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 MARIUS 173 3red on the contest at once, and became con- il in 107, at the age of 50. He did not bear lis success with meekness, but made use of the rshest language when speaking of the aristoc- 3y. The province of Numidia was assigned which made him the successor of Metel- In levying soldiers he did not confine imself to the classes whence the legions had formerly been recruited, but enrolled men from "e lowest orders, and slaves, which is regard- as the first of those acts through which the Ionian armies were led finally to look for law lore to their commanders than to the state. [e led his new levies to Africa, where he vigor- isly waged the war against Jugurtha until the tter took refuge with Bocchus, king of Mau- 'itania, who betrayed him to Sulla, the quaestor Marius (106). This caused Sulla to claim le merit of having closed the war, and so laid e foundation of a personal quarrel destined have memorable consequences. Marius re- mained two years longer in Numidia, bringing the country into order and establishing the Roman government there. "While thus en- gaged, he was elected consul without opposi- tion, the approach of the Teutons and Cimbri and the Ambrones, who had destroyed several Roman armies, having caused great fear in Italy, and drawn all men's minds to the con- clusion that power could be intrusted to no one but the conqueror of Numidia. His Ju- gurthine triumph took place Jan. 1, 104, the first day of his second consulship. Jugurtha walked in the procession, and afterward was thrown into a dungeon and starved to death. The barbarians not appearing in Italy, Marius employed the time in effecting reforms in the army, and in disciplining the newly raised troops. His discipline was severe, but the im- partiality of his conduct made him a favorite with the men, who had the utmost confidence in his ability and good fortune. He was cho- sen consul a third time for the year 103. The enemy still remaining in Spain, the aristocrati- cal party determined to oppose his reelection ; but the people supported him, and he was ele- vated a fourth time. This year he encountered the Teutons and Ambrones in Gaul, totally destroying them in a great battle fought near Aquae Sextiae, the modern Aix. Just after the battle Marius received news that he had been elected consul for the fifth time. Meantime the Cimbri, who had separated from their al- lies, had penetrated into Italy, where the ter- ror of their name caused the army of Catulus, the other consul, to fly before them. Marius was recalled to Rome. Refusing the triumph offered him by the senate until the Cimbri should be conquered, he joined the army of Catulus, with which the troops who had con- quered the Teutons were now united. On July 30, 10-1, the Cimbri were annihilated in a pitched battle, fought on a plain called the Campi Raudii, near Yercellae, the modern Ver- celli. The victory was really due to Marius, though his enemies sought to give the credit of it to Catulus, who was then proconsul ; but the Romans were so convinced that they owed their deliverance to the consul, that among other high honors they gave him the title of third founder of the state, thus ranking him with Romulus and Camillus. His triumph was brilliant, and Catulus was allowed to share in it. For the sixth time he was chosen consul ; but the good fortune which he had experienced in the field deserted him in the city, where his ignorance of civil life led him into various mis- takes, which caused his popularity to decline as rapidly as it had risen. The aristocracy art- fully placed him in opposition to the tribune Saturninus, who was his instrument and asso- ciate, and whom he had to proceed against to the tribune's ruin and death. He entrapped his old enemy Metellus into a position that caused him to be banished. So low had Marius sunk by the time his sixth consulship was draw- ing to a close, that he durst not become a can- didate for the censorship. The next year (99) he visited Asia, where he sought to rouse Mith- ridates to make war on Rome, being confident that he should recover his popularity when once more placed at the head of an army. He was chosen augur during his absence. After his return to Rome, he did not rise in popular esteem; he could obtain no command in the East, and Sulla, who had supplanted him in the popular favor, exasperated him by his con- duct. The Mauritanian king had set up in the capitol figures showing the surrender of Ju- gurtha to Sulla. Marius was making prepara- tions to pull down these figures, and Sulla to resist him, when, in 90, the social or Marsic war broke out, which threatened the subversion of the Roman power in Italy. Both Marius and Sulla had to contend against the confed- erate Italians in the social war, and both did so with success. It was thought, however, that the exploits of Sulla were the more striking, but it is certain that Marius twice defeated the Marsi, the most warlike of all the allies, and whose name furnished to the Romans a title for the war. He returned to Rome after these victories, avowedly because of his inability to encounter the fatigues of the service. He w r as 67 years old, and had grown fat and unwieldy. After this war had been finished, the rivalry of Marius and Sulla was resumed. War against Mithridates having been commenced, Marius sought the command in the East. He fre- quented the Campus Martius, and went through exercises appropriate to the young, in order to show that he was equal to the fatigues of war. He failed, and Sulla was appointed to the office he sought (88). Marius now procured the passage of a law to distribute the Italian allies, who had been admitted to the Roman fran- chise, among all the tribes, so that they should control the old citizens. His tool was P. Sulpicius Rufus, a tribune, and he was suc- cessful, though not without having resort to violence. The Italians then conferred the eastern command upon Marius ; but Sulla, who