Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough Fortune's favourites. The third novel in the epic Masters of Rome series. Fortune's Favourites witnesses the power, mastery and cunning of two enigmatic rulers of Rome - Sulla, returning from exile, and the 22-year-old Pompey, who designates himself Magnus 'the Great'. And in the background is the young soldier, Caesar, who begins to show the expert qualities that will one day culminate in him becoming an unparalleled leader of ancient Rome. And at the heart of this sumptuous tale is the unforgettable story of Spartacus and his doomed slave . Read More. The third novel in the epic Masters of Rome series. Fortune's Favourites witnesses the power, mastery and cunning of two enigmatic rulers of Rome - Sulla, returning from exile, and the 22-year-old Pompey, who designates himself Magnus 'the Great'. And in the background is the young soldier, Caesar, who begins to show the expert qualities that will one day culminate in him becoming an unparalleled leader of ancient Rome. And at the heart of this sumptuous tale is the unforgettable story of Spartacus and his doomed slave revolt - the true story, as no modern reader has ever before encountered it. Read Less. All Copies ( 26 ) Softcover ( 19 ) Hardcover ( 5 ) Choose Edition ( 3 ) Book Details Seller Sort. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Good Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 1994 Alibris ID: 16644815805 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Brownstown, MI, USA. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Fair Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 1994 Alibris ID: 16433650514 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Fair. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Good Available Copies: 2 Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 11/17/1994 Alibris ID: 15866223433 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: **Simply Brit** Shipped with Premium postal service within 24 hours from the UK with impressive delivery time. We have dispatched from our book depository; items of good condition to over ten million satisfied customers worldwide. We are committed to providing you with reliable and efficient service at all times. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Hardcover, Good Available Copies: 2 Details: ISBN: 0712638504 ISBN-13: 9780712638500 Pages: 1056 Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 10/21/1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16305312241 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: **Simply Brit** Shipped with Premium postal service within 24 hours from the UK with impressive delivery time. We have dispatched from our book depository; items of good condition to over ten million satisfied customers worldwide. We are committed to providing you with reliable and efficient service at all times. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. London, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Good Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 11/17/1994 Alibris ID: 16069586269 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. Wear & Tear to cover **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. London, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Hardcover, Good Available Copies: 2 Details: ISBN: 0712638504 ISBN-13: 9780712638500 Pages: 1056 Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 10/21/1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16588789679 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Hardcover, Good Details: ISBN: 0712638504 ISBN-13: 9780712638500 Pages: 1056 Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16634209017 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 1994 Alibris ID: 16627329364 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very Good. 1994. Paperback. Good clean copy. Showing light shelf wear, remains a nice copy. We ship daily from our Bookshop. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. PO BOX 318, OXON, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Very Good Available Copies: 5 Details: ISBN: 0712638504 ISBN-13: 9780712638500 Pages: 1056 Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 21/10/1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16200233357 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Arrow Books Ltd. PO BOX 318, OXON, UNITED KINGDOM. Edition: 1994, Arrow Books Ltd Mass-market paperback, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0099305313 ISBN-13: 9780099305316 Pages: 1056 Edition: New edition Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Published: 17/11/1994 Alibris ID: 16658282886 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Fortune's Favorites. McCullough's critically acclaimed Roman series--begun with The First Man in Rome and continued in The Grass Crown--approaches its shattering climax in this third volume, as Gaius Julius Caesar's star begins to shine more brightly. McCullough is also renowned for her major bestseller The Thorn Birds. Read More. McCullough's critically acclaimed Roman series--begun with The First Man in Rome and continued in The Grass Crown--approaches its shattering climax in this third volume, as Gaius Julius Caesar's star begins to shine more brightly. McCullough is also renowned for her major bestseller The Thorn Birds. Read Less. All Copies ( 189 ) Softcover ( 110 ) Hardcover ( 73 ) Choose Edition ( 3 ) Book Details Seller Sort. