First Battle of Clusium

The First Battle of Clusium took place in June of 82 BC during the

Background

During the campaigns of 83-82 BC, the Populares forces had divided into two groups, those in the north under the command of

According to Appian,^[2] the two armies eventually met on the outskirts of Clusium. After a bloody battle, the armies separated at nightfall. The battle is generally referred to as a stalemate, but the German scholar, Theodor Mommsen affirmed the following:

The battle remained indecisive, however, Carbo gained a clear advantage as he detained his adversaries' march. – Theodor Mommsen^[3]

Philip Matyszak disagrees:

Though Carbo thereby succeeded in checking Sulla's northern advance, it appears he achieved this by pulling manpower from other government forces operating in the north. Certainly his other generals had a rough time of it.^[4]

Aftermath

The next day Sulla retreated from the area, leaving Carbo behind at Clusium. Sulla had heard that the Siege of Praeneste was threatened by a huge force of Samnites and Lucanians, who had finally decided to join Marius and Carbo.^[5]

Eventually, Sulla and the Samnite-Lucanian army would meet at Rome where Sulla defeated them in the highly contested

Praeneste fell on 4 November, holding out surprisingly until all of Italy was under Sulla's direct control.^{[6][citation needed]}

See also

• Sulla's Second Civil War

References

Bibliography

Classic Sources

• Appian, The Civil Wars.

Modern Sources

• Gabba, Emilio (1958). Appiani bellorum civile liber primus (in Italian). Florence: La Nouva Italia, 1958.
• ISBN 978-0-203-02251-1
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• ISBN 978-3-51507948-8
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• ISBN 84-7506-607-0
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• Smith, William (1870). "Lucullus (5)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. p. 837.

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