Title: Impact of Gaius Marius’ Reforms
Headings: Impact of Gaius Marius’ Reforms
Impact of Gaius Marius’ Reforms
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Gaius Marius came from a wealthy family from Arpinum who was part of the Equestrian class. Men from the equestrian class often joined the lower ranks of the Senate in Ancient Roman society. Marius was regarded as an excellent soldier, who had climbed the ranks of the Roman military. During Marius’ rise in rank, the Metellus family optioned to sponsor Marius’s political career. Marius was considered an ambitious man whose goal was to gain Consulship of the Roman Republic (White, 2011). An opportunity arose in 108 BCE, where Marius had the possibility to run for consul, but unfortunately, Metellus refused to support Marius during his run for the Consulship. This resulted in Marius being furious with Mettelus, which was followed by Marius gaining the support of the Equestrian businessmen as well as the military by persuading them into believing that he could end the ongoing war against Jugurtha in a few days (Huennekens, 2016). Marius then gained the full support of the plebeians, who contributed largely to Marius’ election to Consulship in 107 BCE along with full command of the war against Jugurtha (Taylor, 2017). During the Jugurtha war, the Roman army was forced into a stalemate. During these critical periods, Plutarch mentions an account of Marius’s actions “It is the most obliging sight in the world to the Roman soldier to see a commander eat the same bread as himself, or lie upon an ordinary bed, to assist the work in the drawing a trench and raising a bulwark” – (Plutarch, The Life of Marius).