Gareth Sampson - Crisis of Rome: The Jugurthine and Northern Wars and the Rise of Marius

The last decade of what now equates to the second century BC saw the culmination of a generation of military overstretch and political turmoil in the Roman Republic. Simultaneously, Rome found herself fighting a difficult guerrilla war in the deserts of North Africa, whilst facing tribes of migrating barbarians from northern Europe. A series of reverses in both these theatres of war saw Rome suffer one of the heaviest defeats in her history at the Battle of Arausio and a barbarian invasion of Italy itself. Yet whilst the scenario of barbarian migration, defeat and invasion is all too familiar to the Late Roman Empire, all this occurred some five hundred years before the fall of Rome, at what is often seen as the height of the Republics power.

This decade of crises is often noted for the rise of a perceived outsider (C. Marius) to an unprecedented six consulships in eight years and a radical reform of the Roman Republican army, which culminated in two of the greatest Roman military victories, at Aquae Sextiae and Raudian Plain (Vercellae). Yet many claim that these reforms laid the foundations for the Republics ultimate destruction at the hands of a series of oligarchs, such as Sulla, Pompey and Caesar (the latter of which was Marius nephew). Upon examination, however, each of these assumptions can be challenged, but only through an in-depth study of the military situation of the period in question.

Anyone seeking an understanding of the period is faced with a number of difficulties which stem from our surviving ancient sources. Firstly, we lack a detailed narrative history of the period as a whole, giving undue weight to accounts that do survive, notably Plutarchs biography of Marius and Sallusts monograph on the Jugurthine War, which if not handled properly can provide a distorted picture of the period in question. Of the two wars which Rome faced, the Jugurthine War in North Africa is the lesser of the two in terms of severity, yet we have a fuller account of it and little detail for the wars in the north.

Furthermore, the Jugurthine War itself must be separated from Sallusts work on it, as he only represents one source and must be balanced, wherever possible, with other accounts to gain a better overall perspective of the war itself. No matter how detailed, relying on a sole account for any war should be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, given the loss of a wider narrative history, and the survival of works such as Appians Civil Wars and Plutarchs biographies, it is all too easy to focus on the domestic political history of Rome in this period, as though it is somehow separate from the wars that were raging at the time.

Thus in many ways, a key part of this introduction is to establish just exactly what this work is not about; it is neither a commentary on Sallusts Jugurthine Wars , nor is it a biography of Caius Marius; there are a number of excellent works already in these fields (listed in the bibliography). This work seeks a broader perspective and attempts to analyse the period as a whole, taking in all the conflicts involved. This will allow us to analyse the origins, progression and ultimate solution to this decade of military crises. Only then can any political or military reforms be placed in their proper context.