Marius

Evan Smithers 4/8/12     Exactly 500 words __ General Gaius Marius: The World’s Greatest Leader __

One measure of greatness in a leader is his ability to set aside his own wants and needs until he has done as much as he can for his people and country. By this definition, Gaius Marius, Roman general and consul, is without a doubt the greatest leader of all time. Although the name Gaius Marius is not one of the most well known, he deserves this title because of his selfless efforts as a leader of Rome, setting the stage for its transition from a republic to an empire. I, Gaius Marius, was born in Arpinum, in Latium. At the time of my birth, the Roman empire stretched from Brittania all the way to northern Egypt. Because I only received full Roman citizenship at the age of 31, I had to overcome the challenges facing a “new man” - one whose father had not served in the Senate nor been consul.[1] I joined the army in order that I might better serve my country. My military excellence was noted by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, great hero of the Punic Wars. When asked where the Roman people would ever again find such a strong leader such as he, Cornelius looked at me, saying, “Here, perhaps.”[2] With this encouragement, I ran for one of the twenty-four military tribunes. After serving there, I worked my way through the elected ranks all the way to consul- a position for which I was reelected an unprecedented seven times during my career. While campaigning for my first consulship, I earned the respect of the troops by conducting myself respectfully towards them, and sharing meals and jobs with them. I proved that I could capture Jugurtha, King of Numidia, and end the war more quickly than my rival, Metellus. As a hard-worker who worked his way up the ladder of office, citizens viewed me as a man of the people who stood against corrupt nobility. I fulfilled promises by conquering Numidia; earning a triumph upon my homecoming. In 107 BC, I saw need for more troops to repel the barbarians who threatened the borders of the Empire. Before this, standards to become a Roman soldier had been very strict; every soldier was to supply his own uniform and weapons. I lessened these strict policies by removing the requirement for a soldier to own land, and allowed all Roman citizens to enter the military, no matter which class they were from. This brought many unemployed into the military, greatly increasing its strength. These played a major role in the later success of Rome and helped transform it from a republic to an empire. One of my very few faults would be the negative impacts of my significance contributions to Rome’s transition. Overall, my greatest successes were the major reforms of the Roman armies and the reorganization of the legions. Despite these very minor negatives, I am definitely the greatest leader in the history of the world because of my many effective achievements for my country and people.

__ Bibliography __

Wikipedia. Accessed April 9, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Marius.

Lendering, Jona. Livius. Accessed April 9, 2012. [].

History World. Accessed April 9, 2012. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ael3