Life as Dictator

During his rule as dictator, Sulla strengthened the aristocracy and Senate in Rome. He also increased the size of the Senate from 300 to 600 seats and raised the number of magistrates elected each year. He removed the need for a censor, now known as a census, when assigning districts for electing senators. He is known for being very conservative when it came to politics with the exception of a few visionary ideas he enacted. He is also said to have warned the Senate about Julius Caesar saying, “In this Caesar there are many a Marius.” In 80 BC he reigned from and disbanded his dictatorship (he was later mocked by Caesar for doing this). Then in his retirement, he wrote his autobiography Res Gestae, which he completed in 78 BC.