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Good Details: ISBN: 0380710838 ISBN-13: 9780380710836 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 1994 Language: English Alibris ID: 16576238968 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99 Trackable Expedited: $7.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact, but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. 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Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Good Details: ISBN: 0061582409 ISBN-13: 9780061582400 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 2008 Language: English Alibris ID: 15892413267 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Hardcover, Good Details: ISBN: 0688093701 ISBN-13: 9780688093709 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 10/1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16680073263 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. All pages and cover are intact. Possible slightly loose binding, minor highlighting and marginalia, cocked spine or torn dust jacket. Maybe an ex-library copy and not include the accompanying CDs, access codes or other supplemental materials. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0380710838 ISBN-13: 9780380710836 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 06/1994 Language: English Alibris ID: 16612971789 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very good. Shows some signs of wear from usage. Is no longer bright/shinny. Edge wear from storage and shelving. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Hardcover, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0688093701 ISBN-13: 9780688093709 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 10/1993 Language: English Alibris ID: 16669191386 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very good. Shows some signs of wear from usage. Is no longer bright/shinny. Edge wear from storage and shelving. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Good Details: ISBN: 0380710838 ISBN-13: 9780380710836 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 06/1994 Language: English Alibris ID: 16462823622 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Good Available Copies: 2 Details: ISBN: 0380710838 ISBN-13: 9780380710836 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 06/1994 Language: English Alibris ID: 16556679907 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. ► Contact This Seller. 1994, Avon Books. Edition: 1994, Avon Books Mass-market paperback, Fair Details: ISBN: 0380710838 ISBN-13: 9780380710836 Pages: 1072 Publisher: Avon Books Published: 1994 Language: English Alibris ID: 16607556970 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99 Trackable Expedited: $7.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. ISBN 13: 9780061582400. With incomparable storytelling skill, New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough brings Rome alive in all her majesty—and illuminates the world of those favored by the gods at birth. In a time of cataclysmic upheaval, a bold new generation of Romans vied for greatness amid the disintegrating remnants of their beloved Republic. They were the chosen. and the cursed—blessed with wealth and privilege yet burdened by the dictates of destiny in a savage struggle for power that would leave countless numbers crushed and destroyed. But there was one who would tower above them all—a brilliant and beautiful boy whose ambition was unparalleled, whose love was legend, and whose glory was Rome's: a boy they would one day call "Caesar." "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Colleen McCullough is the author of The Thorn Birds, Tim, An Indecent Obsession, A Creed for the Third Millennium, The Ladies of Missalonghi, The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar , and other novels. She lives with her husband on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. Fortune's Favorites. Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. : Volume Number. : Volume Number. Fortune's Favorites. Spend $49 on print products and get FREE shipping at HC.com. With incomparable storytelling skill, New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough brings Rome alive in all her majesty—and illuminates the world of those favored by the gods at birth. In a time of cataclysmic upheaval, a bold new generation of Romans vied for greatness amid the disintegrating remnants of their beloved Republic. They were the chosen. and the cursed—blessed with wealth and privilege yet burdened by the dictates of destiny in a savage struggle for power that would leave countless numbers crushed and destroyed. But there was one who would tower above them all—a brilliant and beautiful boy whose ambition was unparalleled, whose love was legend, and whose glory was Rome's: a boy they would one day call "Caesar." Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough. Denver Rocky Mountain News. AN IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF WORK . One of the most intriguing epics in history . . . A fascinating and surprisingly fast-moving story. about some of the most interesting figures. in a most important era" Virginian Pilot and Ledger-Star. Colleen McCullough has found her stride." Washington Post Book World. "RIVETING . FASCINATING . A creative colossus . . . McCullough somehow manages. to highlight the individuals caught up. in the hurricane of history without trivializing. its scope or halting its momentum." "A COMPELLING STORY . EXCITING ENTERTAINING . INTRIGUING . Artfully composed" Chicago Tribune. A brightly illuminated panorama of world history .. In McCullough's hands historical characters. become fascinating, complex and credible figures. who give the novel its real power. They leave a lasting impression." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "TRULY IMPRESSIVE . Intrigue, political maneuvering, grandstanding, gossip, sex both affectionate and calculated, and wholesale slaughter . . . McCullough works. to charge history with the current of personality." Her characters have become more and more real, more evil, more complex, braver and bolder." "ROLLICKING GOOD FICTION .. McCullough's Roman saga is like a trip through time. Her characters come alive" "A TREASURE . McCullough's genius as a writer is evident" Baton Rouge Magazine. "EXCITING . WITTY . A MAJESTIC TALE .. McCullough brings order to the mighty tangle of battles and political strategies of ancient heavy weights-in the Forum Romanum or the tents of war." Kirkus Reviews. McCullough creates a rich landscape for her. history-shaping characters to roam . . . She helps you understand and relate. to these people of long ago and far away." Other Avon Books by Colleen McCullough. the first man in rome the grass crown. the ladies of missalonghi. A creed for the third millennium. an indecent obsession. the thorn birds. Avon Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund raising or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs. For details write or telephone the office of the Director of Special Markets, Avon Books, Dept. FP, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, 1-800-238-0658. AVON BOOKS NEW YORK. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book." The Hearst Corporation. 1350 Avenue of the Americas. New York, New York 10019. Copyright © 1993 by Colleen McCullough Front cover art by Paul Stinson Inside front cover art by Tom Hall Published by arrangement with the author Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-534 ISBN: 0-380-71083-8. All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. Published in hardcover by William Morrow and Company, Inc.; for information address Permissions Department, William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019. First Avon Books Printing: June 1994. AVON TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES, MARCA REGISTRADA, HECHO EN U.S.A. Printed in the U.S.A. OPM 10 987654321. For Lieutenant Colonel the Reverend A. Rebecca West. Femina Optima Maxima. The world's greatest woman. LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Italia: Topography and Roads viii. The Roman Near East (with particular reference. to the movements of Caesar and Verres) x-xi. Northern Italy and South-Central. Italian Gaul 20, 119, 569. East-Central Italy 26. Ofella's Siege of Praeneste; Sulla's Occupation. of Via Latina 135. Route of Samnites to Colline Gate of Rome 146. The Hellespont, the Propontis, the Thracian. Bosporus, Bithynia, Mysian Asia Province, and Lesbos 392-393. The East (with emphasis upon the conquests. of Tigranes) 452-453. Pompey's Route Across the Alps 598-599. The Spains 606-607. The Wanderings of Spartacus 73-71 B.C. 800. Southwestern Italy 817. Some Events in the History of Rome Prior to. The First Man in Rome xii-xiii. Nicomedes III Epiphanes Philopator xiv. Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix 184. Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius 284. Lucius Licinius Lucullus 438. Gaius Julius Caesar 496. Quintus Sertorius 592. Marcus Licinius Crassus 676. The Consul Pompey 840. The Well of the Comitia 949. Aurelia's Insula 978. Roman Magistrates 987. Shape of Toga 1018. Some Events in the History of Rome Prior to THE FIRST MAN IN ROME. (Note: All dates are B.C.) ca. 1100 A refugee from Troy, Aeneas established himself in Latium. Son. Iulus, became King of Alba Longa. 753-775 Romulus first King of Rome: built the Palatine city. 715-673 Numa Pompilius second King: created 100 senators, priestly colleges, made. 10-month year a 12-month year. 673-642 Tullus Hostilius third King: built Senate House. 642-617 Ancus Marcius fourth King: built Wooden Bridge, fortified Janiculum, seized. salt flats at Ostia for Rome. 616-578 Tarquinius Priscus fifth King: built Circus Maximus, sewered central Rome, enlarged Senate to 300, created Tribes and Classes, established the census. 