Editing Proscription (section)

=== Sulla's dictatorship ===
{{main|Sulla's proscription}}

An early instance of mass proscription took place in 82 BC, when [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] was appointed ''[[Roman dictator|dictator]] [[Res publica|rei publicae]] constituendae'' ("Dictator for the Reconstitution of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]]"). Sulla proceeded to have the Senate draw up a list of those he considered enemies of the state and published the list in the [[Roman Forum]]. Any man whose name appeared on the list was ''[[ipso facto]]'' stripped of his citizenship and excluded from all protection under law; [[Bounty (reward)|reward money]] was given to any informer who gave information leading to the death of a proscribed man, and any person who killed a proscribed man was entitled to keep part of his estate (the remainder went to the state). No person could inherit money or property from proscribed men. Many victims of proscription were decapitated and their heads were displayed on spears in the [[Roman Forum|Forum]].

Sulla used proscription to restore the depleted [[Aerarium|Roman Treasury (''Aerarium'')]], which had been drained by costly civil and foreign wars in the preceding decade, and to eliminate enemies (both real and potential) of his reformed state and constitutions; the [[Plutocracy|plutocratic]] knights of the [[Equestrian order|Ordo Equester]] were particularly hard-hit. Giving the procedure a particularly sinister character in the public eye was the fact that many of the proscribed men, escorted from their homes at night by groups of men all named "Lucius Cornelius", never appeared again. (These men were all Sulla's freedmen.) This gave rise to a general fear of being taken from one's home at night as a consequence of any outwardly seditious behaviour.

Sulla's proscription was bureaucratically overseen, and the names of informers and those who profited from killing proscribed men were entered into the public record. Because Roman law could criminalise acts ''[[Ex post facto law|ex post facto]]'', many informers and profiteers were later prosecuted.

The proscription lists created by Sulla led to mass terror in [[Rome]]. During this time, "the cities of Italy became theaters of execution." Citizens were terrified to find their names on the lists. Those whose names were listed were ultimately sentenced to death. The executions were brutal and consisted of beheading. Often, the heads were then put on display for the city to see. The bodies of the condemned were often mutilated and dragged before being thrown into the [[Tiber|Tiber River]]. Additionally, those who were condemned lost rights even after their brutal death. Those killed were denied the right to a funeral, and all of their possessions were auctioned off, often to the ones who killed them. Negative consequences arose for anyone that chose to assist those on the list, despite not being listed on the proscribed lists themselves. Anyone who was found guilty of assisting the condemned was [[Capital punishment|capitally punished]].

Families were also punished as a result of being related to one of the proscribed. It was forbidden to mourn the death of a proscribed person. According to [[Plutarch]], the greatest injustice of all the consequences was stripping the rights of their children and grandchildren. While those proscribed and their loved ones faced harsh consequences, the people who assisted the government by killing any person on the proscription list were actually rewarded.