Part one of term paper
? Gaius Marius was the Janus-faced savior of Rome. On one hand his sweeping military reforms intensified Rome's might at a crucial time, during the Jugurthine war, saving Rome from the steady advance of their Italian enemies. On the other, his no-frills military-minded personality drove him to push those away who could not socially accept t ...

Part two of term paper
... was a dichotomy of military genius and political ineptitude. Due to the poverty of surviving sources during both the year 100 and the brief civil war in 88, and in fact during most of this period, insight into Marius' day-to-day political activities is difficult. However this much is certain, his military reforms, such as offering la nd to veterans and accepting army volunteers from the capita censi, while saving Rome in the short run, ultimately led to the downfall of the Republic. Born into ...