(Lucius Cornelius) Sulla was a Roman general and politician who was known for his conflict with his former general Gaius Marius. When Sulla was stripped of a command against Mithridiates VI (while he was out of Rome) by Gaius Marius, he decided to take Rome by force, which eventually would lead the way as an example for Julius Caesar to do (although Sulla and Caesar were opposites in political positions: Sulla-optimate, Caesar-populares). Sulla took power as a dictator, and was the first Roman to do so since the Second Punic War.