80s BC is the time period from 89 BC – 80 BC.
Year 89 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Strabo and Cato and the Fourth Year of Zhenghe. The denomination 89 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the geographer.
The Battle of the Colline Gate, fought on 1 November 82 BC, was the decisive battle of the civil war between Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the Marians, Samnites and Lucanians. Sulla won the battle on the north-east of Rome, near the Colline Gate, and secured control of Italy. Appian is the only source who provides details about the battle.
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was thrice consul of the Roman Republic in 85, 84, and 82 BC. He was the head of the Marianists after the death of Cinna in 84 and led the resistance to Sulla during the civil war. He was proscribed by Sulla and beheaded by Pompey in Sicily in late 82.
Gaius Marius "the Younger" was a Roman republican general and politician who became consul in 82 BC with Papirius Carbo. He fought in Sulla's civil war. He committed suicide that same year at Praeneste, after his defeat by Sulla and during the city's capture by Quintus Lucretius Afella.
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the conservative faction, the Optimates, who opposed the popular faction, the Populares, during the last century of the Roman Republic.
The Battle of Fucine Lake was fought in 89 BC between a Roman army and a rebel force during the Social War. Lucius Porcius Cato was the leader of the Roman army at this battle. The consul Porcius Cato was defeated and killed while storming a Marsic camp in winter or early spring.
Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, was a politician and general of the Roman Republic and a member of the plebeian branch of the gens Servilii. He was elected consul for 79 BC with Appius Claudius Pulcher as his consular collegae. From 78 to 74 BC, as proconsul of Cilicia, he fought against the Cilician Pirates and Isaurian hill tribes in Asia Minor. He was granted the agnomen Isauricus for his victories over the Isaurians. Upon returning to Rome he celebrated a triumph for his victories.
Lucius Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman and general of the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BC. He was involved in the downfall of the plebeian tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. He was consul of the Roman Republic in 90 BC during the Social War. During the war he commanded several Roman legions against the Italian Allies. He was awarded a Triumph for his victories on the Samnites at Acerrae.
Publius Rutilius Lupus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 90 BC. He led a campaign against the Marsi during the Social War, ultimately resulting in his death at the unsuccessful Battle of the Tolenus River.
Quintus Poppaedius Silo was a leader of the Italian tribe of the Marsi and one of the leaders of the Italian rebels during the Social War against Rome. Poppaedius was called the 'heart and soul' of the rebellion. He was a friend of Marcus Livius Drusus the Younger.
Quintus Servilius Caepio was a Roman patrician, statesman and soldier. He was the son of Quintus Servilius Caepio who was consul in 106 BCE and who lost his army during the Battle of Arausio. He was elected praetor some time in the last 90s BC and fought for Rome during the Social War. He was killed in the second year of the war while fighting the Marsi by Quintus Poppaedius Silo.
Titus Didius was a politician and general of the Roman Republic. In 98 BC he became the first member of his family to be consul. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica, and for his command in Hispania Citerior. He held two Triumphs, one for his victories over the Scordisci, another for his victories in Spain.
Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction, in the years 83–82 BC. The war ended with a decisive battle just outside Rome itself. After the war the victorious Sulla made himself dictator of the Roman Republic.
The gens Porcia, rarely written Portia, was a plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Its members first appear in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to achieve the consulship was Marcus Porcius Cato in 195 BC, and from then until imperial times, the Porcii regularly occupied the highest offices of the Roman state.
Quintus Pompeius Rufus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 88 BC. His colleague in office was the future dictator Sulla.
Titus Vettius Scato was an Italian rebel commander, a general of the Marsi during the Social War. At the Battle of the Tolenus River, Scato and the Marsi ambushed the Roman consul, Publius Rutilius Lupus after the Romans crossed the River Tolenus. Unfortunately for Scato, Rutilius's senior legate, Gaius Marius, and his division were operating separately from Rutilis and crossed the river downstream of the battle, captured the Marsi camp, and then attacked the Marsi while they were still fighting Rutilius's army, routing them with heavy losses. He defeated Lucius Julius Caesar in battle before marching on and capturing Aesernia. When he encountered an army under Pompey Strabo, instead of fighting, the two met, their armies treating each other without hatred. According to Seneca, he was captured by the Romans but was stabbed to death by his slave rather than face the ignominy of defeat.
The gens Mummia was a plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned after the Second Punic War, and within a generation, Lucius Mummius Achaicus became the first of the family to obtain the consulship. Although they were never numerous, Mummii continued to fill the highest offices of the state through the third century AD.
Marcus Porcius M. f. M. n. Cato was the father of Cato the Younger. His promising political career was cut short by his sudden death, early in the first century BC.