578-534 Servius Tullius sixth King: created pomerium, built Agger. 534-510 Tarquinius Superbus seventh King: finished temple of Jupiter Optimus. Maximus, destroyed Gabii. ___. 509 Tarquinius Superbus expelled, monarchy abolished. THE REPUBLIC OF. ROME BEGINS. Brutus and Valerius first chief magistrates (called. praetors, not consuls). 508 Pontifex Maximus created to. overpower Rex Sacrorum. 500 Titus Larcius the first-ever dictator. 494 First secession of Plebs: 2 tribunes of the plebs and 2 plebeian aediles created. 471 Second secession of Plebs: Plebeian Assembly made tribal. 459 Number of tribunes of the plebs raised from 2 to 10. 456 Third secession of Plebs: plebeians granted land. 451 Decemviri codified the XII Tables of Roman Law. 449 Fourth secession of Plebs: lex Valeria Horatia defined sacrosanctity of tribunes. 447 Assembly of the People created: 2 quaestors created. 445 Leges Canuleiae: (a) replaced consuls with military tribunes owning consular. powers, (b) allowed marriage between patricians and plebeians. 443 Censors elected for the first time. 439 Maelius, would-be King of Rome, killed by Servilius Ahala. 421 Quaestors raised to 4, office opened to plebeians. 396 Introduction of pay for Rome's soldiers. It was not increased until Caesar. doubled it when dictator. 390 Gauls sacked Rome, Capitol saved by warning of geese. 367 The consulship restored. 2 curule aediles created. 366 First plebeian consul. Praetor urbanus created. 356 First plebeian dictator. Censorship opened to plebeians. 351 First plebeian censor. 343-341 First Samnite War. Rome concludes peace. 342 Leges Genuciae: (a) debt relief, (b) no man to hold same office more than once. in 10 years, (c) both consuls could be plebeian. 339 Leges Publiliae: (a) one censor had to be plebeian, (b) all laws passed in. Centuriate Assembly had to be sanctioned by Senate, (c) plebiscites were given some validity at law. 337 First plebeian praetor urbanus. 326-304 Second Samnite War (defeat at Caudine Forks, the yoke). 300 Leges Ogulniae: opened priestly colleges to plebeians. 298-290 Third Samnite War. Rome now established ascendancy. 289 Mint and tresviri monetales (3 minters) created. 287 lex Hortensia: plebiscites were now fully binding laws. 267 Quaestors raised from 6 to 8. 264 First gladiators fight in Rome (not at Circus!). 264-242 First Punic War (against Carthage). Peace gives Rome Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica as her first provinces. 253 First plebeian Pontifex Maximus. 242 Praetor peregrinus created, raising praetors to 2. 241 Centuriate Assembly reforms slightly decreased power of First Class. Last. 2 tribes were created: total now 35. 227 Praetors raised from 2 to 4. Quaestors raised from 6 to 10. 218-201 Second Punic War. Hannibal in command of Carthaginians. 270-206 Scipio Africanus victorious in Spain. 202 Last old-style dictator was briefly in office. 197 The Spains became provinces: praetors 6, quaestors 12. 180 Lex Villia annalis regulated the curule magistracies. 171 First treason court set up temporarily. 169 Lex Voconia barred women from major inheritances in wills. Quarrel. between Senate and Knights: the censors refused to accept tenders from firms given contracts by previous censors. Profits were exorbitant. Censors were then nearly convicted of high treason by knights. 149 Lex Atinia automatically promoted tribunes of the plebs to the Senate. Lex. Calpurnia set up permanent extortion court. 149-146 Third Punic War. Africa became a Roman province. 147 Macedonia annexed as a Roman province. 144 Praetor Q. Martius Rex built Rome's first aqueduct. 139 Lex Gabinia introduced secret ballot at all elections. 137 Lex Cassia introduced secret ballot for court juries. 133 Tiberius Gracchus tribune of the plebs: murdered. 123 Gaius Gracchus tribune of the plebs. 122 Gaius Gracchus tribune of the plebs again. 121 Senate passed first-ever Ultimate Decree to deal with Gaius Gracchus: he. suicided, his followers were executed. 121 King Mithridates V of Pontus murdered by his wife. Young Mithridates. fled to mountains to hide. 120 Homelands of German Cimbri and Teutones inundated. The great. 129 Gaius Marius, tribune of the plebs, passed a lex Maria to narrow voting. gangways (making bribery more difficult). 125 Young Mithridates seized power, became King of Pontus. 113 The German Cimbri defeated Papirius Carbo in Noricum. 122 Rome declared war on Jugurtha of Numidia. 121 Rome reached peaceful agreement with Jugurtha. 