But Saturninus’s land-for-veterans proposal was as much about currying favor with Marius as building a political army. Nearing the end of his second consecutive consulship, Marius wielded enormous influence. Saturninus wanted to exploit that influence. He calculated that Marius would be well disposed toward a program to enrich the Numidian veterans. But in addition to taking care of Marius’s soldiers, Saturninus also orchestrated some mutually beneficial political theater in the Forum. Marius wanted to be reelected consul, but having already served twice in a row, another campaign might seem arrogant and vain. So Marius returned to Rome in the lead-up to the election for 102 and announced that he was not interested in another consulship and that the people should elect another man. Right on cue, Saturninus accused Marius of treason for leaving the citizens of Rome defenseless and roused his audience to demand that Marius take back the consulship. Marius was reelected overwhelmingly and in January 102 entered an unprecedented third consulship in a row, now his fourth in total.30
WHILE ALL OF this was unfolding, the slave uprising in Sicily continued to rage. Ironically triggered by the urgent need to fill out the armies in Gaul, the Senate now had to redirect legionaries to deal with the revolt. In 103, the beleaguered Senate instructed praetor Lucius Licinius Lucullus to raise as many men as he could and go take back Sicily. No doubt able to draw from southern communities terrified of the rebellion spreading to the mainland, and augmented by Sicilians with nothing left to do but fight, Lucullus cobbled together a force of about seventeen thousand men. Spooked by the arrival of this army—a real army this time—King Tryphon and Athenion marched out to confront Lucullus, hoping their superior numbers would carry the day. But their nearly 2 to 1 numerical advantage was not enough. In the ensuing battle the slaves broke and fled, leaving behind a reported twenty thousand dead.31
But despite his victory, Lucullus made no concerted effort to consolidate his position. It was not until nine days later that Lucullus finally led his forces to the fortified slave capital of Triocala. Lucullus made one attempt to capture the city, but when it proved too tough, the praetor withdrew back to Syracuse. Lucullus’s baffling conduct caused a scandal back in Rome, where he was condemned as man who “either through sloth and negligence, or corrupted by bribes, neglected entirely the proper conduct of his duty.” Instead of crushing the revolt, Lucullus had allowed it to persist. So in early 102, the Senate dispatched a replacement to take over the campaign.32
Feeling slighted after losing his command, Lucullus made a shocking announcement to his troops. He said that they had done their duty to the Senate and People of Rome and were hereby discharged. In addition to demobilizing the seventeen thousand men he had arrived with, Lucullus also “burned his palisades and fortification works, so as not to leave to his successor any useful resources for the conduct of war. Because he was being accused of dragging out the war, he believed that he could exonerate himself by ensuring the humiliation and failure of his successor.” Having left his successor with no army and no fortifications, it should come as no surprise that upon returning to Rome, Lucullus was brought up on charges and exiled.33
WHILE SICILY CONTINUED to burn in the spring of 102, the moment Gaius Marius had been waiting for in Gaul finally arrived: the Cimbri were coming back. Marius’s intelligence network was strong and he was informed early of their imminent return. He also learned that at least three other tribes had joined them in a grand anti-Roman alliance. Besides the Cimbri themselves were the Teutones and the Ambrones, both of which we can also trace back to the North Sea. Also joining the alliance were the Tigurini, who once again sought to take advantage of perceived Roman weakness.34
Marius was also told that the objective of the anti-Roman alliance was to break into Italy on two fronts. The Teutones and Ambrones would move down the Rhône valley and enter Italy from the northwest while the Cimbri would swing east and enter Italy from the northeast, near where they had first clashed with Caepio at Noreia. The Tigurini’s job would be to secure the passes through the Alps. The division of the invasion meant the Romans would have to divide their own defenses. While Marius remained in southern Gaul to face the Teutones and Ambrones, his consular colleague Quintus Lutatius Catulus headed to northeastern Italy to prevent the Cimbri from passing through the Alps.35
