Second "Civil War" of Nova Roma

Revision as of 11:50, 22 January 2022

The following is a brief summary of the events between M. Curiatio M. Iulio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXII a.u.c. - P. Ullerio C. Equitio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXIV a.u.c., which is emotionally called the "second civil war" of Nova Roma, on the basis of the same appellation having been used in reference to the first large scale internal conflict.

The prelude to the Second "Civil War" was the removal of the struggle for the priestly colleges and the Cincinnatus-trial.

The public anger of the former members of the "Boni", but also of many politically unaffiliated citizens, called for a change in the then-majority of the senate, predominantly led by M. Moravius Piscinus, K. Fabius Buteo Quintilianus and Cn. Equitius Marinus. When L. Cornelius Sulla Felix, who sent the previous 5 years away from Nova Roma, in complete recluse, returned to Nova Roma at the very end of M. Moravio T. Iulio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXI a.u.c., he joined and amplified the voiced of the discontent citizens, and added his own ambition to become once again one of the principes (leading citizens) of Nova Roma. He organized a powerful faction from the discontent citizens, usually referred to as the Sullans, or the Sullan-Caesarian Faction (or Sulla-Caesar Faction) or the Back Alley Faction, or sometimes, incorrectly, the "Boni".

In the first five years of Nova Roma, there existed a formal faction known as the "Boni", an equally turbulent group which was involved in the The First "Civil War" of Nova Roma, but that faction was dissolved. L. Sulla was one of the leaders of that faction, and he and some other prominent members of the "Boni", were leading members of Back Alley or Sullan-Caesarian Faction, hence the identification of the two groups.

"Back Alley" was the name of a private mailing list forum owned and controlled by members of the "Boni" faction, who, after the formal dissolution of that faction, continued to own the Back Alley forum, and to control and dominate the opinion, the topics and the general consensus on that mailing list. They remained insignificant in Nova Roma, until the return of Sulla from his self-imposed exile of 5 years, when he took the leadership of the Back Alley community with the power of a storm, and the core members of that forum became known as the Sullans, because they only became powerful and vocal under the influence, and by the encouragement and leadership of, Sulla. One of them was Cn. Iulius Caesar, who emerged as Sulla's strongest supporter, and in the subsequent the years, he became the tactical and theoretical leader of the Sullan faction, even more important than Sulla himself. Initially Sulla and Caesar were accompanied by a third leader, C. Equitius Cato, and these three were the leaders of the Sullans together, then after their emergence to power as senate majority, Cato retired from activity, and Caesar became the most important tactical leader of the Sullans, although the faction depended on the driving force of Sulla. Finally, Caesar and Sulla proclaimed themselves dictator and magister equitum in an orchestrated coup d'état, which formally showed Caesar as the head of the faction.

The Back Alley forum allowed rude, harassing, intimidating and libelous ad hominem attacks, there was no restriction of style, tone and behavior. Anyone could join the Back Alley forum, and many joined from other factions, with other views: the usual result was that the core Back Alley members overwhelmed, aggressively with hurtful, insulting attacks, anyone who argued for a different opinion, and the opponent either suffered a "burn out" and fall off from public life in Nova Roma, or left Nova Roma altogether, never to return. As the Sullans were the most active and the absolute majority in the Back Alley mailing forum, non-members of the faction always felt hopeless to argue or resist, yet usually all active politicians of Nova Roma took their chances in the forum, always to the detriment of their mental balance. As a result, the Sullans' activity generated a hopeless and helpless feeling in the leadership of Nova Roma, that things will never change, those who remain in Nova Roman leadership positions, will always have to live under constant attacks and insufferable endless arguments. As the Back Alley Faction of Sulla, Caesar and Cato grew, they started to dominate all topics and arguments in the Main List, the official central forum of Nova Roma, where posting anything now became a dangerous endeavor as one could expect a dozen of bullying reactions and character assassination campaigns. This era of the of constant bullying, bickering, drama, bitter insult hurling and personality wars in all international forums of Nova Roma which was orchestrated by Sulla, Caesar and Cato as an attack against the senate and the magistrates, in order that they abandon power and give up their positions in Nova Roma, and which incapacitated almost all functions of Nova Roma, is called the second "civil war" within Nova Roma.

Step by step, most active members of Nova Roma who were not in this faction were leaving Nova Roma, and the proportion of the Sullans among the politically active Nova Romans were growing. The core members of the Back Alley Faction, many of whom never considered themselves being in one faction, nonetheless, they promoted the growing influence of Sulla, were chiefly Caesar and Cato, with the support of M. Cornelius Gualterus Graecus, Q. Fabius Maximus, Q. Valerius Poplicola, Cornelia Aeternia, Diana Aventina, and some more moderate people like C. Vipsanius Agrippa, Rutilia Enodiaria, Dec. Iunius Palladius Invictus, Ti. Galerius Paulinus, P. Ullerius Stephanus Venator, Flavia Merula, L. Cornelius Cicero, Q. Servilius Priscus, Q. Caecilius Metellus, C. Tullius Valerianus Germanicus, Helena Galeria Aureliana, Pompeia Minucia Strabo and M. Octavius. Many of these listed were originally from different factions but in the Back Alley group they agreed to oppose and strongly criticize the senate majority of that time. More and more, the consensus of these people created a milieu in the Back Alley that the opinion leaders of the community are Sulla and Caesar.

After having conducted a civil war-like campaign in Nova Roma for power, and after a series of faction rivalries, Sulla and Caesar obtained complete and unlimited control over Nova Roma in P. Ullerio C. Equitio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXIV a.u.c., which they continued to exercise in a covert manner, sticking to democratic procedures usually, until their coup d'état in November M. Pompeio Sex. Lucilio cos. ‡ MMDCCLXVIII a.u.c., when they proclaimed an open dictatorship.