Marius

-Gaius Marius was born Born in 157 BC- born in Arpinum (modern-day Arpino), 100 km SE of Rome.
   -It was only 30 years before that non-citizens of Rome didn't have voting rights in the Roman Empire.
   -The legend is that he came from humble origins, but this doesn't seem true...it's much more likely that he came from a wealthy family with lots of political connections.
-When he joined the legions, he was given an officer position, but because he was considered a "novus homo" ("new man") since he wasn't from Rome, he wasn't given full respect by others.
   -He had also been stationed in Numantia (modern-day Spain), just like the Gracchus brothers.
   -Still, he was able to get himself elected tribune, then praetor.
   -He also married the aunt of Julius Caesar (he hadn't been born yet though).
-In Numidia, there was a civil war raging, and some Romans were executed.
   -Roman armies were sent, but they didn't do very much to ease the situation, which drew the suspicion...
      -There were accusations of bribery, especially against Jugurtha, a grandson of Masinissa and leader of one of the factions fighting in the civil war.
      -One lieutenant, a dude named Matellus, was pissed off at the corruption and incompetence of the army, and went back to Rome and ran for consul (and won) in 107 BC.
         -The most important thing he did was make it so that land ownership was no longer a pre-requisite to join the legions.  Soldiers were also now given a salary, and promised a plot of land upon retirement.
-Marius was able to return to Numidia and defeat and capture Jugurtha through a combination of bribery and cunning.
   -Marius received all of the credit for this, but one of his subordinate officers, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, was kind of pissed off about this.
-Around 107 BC, the Cimbri and other barbarian hordes began to raid in the north, and were initially defeating the Roman armies!
   -Rome was preoccupied with the wars of North Africa, but they soon realized that these hordes were a major national security threat.
105 BC- The Cimbri were joined by the Teutons, a Germanic horde.  This would mark the Romans' definite first encounter with German barbarians, as it was unclear as to if the Cimbri were Celtic, Germanic, or something else entirely.
   -These barbarians were able to continue to crush the Roman armies due to Roman incompetence and poor leadership.
      -Marius was elected consul again to solve this problem of corruption, even though he was still in Africa at the time.  He returned to Rome in triumph, with Jugurtha as his prisoner before having him executed.
-Marius then reorganized the army, abandoning the maniple system, which was effective when fighting against other phalanxes and crappy armies, but wasn't good at dealing with brute force frontal assaults (the style of the Celtic and Germanic barbarian hordes).
   -He made the tactical units much smaller in order to avoid being outflanked.
   -Mixed old and young troops together, with no more division of age.
   -Made troops carry their own equipment, as the legions were too bloated with pack animal, slaves, and camp followers.
   -Marius made it so that joining the military was a choice, not an obligation.
      -20 years of service guaranteed a land grant, and troops were given money, food, armor, clothes, and weapons.
   -Promoted officers based on courage and initiative, not nobility.
-Marius was very lucky during this time because the hordes had temporarily backed off.
   -The Cimrbi had moved on to attack the Iberian peninsula, and the Teutons were probably causing trouble elsewhere.
-103 BC- Marius was elected consul for a 3rd time.
-102 BC- Marius was elected consul for a 4th time.
   -The Cimbri and Teutons combined again with a massive force of 200,000 to raid the Italian peninsula.
      -Stupidly, they split their forces and attacked in a force, so the Roman army was actually able to handle this, and defeated the Teutons.  However, the Cimbri broke through, and were soon in Roman lands.
-101 BC- Marius rides north and defeats the Cimbri with his legions.
   -In this case, it is an example of quality beating quantity.
-100 BC- Marius was elected consul a 5th time, but after this, he retires.