The march on Rome had ended, and the King Victor Emmanuel III had yielded to the whims of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. With the army loyal only to the monarch, Mussolini's Blackshirts had surrounded Rome, and the King, fearing civil war, had no choice but to invite the fascist leader to form a new government. And so, on this day, Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy, marking the beginning of fascist rule that would last for over two decades. As he took office, Mussolini promised to restore order and rebuild the economy, but critics feared his authoritarian tendencies and the end of democratic rule in Italy.