Gaius Marius a Military Leader

The first century BC brought about a number of important changes for the Roman army. Most notably, the reforms of Gaius Marius and the aftereffects of both the Social and Civil Wars altered the Roman army as a whole. Bringing about both continuity and change, these events would help to shape the nature, composition and character of the army of the Late Republic period and beyond. Change came in the form of reforms brought about by Marius; the changing of the conscription of soldiers into the Roman army would alter not only the formation of the army, but also its nature and character. Furthermore, the granting of full citizenship to non-Roman troops who fought for the Roman army meant a blurring of a distinct Roman identity, or what it meant to be a Roman. However, despite these aspects of change, continuity too came out of this period. The troops of the army post-Marian reforms developed strong patron-client relationships with their generals that were not unlike the concept of the paterfamilias that had existed since the beginnings of Rome. Furthermore, leadership of the army was put into the hands of a select few, as it always had been, and these men would use the army as a means to further their personal ambitions.

Gaius Marius was Roman general that lived from 157-86 BC in Rome. Not only was he a general but he also was a statesman. He was from Arpinum, located in central Italy. Unlike other statesmen, instead of coming from the Patrician class he was from the Equestrian order. Marius climbed the roman social ladder despite the difficulty he faced, marking his achievements as incredible. His considerable success, early on in the military, aided his success in climbing the cursus honorum, and eventually reaching the top political position in Rome when he was elected Consul for the first time in 107 BC. Multiple consulships, successful general, and his defeated of the German invaders saw Marius celebrated as the third founder of Rome by the people.

Further, the extreme loyalty to generals leading the army rather than state would lead to open rebellion, civil war, the combination military political power and eventually the crowning of emperors. Marius himself used his position as a general to help himself gain votes when he ran for Consul in 107 BC. Sallust writes of one of Marius’ speeches delivered during his campaign, “Compare now, my fellow-citizens, me, who am a new man, with those haughty nobles. What they have but heard or read, I have witnessed or performed. What they have learned from books, I have acquired in the field; and whether deeds or words are of greater estimation, it is for you to consider.” Marius clearly understood that the military and its functions were not in a vacuum in relation to politics and moved to capitalize on this realization. His movement through politics would foreshadow those of his nephew Gaius Julius Caesar, 50 years

Gaius Octavius was born September 23, 63 BCE. His father’s name was Gaius. His father, who died in 59 BCE, had been the first of the family to become a Roman senator and was elected to the high annual office of the praetorship, which ranked second in the political hierarchy to the consulship. This office was judicial and second only to consul in status in the Roman government. “Gaius Octavius was of a successful family that had long been settled at Velitrae, southeast of Rome.”1 Octavius began his public life at age 12 when he delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother, Julia. His great uncle, Julius Caesar, became the chief priest, Pontifex Maximus. Gaius Octavius was from a prosperous family in Velitrae, a city southeast of Rome. “He was described as unusually handsome and exceedingly graceful at all periods of his life, though he cared nothing for personal adornment. It was claimed that his expression, whether in conversation or when he was silent, was calm and mild; that he had clear, bright eyes, in which he believed there was a kind of divine power. His teeth were wide apart, small and ill-kept; his hair was slightly curly and gold in color.”2 He had a medium complexion, neither light nor dark. He was short.

In Rome, Julius Caesar, nephew of the general Marius, favored liberal policies and social reforms. Even these well-known political sympathies, he almost didn't scapte from Sulla's reign, because he thought that Caesar wasn't a serious threat. During the decade of 60s b.c.e. Caesar spent a lot of money in battles between gladiators and wild animals, woning a good reputation. During the next decade, he led a roman army to Gaul, which he won and made the roman empire grow further.

Marius had two triumphs. He must of been a great military commander to earn achievement. His military process is what got him his first consulship. Plutarch describes how his “name and reputation spread through Africa” and he also notes Marius’ “display of consummate courage” (Plutarch Marius 7) Your name and reputation don’t spread for no reason; Marius must have had excelled in the qualities most sought after in regard to war. Plutarch says how he showed the he was: capable of going through what the soldiers injured, his foresight. The former gave him “considerable affection and loyalty from the troops”, this loyalty lead to the soldiers writing back to Rome, stating that “The African war could only be won if Marius was elected consol” (Plutarch Marius 7) This shows that Marius must have excelled hugely at military process. The Scipio Epitaph’s list the father and offices the father held and military successes. This must have been a compelling argument to the Romans. Plutarch notes how “Metellus was visually displeased about this” (Plutrach Marius 8) Giving us further evidence to how people felt about new men. He had to quickly get back to Rome. With his first consulship he “enrolled a large number of paupers, and slaves into the army” (PLutrach Marius 9). This action is unpreceded and must have annoyed some. This shows that he thought of new ways to use the Roman armies. Which was basically taking the poor and training them. That training would appear to pay off. He got a triumph. It must have been quite a shock to the Romans in some ways that a new man who becomes consol comes into Rome celebrating a triumph. Q.Metelleus told Marius that he’d support Marius being consol with his son. An insult of sorts since Marius already 49 and that son about fifteen years younger than him. To achieve something that hadn’t happened in a long time and for it to be a new man must have shocked a lot of people. Or at

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” These words embody both Caesar’s demeanor towards his triumph at the Battle of Zela (47 B.C) as well as Gaius Marius demeanor towards his triumph at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 B.C). Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, will later embody the spirit of Julius Caesar and Gaius Marius throughout his military campaign in the War of 1812 as well as his presidency (1829 -1837). President Jackson’s unprecedented imprint upon American politics and the presidency has exposed viewers to analyze few similarities portrayed from both Julius Caesar and Gaius Marius. Although the similarities portrayed between President Jackson and Gaius Marius were immense, based on their executive power, the similarity between Julius Caesar and Andrew Jackson were substantially greater.

