Definition: Proscription was developed by Sulla as a way to dispose of the property of those who were condemned. The proscribed individuals were called proscripti. The law the Romans passed to grant Sulla this extraordinary power was called lex Cornelia de proscriptione et proscriptis and was known as the lex Cornelia or lex Valeria.
In 82 B.C. Sulla created proscription as a means of disposing of his enemies -- the supporters of Marius. He posted a list of those he wanted killed (like the wanted dead or alive posters of the Old West). The property of the proscribed was confiscated and sold and those who killed or revealed the whereabouts of the proscribed were rewarded.
Proscription was adopted again under the second triumvirate in 43 B.C. Cicero was a victim of this second proscription.
Periods of proscription were reigns of terror.
Source: Proscriptio - Lacus Curtius - William Smith Dictionary
