Percussores: a study in Sullan violence

Abstract

This article examines Hinard’s claim that percussores was an official technical term for the bounty hunters of the Sullan proscriptions. It is an important definition because it is a core premise in his argument that the publication of the first proscription lists was not preceded by an uncontrolled wave of violence in the city of Rome. This article rejects Hinard’s denial of the well-attested wave of violence and argues that percussores is a generic term for ‘killers’ or ‘men of violence’.

Keywords
Sulla; proscriptions; bounty hunting; percussores; sicarii