Gaius Marius: the hero Rome deserved, but not the one it needed
A novus homo or “new man” in Roman politics, Gaius Marius was the first example of meritocracy outstripping aristocracy in the history of the Roman Republic. He first proved his incredible abilities commanding the legions as consul against the North African King Jugurtha in 107 BC. One of the late Republic’s big foreign bogeymen, Jugurtha was instrumental in showing how the republican system—with its annually changing shared leadership—was woefully ill-equipped to deal with external threats, particularly if they couldn’t be neutralized within the year.
Hence why after returning from the Jugurthine War in 105 BC Marius was soon reappointed consul and given command of the Roman forces against the dangerous marauding Germanic tribes of the Teutones and the Cimbri. He was elected consul a staggering five years in a row from 104 – 100 BC, completely contravening the tradition that nobody could hold it twice within 10 years. But the confidence Rome placed in him turned out to be well-founded: he commanded with distinction and by 101 BC had destroyed them completely.
There are two main reasons why Marius contributed so heavily to the Roman Republic’s eventual collapse. The first was that he reformed the Roman Army. Before, only those who came from families with land were allowed to enlist, perhaps explaining why the Gracchi had been so eager to divide up the elite’s share of the land among the masses. With Marius’s reforms, anybody could now join the legions, creating a semi-professional type of army.
The second reason is that he flaunted the republican tradition of temporary, shared rule by getting himself repeatedly re-elected as consul. He was partly able to do this by appealing to the masses through populist politics and rhetoric, taking up the mantle of the Gracchi. But more importantly, Marius was a phenomenally skilled general, offering Rome the continuity and stability it much needed in its time of crisis.
His last years were spent battling, and losing to, his younger rival Sulla. When Marius died in 88 BC it was with a whimper rather than a bang. A tribune had tried to get Marius voted to the command against Mithridates. But Sulla had marched to Rome to stop this from happening. Delirious on his deathbed, the near 70-year-old Marius nevertheless believed he had been appointed general. However misplaced, it was perhaps fitting testament to the faith people had shown in him throughout his career.