Gaius Marius the Younger
Encyclopedia
Gaius Marius Minor, also known in English as Marius the Younger or informally "the younger Marius" (110 BC/108 BC - 82 BC), was the adopted son of Gaius Marius
, who was seven times consul
, and a famous military commander. Appian
first describes him as the son of the great Marius, but in a subsequent passage, he is described as the general's nephew. His adoptive mother, Julia
was an aunt of Julius Caesar
.
In his youth, Marius was educated with Titus Pomponius Atticus
and Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Greek tutors. Like his father, Marius advanced his political career through popularist
tactics. When his father died in 86 BC, he assumed control of his faction. He is said to have lacked his father's charisma and courted popularity on the family name.
He was elected to the consulship for 82 BC. This was a political move by Carbo
, his consular colleague, to drum up popular support and enthusiasm for the war against Sulla; Marius was much too young to be a legally elected consul. Two talented and better-qualified men among the populares
, his cousin Marius Gratidianus
and Quintus Sertorius
, were passed over in favor of the younger Marius's symbolic value. Marius married Mucia, daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
.
In the Civil War
in 82 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
and his army defeated the armies of Marius at the battle of Sacraportum, after which he retreated with around 7000 surviving troops to the fortress city of Praeneste. Sulla's legate Quintus Lucretius Ofella
conducted the siege, throttling the town with a ring of rapidly constructed earth and tuff
barricades. Towards the end of the siege Marius committed suicide.
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
, who was seven times consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
, and a famous military commander. Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
first describes him as the son of the great Marius, but in a subsequent passage, he is described as the general's nephew. His adoptive mother, Julia
Julia Caesaris (wife of Marius)
Julia Caesaris was a daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar II and Marcia . She was a sister of Gaius Julius Caesar III and Sextus Julius Caesar III....
was an aunt of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.
In his youth, Marius was educated with Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus, born Titus Pomponius , came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class and the Gens Pomponia. He was a celebrated editor, banker, and patron of letters with residences in both Rome and Athens...
and Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
by Greek tutors. Like his father, Marius advanced his political career through popularist
Populares
Populares were aristocratic leaders in the late Roman Republic who relied on the people's assemblies and tribunate to acquire political power. They are regarded in modern scholarship as in opposition to the optimates, who are identified with the conservative interests of a senatorial elite...
tactics. When his father died in 86 BC, he assumed control of his faction. He is said to have lacked his father's charisma and courted popularity on the family name.
He was elected to the consulship for 82 BC. This was a political move by Carbo
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was a three-time consul of ancient Rome.A member of the Carbones of the plebeian gens Papiria, and nephew of Gaius Papirius Carbo , he was a strong supporter of the Marian party, and took part in the blockade of Rome...
, his consular colleague, to drum up popular support and enthusiasm for the war against Sulla; Marius was much too young to be a legally elected consul. Two talented and better-qualified men among the populares
Populares
Populares were aristocratic leaders in the late Roman Republic who relied on the people's assemblies and tribunate to acquire political power. They are regarded in modern scholarship as in opposition to the optimates, who are identified with the conservative interests of a senatorial elite...
, his cousin Marius Gratidianus
Marcus Marius Gratidianus
Marcus Marius Gratidianus was a praetor and a partisan of the popularist faction led by his uncle Gaius Marius during the Roman Republican civil wars of the 80s...
and Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...
, were passed over in favor of the younger Marius's symbolic value. Marius married Mucia, daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur was a politician of the Roman Republic and an early authority on Roman law. He was first educated in law by his father and in philosophy by the stoic Panaetius of Rhodes....
.
In the Civil War
Roman civil wars
There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the late Republic. The most famous of these are the war in the 40s BC between Julius Caesar and the optimate faction of the senatorial elite initially led by Pompey and the subsequent war between Caesar's successors, Octavian and Mark Antony in...
in 82 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
and his army defeated the armies of Marius at the battle of Sacraportum, after which he retreated with around 7000 surviving troops to the fortress city of Praeneste. Sulla's legate Quintus Lucretius Ofella
Quintus Lucretius Ofella
Quintus Lucretius Ofella was a Roman general who served under the command of Lucius Cornelius Sulla during Sulla's second march on Rome. A loyal legate who expected to be awarded a consulship for his part in Sulla's campaign, he was executed when he tried to defy his master's dictate.-Career:Ofella...
conducted the siege, throttling the town with a ring of rapidly constructed earth and tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
barricades. Towards the end of the siege Marius committed suicide.