This article assesses the significance of the modifications to Sulla’s constitution introduced
during the 70s. It argues the post-Sullan senate was in effect divided into two groups, those who sought
and held imperium-bearing magistracies and those who did not: the latter group’s experience of senatorial
status was of jury service and senatorial debate. The 70s seemed to mark the decisive triumph
of the former group within the Senate, but as the membership of the Senate remained unchanged the
Senate’s overall weakness within the res publica persisted
