This may be a bit late. Nevertheless:
Whilst i havn't actuallly studied this topic (doing prelim myself), here's some stuff off the top of my head.
During this time the Marian reforms occured (c110BC i think...), which are of course of great significance for your subject. They began the participation and true influence of the army in politics. Before this time, the people who fought in the army would, in essence, be called off their farms etc to fight. All troops would pay for their own weapons/armour, and slaves/criminals couldn't serve, neither could thoses who couldn't afford their own "kit". (cr cicero's speech "not long ago men were called from their farms to be council"). Such warfare was quite agrarian in nature. THis whole system began to erode during the 2nd punic war, when, such was the crisis, slaves/crims could be recruited to fight. ( i dont know if u know this stuff)
The Marian reforms can be seen as a sort of genesis of the Roman army as a proffesional institute (ie being a CAREER soldier and being paid for it). The important question to ask is: "who pays?"
Whilst the state might pay, more often than not it was the generals who paid for all the armies' wargear, and who paid the soldiers their wages. From hence onward, many generals thus gain the loyalty of soldiers, who will follow him and be willing to put him in power, especially if he were successful (morale of men) and if he were generous in the wages he paid. As a result, men like Sulla, Caesar, Antony and Octavian can command/ask their armies to support him, fight wars for him, depose the current leader/govt and put him in its place (soldiers will do what he tells them as long as they are paid). The Marian reforms and the subsequent armies can thus be seen as a cause for the fall of the Republic and the strat of the empire. Such a problem plagued the empire to its end: eahc general always wanting to be emperor. This goes well and beyond 78Bc, but could possibly be discussed as a long term result of the miliatry events taht happened in your given period of time. Sulla would never have become dictaoter without his army benind (or in front
).
dont know if you know all this, but it is my sketchy knowledge of the topic.
