south-east into Campania and met Sulla's forces at Sacriportus (near Signia). The Battle of Sacriportus ended with Marius' army being routed (Marius lost 28,000 men; they were either killed, captured, turned coat or fled. Sulla claimed to have only lost 23 men). Marius survived the battle and with 7,000 men he retreated to Praeneste. Although he still had a large army and the Samnites remained faithful to him, Carbo saw that Sulla had won the balance of the conflict. Unable to relieve Praeneste he decided to leave Italy, ostensibly to raise forces in Africa, but never made it farther than Sicily. In 81 BC Sulla sent Pompey to Sicily with a large force (six legions, 120 warships and 800 transport ships). Carbo was soon discovered and arrested by Pompey, who "treated Carbo in his misfortunes with an unnatural insolence", taking Carbo in fetters to a tribunal he presided over, examining him closely "to the distress and vexation of the audience", and finally, sentencing him to death. Although most notable for his role in the chaotic 80s, Carbo had also made a name for himself prior to that period, particularly during his tenure as Tribune of the Plebs in 92 BC. Under his supervision, and with his apparent encouragement, a meeting of the people broke down into disorder. The event was considered significant enough by the Senate to warrant a decree, championed by Lucius Licinius Crassus, placing responsibility for public disorder with the presiding officer; this decree was apparently still active forty years later in the time of Cicero. As with several of the notable politicians of the 90s and 80s BC, such as Publius Sulpicius, Marcus Antonius the Orator, and Lucius Crassus, Carbo had a reputation for effective oratory. For instance, Cicero writes of one occasion when Carbo made use of a certain clausula (a dichoreus or double trochee – u – x), which was so effective that the audience all gave a shout. Sources Details a broad narrative history from the death of the Gracchi brothers to the dictatorship of Sulla. Appian, Bell. Civ. i. 67-98 Livy, Epit. 79, 84, 88, 89 Plutarch, Pompey, 5, 6, 10, and Sulla, 28 Cicero, ad Fam. ix. 21 Eutropius, v. 8, 9 Orosius, v. 20 Valerius Maximus, v. 3. 5, ix References 120s BC births Year of birth uncertain 82 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Romans 1st-century BC executions 1st-century BC Roman consuls