Marian reforms
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The Marian reforms were putative changes to the composition and operation of the Roman army during the late Roman Republic usually attributed to Gaius Marius. The most important of these concerned the
The head of a pilum bent on impact after throwing
Modern reconstruction of a Roman aquila. Marius, according to Pliny, abolished non-eagle legionary standards.
1881 painting of Theodor Mommsen, who spread the idea of Marian reforms, especially in terms of cohortal legions, state-purchased equipment, and volunteer enlistment
Cimbrian War
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The Cimbrian or Cimbric War was fought between the Roman Republic and the Germanic and Celtic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons, Ambrones and Tigurini, who migrated from the Jutland peninsula into
Marian reforms
…in opening army recruitment, were undertaken during Marius' repeated consulships from 104 to 100 BC during which Rome faced the serious threat of Germanic invasion. Marius was credited with setting the precedent for recruiting the poor by the historian Valerius Maximus writing in the early 1st century AD. Two…
The Defeat of the Cimbri, by Alexandre Gabriel Décamps, 1833
Marius as victor over the invading Cimbri