Marius returns from successful campaigning and is elected consul again without the customary ten-year interval. He had been consul only three years earlier and spent the intervening period at war, making him Rome's most credible emergency commander. Repeated reelection from 104 to 100 BC gives him the authority to raise, organize, and command the force that shields Rome through the remaining Cimbric War. His role recalls the protective authority associated with Fabius Maximus during the Second Punic War. The emergency solves an immediate military problem by concentrating political and military power in one unusually capable man, but it also creates a precedent with long-term consequences.
Chapter · 1:08:12-1:10:33
Gaius Marius returns as Rome's emergency commander
Rome breaks its normal consular timetable to recall the experienced Marius and entrust him with rebuilding the army against the northern threat.