“Shows Marius the man, warts and all . . . an excellent biography . . . a very good breakdown of Roman politics, and a civics course in ancient Rome.”— A Wargamers Needful Things Gaius Marius was one of the most remarkable and significant figures of the late Roman Republic. At a time when power tended to be restricted to a clique of influential families, he rose from relatively humble origins to attain the top office of consul. He even went on to hold the post an unprecedented seven times. His political career flourished but was primarily built on military success. First serving in the Numantine War in Spain, he later rose to high command and brought a long-running war in North Africa to a successful conclusion, bringing the Numidian King Jurgurtha back in chains. His return was timely as northern barbarian tribes threatened Italy and had previously defeated several Roman armies. Marius reformed and retrained the Republic’s forces and decisively defeated the invaders that had easily overpowered his predecessors. Marius’s subsequent career was primarily that of an elder statesman, but it was dominated by his rivalry with his erstwhile subordinate, Sulla, which ultimately led to the latter’s bloody coup. Marius, once hailed as the savior of Rome, eventually became a desperate fugitive, literally fleeing for his life from his pursuers. However, after several harrowing brushes with death, Marius seized an opportunity to return to Rome and mete out justice to his enemies, which tarnished his once-enviable reputation. “The best extant account of Gaius Marius’ leading role in the history of late Roman Republic. It is required reading for those interested in the period and highly recommended for the general reader.”—HistoryNet

Gaius Marius (157-86B) was one of the most innovative and influential commanders of antiquity. With Marius in command of its legions, Rome prevailed on the battlefields of North Africa and defeated a two-pronged invasion of the Italian peninsula by 300,000 migrating Germanic tribesmen. The reason for this success was a series of five ground-breaking reforms through which Marius dramatically altered the demographics, recruitment, training and operation of the Roman army. In effect, Marius’ reforms changed the Roman military from a service of short-term militia into a professional standing army. This allowed Rome to use the military as an effective tool for military expansion and internal security and laid the foundations for the role of the Roman army for centuries to come. Many of these reforms, however, came at a cost to the stability of the state. This book charts the military implications of Marius’ reforms: what they were, why they were made, how they were made, and how they altered the functionality of the Roman military.

Though he may not have realised it, Gaius Marius caused through his political ambition the beginnings of the fall of the Roman Republic. Presenting this view, Evans traces here Marius' rise to pre-eminence, his contribution to legislation and his involvement with other politicians. It was other politicians, this work argues, that emulated or even exceeded a dangerous precedent Marius had set.

Gaius Marius (158/157-86 BC) has a major transformational impact on the history of the late Roman Republic. Although none of his ancestors had been a member of the Senate, he managed to reach the consulship on seven occasions, and was responsible for a series of major military victories, notably against King Jugurtha in North Africa and the Teutons and the Cimbrians in Southern Gaul and Northern Italy. Much of his internal political agenda, however, was highly controversial. His reform of the army recruitment system was regarded by some (perhaps with undue emphasis) as a crucial factor in the downfall of the Roman Republic. The final years of his life witnessed his exile, his return to Rome at the head of an armed force, and his comeback to power, shortly followed by his sudden death. This volume provides an account of the life and career of Gaius Marius, sets his achievements and failures within the wider context of the decline of the Roman Republic, and discusses his political legacy in the following decades. It also provides an assessment of the main modern interpretations of the man and his policies.

With extraordinary narrative power, New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough sweeps the reader into a whirlpool of pageantry and passion, bringing to vivid life the most glorious epoch in human history. When the world cowered before the legions of Rome, two extraordinary men dreamed of personal glory: the military genius and wealthy rural "upstart" Marius, and Sulla, penniless and debauched but of aristocratic birth. Men of exceptional vision, courage, cunning, and ruthless ambition, separately they faced the insurmountable opposition of powerful, vindictive foes. Yet allied they could answer the treachery of rivals, lovers, enemy generals, and senatorial vipers with intricate and merciless machinations of their own—to achieve in the end a bloody and splendid foretold destiny . . . and win the most coveted honor the Republic could bestow.

The author of The Gabinian Affair continues the memoir of a retired soldier who came of age in the Roman legions of Julius Caesar. “Not lyrical, but accurate, Insubrecus. All these stories and reports of Romans, Belgae, Krauts, and whatnot have become a knot I do not have time to unravel, so I’m just going to slice it open!” Caesar announced. “Tomorrow at dawn, this army marches on the Aeduan capital . . . we march on Bibracte!” With these words, Gaius Julius Caesar sent his army on what most of his officers considered a suicide mission with the Helvetians and their German allies across their line of retreat and the army trapped against the impregnable walls of Bibracte, the fortress-capital of their treacherous Gallic allies, the Aedui. The Helvetian Affair recounts retired Roman soldier Gaius Marius Insubrecus’ coming of age as a Roman soldier in the legionary camps outside the city of Aquileia, and serving his patron, Caesar, as he conducts a lightening campaign to prevent the fierce and ruthless attempt by the Helvetii to conquer Celtic Gaul and threaten the Roman province. The narrative recreates a colorful and culturally complex portrait of ancient northern Italy and the Rhone valley, as Romans, Celts and Germans struggle for supremacy in the hills and dark forests of western Gaul.

New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough returns us to an age of magnificent triumphs, volcanic passions, and barbaric cruelties. Throughout the Western world, great kingdoms have fallen and despots lay crushed beneath the heels of Rome's advancing legions. But now internal rebellion threatens the stability of the mighty Republic. An aging, ailing Gaius Marius, heralded conqueror of Germany and Numidia, longs for that which was prophesied many years before: an unprecedented seventh consulship of Rome. It is a prize to be won only through treachery and with blood, pitting Marius against a new generation of assassins, power-seekers, and Senate intriguers—and setting him at odds with the ambitious, tormented Lucius Cornelius Sulla, once Marius's most trusted right-hand man, now his most dangerous rival.