From a young age, Julius Caesar was introduced to the politics of Rome through his family’s connection to Marius. Growing through his adolescence in both the proscription period of Marius and the dictatorship of Sulla, Caesar gained a lesson in extra constitutional advancement in the early career of Gaius Pompeius Magnus. Both Marius and Sulla distinguished themselves in the Social War, and both wanted command of the war against Mithridates, which was initially given to Sulla; but when Sulla left the city to take command of his army, a tribune passed a law transferring the appointment to Marius.

Having studied literature, law and oratory, he became “one of the most skilled lawyers the republic had ever seen.” In 80BC, Cicero defended Sextus Roscius of Ameria who was falsely accused of murder and despite not being well known, he won the case. The significance of this trial was that this would have been the one to put his name on the political map and lead to the rise of his prominence in the near future. Only five years later, Cicero makes the first step in the cursus honorum ladder holding office as quaestor, bringing him membership in the senate despite his being a novus homo or new man. According to Everett, Cicero “achieved his first great success” when he prosecuted the notorious Caius Verres for corruption of government in Sicily in 70BC, demonstrating his defence of the republic.

The next set of military reforms come in 107 BC by then consul, Gaius Marius. These reforms expanded Rome’s army vastly and was influential in Rome’s future conquests, as well as protecting Rome from invaders. The reforms also gave military leaders more power than ever, and swayed soldiers to being loyal to their commanders instead of the Roman state. Marius, himself, is a very unlikely person to bring this kind of reform to the Roman army given his background. Although there is some conflicting sources as to Marius’ parents occupations with Plutarch claiming that they were poor peasants, “who supported themselves by their daily labour” (Plutarch 549), and other sources

The Roman military was one of the most powerful and successful militaries of all time because they trained stronger troops, created superior weaponry and had better leadership than any other military in their time-period. The Roman military’s leadership was a crucial factor in the Roman’s success as demonstrated by military general Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was one of the better generals of his time-period because his troops appreciated him more, mostly because Caesar allowed them to have a large share of whatever they plundered. With Caesar allowing his troops to have a large portion of whatever they seize, he could get his army to follow his every command no matter what the situation was, even if it was considered illegal in Roman law. Caesar broke Roman law, when he ordered his troops to cross the Rubicon, which is the point where no general could take his armies past and because of this, Caesar continued pursing his conquest of Gaul. Gaul is one of the largest areas of the Roman area, known today as France After the Roman Empire collapsed, Caesar became a member of the ruling “Triumvirate,” as well as Crassus and Pompey. Caesar then set out to eliminate the other members and when he took out Pompey, Caesar appointed himself dictator for life. Caesar was an important leader to the Roman success because he was able to control his troops no matter if the situation was legal or illegal and if food was scarce, his troops followed his every command, which made them a

One of these generals was Marius. He won great popularity among the Romans while fighting in Africa against Jugurtha. As a result of this newfound popularity, Marius left Africa to go back to Rome where he was elected consul. He left the armies in control of his

Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a Roman general who came from a patrician family. Since he was born into aristocracy he believed that the Senate should remain filled by wealthy and powerful families. Sulla was known for opposing Marius’ popular faction, the Jugurthine War, and the Social War. He was voted into the consul in 88 BCE and gained command of the military. He dealt with the Mithridates which created some unrest over in Asia Minor. He was forced to go over to Asia Minor for some time. In Sulla’s absence, Marius, gained even more power and joined armies with Cornelius Cinna, so when Sulla attempted to return the two of them drove him out and took control of the Roman Senate. Most of these times were accounted for by the ancient historian Cicero. Cicero recounts much about Sulla and how the people perceived him. During this time period it was largely Sulla vs. Marius and thus they competed largely with each other. Sulla made financial commitments to his troops and essentially bribed them for loyalty, but Marius largely did the same thing. These conscriptions showed how much power military officials had on the Roman

Julius Caesar's early life and class growing up set him along a path as a politician and leader from the start. Gaius Julius Caesar is said to have been born in the year 100 BC. Born to politically active parents, Gaius Julius Caesar and Aurelia Cotta, Caesar was exposed to the growing types of government

On the other hand, Julius Caesar’s journey to power was nothing but struggles as he slowly ascended his way to the top. Julius Caesar was born into a family of Aristocrats in Rome around 100 B.C. He had a set of strict parental figures who would constantly beat him to the point of greatness. When Caesar was a child he would drive a chariot pretending to be a general like Alexander from a young age displayed characteristics of a true leader. At the age of fifteen he was first introduced to the political life, accompanied his father, who was a senate to the forum. That same year his father died and he had the responsibility of being the head of his family. Shortly after he had gotten himself married to the daughter of a powerful man but eventually his entire wealth was confiscated as civil war broke out and he fled. When he had returned four years later the whole roman political system changed as well as did Caesar.