Sulla resigned as dictator in 81 and was elected consul. Then in 80 B.C he retired to live in the country and died the following year.
The naïve attempts by Sulla to turn back the clock on the Republic failed completely because he had not taken into account the essential economic and social problems facing the Roman people. His legacy was to empower the leaders of the army to replace the authority of the Republican system whenever they felt inclined to do so. The Senate and the people were about to lose their power forever.