution to the discussion on Sullaâs dictatorship is dedicated to him. Last but not least, I also wish to commend the members of the comité de lecture of the Cahiers du Centre Gustave-Glotz
for their kind willingness to accept this lengthy and circumstantial study in Roman public law. This study was for the most part carried out while being a grateful recipient of a Francqui Fellowship of the Belgian American Educational Foundation granted for research at UC Berkeleyâs most welcoming Department of Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology.
For Frédéric Hurlet
At the end of 82, in the wake of Sullaâs second vengeful march on Rome, the dictatorship was revived on behalf of the dauntless conqueror of Mithridates. The office had now been obsolete for 120 years. This paper attempts to define the precise legal scope of Sullaâs dictatorship, and aims in particular to demonstrate that the empowering lex Valeria set down a number of detailed provisions concerning both Sullaâs past acts and the extraordinary
potestates he was to wield as the holder of an unprecedented kind of dictatorship. It will also demonstrate that, in terms of public law, Sullaâs dictatorship can indeed hardly be compared to the dictatorship as it occasionally appeared until 202. Of course, one should never forget that the exceptional measures allowed to Sulla on the occasion of his final victory over the opposing faction occurred against the unusual background of the first major breakdown of the
Res Publica. During the years 88-82, following immediately upon the exhausting Social War, Rome itself was for the first time in its history thrice shattered
