Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC)

The Battle of the Colline Gate, fought in November of 82 BC, was the final battle by which Sulla secured control of Rome following the civil war against his rivals. The Samnites led by Pontius Telesinus attacked Sulla's army at the Colline Gate (Porta Collina) on the northeastern wall, and fought all night before being routed. As well as closing out the civil war the battle signaled the end of the ambitions of the socii, so ending the Social War. In this battle Marcus Licinius Crassus won considerable note by defeating the enemy on his wing and ultimately won Sulla the battle. The battle was swiftly followed by the execution of the Samnite prisoners within earshot of the senate house before Sulla addressed the senate (this was the last serious action ever fought by Samnite forces). The Samnites and Populares were slaughtered in the Villa Publica, in which the five year census was conducted, and their bodies were tossed into the Tiber River. The leaders were all decapitated and their heads sent to Preneste to intimidate the army of Gaius Marius the Younger. As a result many of Marius' army deserted.