The Military Reforms of Gaius Marius in Their Social, Economic, and Political Context by Michael C. Gambino August, 2015 Directo
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The Military Reforms of Gaius Marius in their Social, Economic, and Political Context By Michael C. Gambino August, 2015 Director of Thesis: Dr. Frank Romer Major Department: History Abstract The goal of this thesis is, as the title affirms, to understand the military reforms of Gaius Marius in their broader societal context. In this thesis, after a brief introduction (Chap. I), Chap. II analyzes the Roman manipular army, its formation, policies, and armament. Chapter III examines Roman society, politics, and economics during the second century B.C.E., with emphasis on the concentration of power and wealth, the legislative programs of Ti. And C. Gracchus, and the Italian allies’ growing demand for citizenship. Chap. IV discusses Roman military expansion from the Second Punic War down to 100 B.C.E., focusing on Roman military and foreign policy blunders, missteps, and mistakes in Celtiberian Spain, along with Rome’s servile wars and the problem of the Cimbri and Teutones. Chap. V then contextualizes the life of Gaius Marius and his sense of military strategy, while Chap VI assesses Marius’s military reforms in his lifetime and their immediate aftermath in the time of Sulla. There are four appendices on the ancient literary sources (App. I), Marian consequences in the Late Republic (App. II), the significance of the legionary eagle standard as shown during the early principate (App. III), and a listing of the consular Caecilii Metelli in the second and early first centuries B.C.E. (App. IV). The Marian military reforms changed the army from a semi-professional citizen militia into a more professionalized army made up of extensively trained recruits who served for longer consecutive terms and were personally bound to their commanders. In this way these reforms created an army which could be used against other Roman commanders or the city itself. Military eligibility was no longer exclusive to landowners, and the capite censi had new opportunities for spoils and social and political advancement. Marius’ reforms were not completely novel, but the practices that he introduced he also cause to be established as standard operating procedure. He implemented these reforms in a time of crisis, and subsequently the extraordinary military careers of both Marius and Sulla acted to preserve his measures and to move the army far down the road of professionalization. What I have shown in this thesis is the larger economic, social, and political context which formed the background and provided the incubator in which Marius’ reforms were generated and developed. Once Marius crystalized his ideas and put them in place, the stage was set for Sulla and the new kind of military action that would seal the fate of the Republic. The Military Reforms of Gaius Marius in their Social, Economic, and Political Context A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in History By Michael C. Gambino August, 2015 © 2015 Michael Gambino The Military Reforms of Gaius Marius in their Social, Economic, and Political Context By Michael C. Gambino Approved By: Thesis Director:_________________________________________________________________ F.E. Romer Ph.D. Committee Member:_____________________________________________________________ Anthony Papalas Ph.D. Committee Member:_____________________________________________________________ M. Todd Bennett Ph.D. Committee Member:_____________________________________________________________ John Stevens Ph.D. Chair of the Department of History:_________________________________________________ Gerald J. Prokopowicz Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School:______________________________________________________ Paul J. Gemperline Ph.D. Table of Contents List of Tables…………………………………………...…………………………….….v List of Figures…………………………………………...…………………………....…vi Preface……………………………………………...………………………………..….vii Chapter I. Introduction……………………………………………………………….....1 Chapter II. The Roman Manipular Army ...……………………………………….…19 Chapter III. Roman Society, Politics, and Economics during the 2nd Century……..41 Chapter IV. Roman Military Expansion from 2nd Punic until 100BC .....................64 Chapter V. Biography of Gaius Marius ........................................................................81 Chapter VI. Marian Military Reforms ........................................................................101 Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………...…....136 Appendix I: Marian Consequences in the Late Republic………….…………….....140 Appendix II: The Legionary Eagle Standard during the Principate……………....142 Appendix III: The Caecilii Metelli in the Second and Early First Centuries...…....144 List of Tables Table 3.1 …………………………………………….......……………………………... 51 List of Figures Figure 2.1 ………………………………………………………..……………………... 28 Figure 2.2 ………………………………………………………..………………………29 Figure 2.3 ………………………………………………………..……………………... 29 Figure 2.4 ……………………………………………..………………………………... 34 Figure 6.1………………………………………...……………………………….….... 117 Preface Textual evidence from the Roman period describes the armies of both the preceding and following periods in great detail. The manipular army of the Middle Republic (c. 164) is chronicled by the Greek historian Polybius, whose close association with the commander Scipio Aemilianus helped to grant him crucial insight into his contemporary Roman military practices. The army of Julius Caesar in the Late Republic (c.54) is described in meticulous detail by the general himself in his accounts of both the Gallic and the Civil wars. Between these two accounts of the army, the famous Roman general Gaius Marius is credited with enacting major army reforms between 107 and 101, changing the formation, tactics, and policies of his legions. The exact nature of Marius’ reforms and their role in the professionalization of the army is still unclear because of the patchwork coverage of ancient sources. As a result, all major military changes that occurred in the intermediary period (ca.150- ca.60) are generally attributed to Marius. This thesis will examine and determine the specific reforms and the historical evidence which ties Marius to them so as to determine whether each reform is Marian or not. This thesis explores the military social, economic, and political contexts in which Gaius Marius came to power and enacted his reforms. It analyzes the second century developmental context that spurred on radical army reforms. For both consistency and convenience, I use the Loeb English for Latin and Greek, in addition to preventing any personal biases or interpretations of my own from the evidence or prejudicing the translation. This thesis would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my parents, who never failed to encourage and motivate me; and the understanding and love of my best friend and partner, Rosie, who helped and accommodated me during graduate school and the research and writing of this project. And a special thank you to the faculty at East Carolina University’s Classics and History departments, most of all Professor Frank Romer, whose endless patience, wisdom, and guidance has led me through the long process of completing this project, and whose mentoring has developed me into a better historian, writer, and person Chapter I: Introduction During the final decade of the second century BCE,1 the Roman army underwent a series of major military reforms enacted by the seven-time consul, Gaius Marius. These reforms were aimed at reorganizing the legions in order to increase their flexibility and mobility, as well as to increase the overall number of their fighting force. Marius had instituted these reforms because Rome’s changing military needs at the end of the second century. Throughout the third and second centuries, Rome had come into conflict with several major overseas powers, namely, Carthage and various Greek entities. After several long campaigns the Romans resolved these conflicts through conquest. These victories expanded Rome’s dominion in the Mediterranean, and removed its most aggressive military rivals; in addition these conquests flooded Rome with the spoils of war. However, the Romans also found themselves in control of an overseas empire with all its inherent responsibilities like border security, maintaining order, and suppressing revolts. For the Romans to be able to maintain control over their newly acquired territories, they needed the ability to deal quickly and effectively with threats along their new borders, especially in North Africa and Spain. Also during this period, large armies of new northern invaders, namely, the Teutones and Cimbri, had begun to encroach on Roman territories from the north. Marius’ reforms did not occur in a vacuum. External pressures on the Roman army made reforms desirable, but internal social pressures motivated these changes as well. Marius was a major figure in the emblematic aristocratic conflict between the optimates and populares at Rome for influence and power. Not only was Marius a novus 1 All dates in this thesis are BCE unless otherwise specified. 2 homo, or “new man,” which indicated that he was not born into one of the powerful consular families and that he was the first person in his family to achieve the consulship, and he also was born into a family near Arpinum, a town in Latium. Marius had risen to success by his martial ability and the power of his personality. As a result, through a variety of events Marius became champion of the plebs,