Summary Of Sulla's Enlargement Of The Senate By Santangelo

Sulla’s enlargement of the Senate has been a point of contention for a long time, with historians such as Syme arguing that the senate was increased to around 600 members, double its capacity. This is a very popular argument as Appian himself says how the senate was increased by 300 members, and with the usual membership at a normal time being 300, that would bring the total up to 600. It is theorised that Sulla also incorporated young men who did not have the political experience necessary and did not meet the minimum age of 30 years. Santangelo’s argument is that this was not a normal time in Roman history, and the senators may have only numbered 150 due to casualties sustained during the Civil War and proscriptions.

Santangelo’s theory, as I stated, is that the Roman senate did not total 600 members during Sulla’s dictatorship. He acknowledges Appian’s statement that the senate was increased personally by Sulla, however he does not state what the figure of the senate was at the time was of the additions, so we do not know what the final figure was after the 300 newcomers. In his argument Santangelo focuses on 3 main components, firstly the number of senators added and the number of senators already holding seats, secondly where these new senators came from in the social hierarchy, and lastly the role of censors after Sulla stepped in.
He uses these sources all in his favour to back up his argument that the senate did not increase to 600 members, however something he does not consider is the personal bias, possible exaggeration and the erosion of truth that occurs when this history is spread orally over time, this applies to the secondary