110 Aulus Postumius Albinus invaded Numidia without any authorization: the. war against Jugurtha begins. . . . It is my intention that Fortune's Favorites be read with full enjoyment as a complete, free-standing novel, without the necessity of having previously read The Grass Crown or The First Man in Rome. The synopses below provide a brief summary of those two books for the reader's convenience and enhanced enjoyment. EVENTS CHRONICLED IN THE FIRST MAN IN ROME. The year is 110 b.c. More by accident than design, the Republic of Rome has begun to acquire her territorial empire, a process of expansion that has placed increasingly intolerable strains upon an antique constitution. This constitution had been designed to regulate the affairs of a small city- state and protect the interests of its ruling class, embodied still in 110 b.c. by the Senate. The true profession of Rome was war, which she conducted superbly and had come to rely upon in order to maintain growth and a thriving economy; she also kept the various other nations within Italy in a subordinate position by denying their peoples the Roman citizenship and parity in commerce. But the voice of the People had become louder, and a series of political demagogues like the Brothers Gracchi had arisen with the avowed intention of depriving the Senate of its power. Power was to be transferred to the People in the persons of a slightly lower echelon of Roman citizens, the knights, who were primarily wealthy businessmen. (Agitation for social change in the ancient world was never undertaken on behalf of the poor, but rather took the form of a struggle between the landed aristocracy and the commercial plutocracy.) In 110 b.c. the forty-seven-year-old Gaius Marius was a relative nobody from the little Latin district of Arpinum. Thanks to his superlative military ability, he had managed to rise as far as the second-most-important position in elected government, the praetorship, and had accumulated vast riches. But Marius hungered to be consul (the top office), though he knew that his obscure birth and ancestry would not permit of his rising so high. The consulship belonged to the landed aristocrats of ancient family who had never grubbied their hands with making money in a commercial marketplace. Then a chance meeting with an impoverished patrician (the most august class of these aristocrats) senator, Gaius Julius Caesar (grandfather of the great Caesar), enabled Marius to improve his chances of attaining the consulship. In return for funding the careers of old Caesar's two sons and providing a dowry for the younger of old Caesar's two daughters, Marius was given the elder daughter, Julia, in marriage. Thus ennobling Marius's family and greatly enhancing his electoral image. Now married to Julia, in 109 b.c. Marius and his letter-writing friend Publius Rutilius Rufus went off to wage war against King Jugurtha of Numidia. But Marius was not the commander-in-chief; this position had gone to the aristocrat Metellus (who would later call himself Metellus Numidicus to commemorate his war against Numidia, but whom Marius called by a far more derogatory name, Piggle-wiggle). With Metellus Numidicus was his twenty-year-old son, Metellus Pius the Piglet. The war in Africa went slowly, as Metellus Numidicus was not a very effective general. In 108 b.c. Marius asked to be released from his post as senior legate so that he could return to Rome to run for election as one of the two consuls for 107 b.c. Metellus Numidicus refused to let him go, so Marius through letters waged a campaign of complaint and criticism in Rome against his superior's conduct of the war. Eventually his campaign was successful, and Metellus Numidicus was forced to release Marius from service in Africa. However, before Marius left Africa, the Syrian prophetess Martha foretold that Marius would be consul of Rome an unprecedented seven times and would be called the Third Founder of Rome; but she also told him that his wife's nephew named Gaius would be the greatest Roman of all time. This child was as yet unborn. Marius believed in the prophecy implicitly. Returned to Rome, Marius was elected the junior of the two consuls for 107 b.c. He then used the legislative body called the Plebeian Assembly to pass a law stripping command of the war against Jugurtha of Numidia from Metellus Numidicus Piggle-wiggle; that same command was given to him instead. However, his chief problem was a source of troops. The six legions Metellus Numidicus had commanded in Africa were now earmarked for the use of the other consul of 107 b.c. Italy was literally without recruitable men to serve in Rome's armies: too many men had died uselessly in battle over the preceding fifteen years, thanks to a series of utterly incompetent generals of impeccably aristocratic background. And the important friends of Metellus Numidicus, outraged at Marius's taking the war against Jugurtha away from him, now ganged up to prevent Marius's finding new soldiers. But Marius, an iconoclastic thinker, knew of a source of troops as yet untapped-the capite censi or Head Count, which was the propertyless lowest class of Roman citizens- and resolved to find his army among the Head Count. A revolutionary concept! Rome's soldiers had always been required to own land and have sufficient wealth to fund their armaments and gear out of their own purses; it was this class of fairly prosperous farmers that had supplied Rome with her soldiers for centuries. Now these men had almost ceased to exist, and their smallholdings had come into the ownership of men in the Senate or the top ranks of knight-businessmen. Vast ranches called latifundia which ran on slave labor had come into being, thus depriving free men of employment.