The remarkable achievements of Lucius Cornelius Sulla allowed the Roman Republic to endure years beyond its deserved lifespan. Sulla's considerable accomplishments effectively slowed Rome's transition from a republic to an empire. Born in 138 B.C.E to an impoverished Patrician family of the Cornelii branch (Plutarch section1), Sulla went on to marry the wealthy sister of Gaius Julius Caesar, thereby improving his fortunes considerably (Keaveny 7-10). Sulla next tested his luck by entering the political arena without abiding by the dictates of the cursus honorum, a course of positions that every man should have gone through before assuming a higher rank (Plutarch section 5). Eventually Sulla ended up winning the position of Questor to Gaius Marius in 107 B.C. (Beesly7-9). Sulla's became an integral player in Roman power structure because of three primary factors: his exceptional military skills, his desire to pursue a dictatorship, and his hatred for...