Marius (157 - 86 B.C.) :
Neither from the city of Rome, nor a pedigreed patrician, Arpinum-born Gaius Marius still managed to be elected consul a record-breaking 7 times, marry into the family of Julius Caesar, and reform the army.Origins and Early Career of Marius:
Marius was a novus homo, a new man, one without a senator among his ancestors. His family (from Arpinum [See map section aC in Latium], the rustic birthplace of Cicero) may have been peasants or they may have been equestrian, but they were clients of the old, rich, and patrician Metellus family. To improve his circumstances, Gaius Marius joined the military. He served well in Spain under Scipio Aemilianus. Then, with the help of his patron, Caecilius Metellus, and the support of the plebs, Marius became tribune in 119.As tribune, Marius proposed a bill that effectively limited the influence of aristocrats on elections. In passing the bill, he temporarily alienated the Metelli. As a consequence, he failed in his bids to become aedile, although he did (barely) manage to become praetor.
Marius and the Family of Julius Caesar:
In order to increase his prestige, he arranged to marry into an old, but impoverished patrician family, the Julii Caesares. He married Julia, aunt of Gaius Julius Caesar, probably in 110, since his son was born in 109/08.Marius as Military Legate:
Legates were appointed by Rome as envoys, but were used by generals as seconds-in-command. Marius so ingratiated himself with the troops they wrote to Rome to recommend Marius as consul, claiming he would quickly end the conflict with Jugurtha.Marius Runs for Consul:
Against the wishes of his patron, Metellus (who may have feared replacement), Marius ran for consul, winning for the first time in 107 B.C., and then realizing his patron's fears by replacing Metellus as head of the army. To honor his service, Numidicus was added to Marius' name in 109 as conqueror of Numidia.Since Marius needed more troops to defeat Jugurtha, he instituted new policies that were to change the complexion of the army. Instead of requiring a minimum property qualification of his soldiers, Marius recruited poor soldiers who would require a grant of property of him and the senate upon ending their service.
Since the senate would oppose distribution of these grants, Marius would need (and did receive) the troops' support.
Capturing Jugurtha was harder than Marius had thought, but he won, thanks to a man who would soon cause him endless trouble. Marius' quaestor, the patrician Lucius Cornelius Sulla, induced Bocchus, Jugurtha's father-in-law, to betray the Numidian. Since Marius was in command, he received the honor of the victory, but Sulla maintained that he deserved the credit. Marius returned to Rome with Jugurtha at the head of a victory procession at the beginning of 104. Jugurtha was then killed in prison.
Marius Runs for Consul, Again:
In 105, while in Africa, Marius was elected to a second term as consul. Election in absentia was contrary to Roman tradition.From 104 to 100 he was repeatedly elected consul because only as consul would he be in command of the military. Rome needed Marius to defend its borders from Germanic, Cimbri, Teutoni, Ambrones, and Swiss Tigurini tribes, following the death of 80,000 Romans at the Arausio River in 105 BC. In 102-101, Marius defeated them at Aquae Sextiae and, with Quintus Catulus, on the Campi Raudii.
Primary Source
Plutarch's Life of Marius
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