The Storm Before the Storm полностью

Saturninus’s growing coalition also included the Italian Allies, because all of Marius’s veterans would qualify for the land grants, not just Roman citizens. Marius himself was a provincial Italian who hailed from a city that had only been fully enfranchised a generation before he was born. He was, and always remained, thoroughly pro-Italian in his politics. During the course of the wars he frequently doled out citizenship for acts of valor, even going so far as to enfranchise an entire cohort of Italians from Camerinum after the victory against the Cimbri. When his arbitrary—and possibly illegal—enfranchisement of his soldiers was challenged, Marius caustically retorted that “the clash of arms had prevented his hearing the voice of the law.”²⁶

But while on the dusty plains of battle it was impossible to distinguish Roman from Italian, back in Rome the citizens knew the distinction well. As usual they grumbled at the land being offered to mere Allies. This cleavage in Saturninus’s coalition allowed the optimates to finally rally opposition. Tapping into the resentful pride of the plebs urbana, the optimates formed gangs of their own that disrupted Saturninus’s activities wherever they could. Violent street clashes became a routine matter of state.²⁷

But despite these clashes, Saturninus pushed through the bill allotting land to Marius’s veterans. Aware that it might be repealed when he left office, Saturninus inserted a clause requiring every senator to swear an oath that they would never repeal the law upon pain of banishment. With this oath, Saturninus and Marius had laid another trap for the hated Metellus Numidicus. Marius personally addressed the Senate and registered his approval of the law, but expressed misgivings about the oath, providing cover for more conservative senators like Metellus who were aghast at the requirement. But just hours before the deadline to take the oath, Marius abruptly changed his mind. He told his fellow senators he was going to swear the oath and walked over to the Temple of Saturn for the ceremony. Without time to think, the other senators had only minutes to choose between taking the oath and going into exile. They all chose to swear the oath—even optimate stalwarts like Scaurus and Crassus. The only one who refused was Metellus Numidicus. Saturninus’s supporters menaced him to the point of riot, but announcing that he could not abide such violence on his own account, Metellus accepted exile. “For,” he said, “either matters will mend and the people will change their minds and I shall return at their invitation, or, if matters remain as they are, it is best that I should be away.” Saturninus duly carried a law prohibiting any Roman from offering Metellus fire, water, and shelter. Throngs of tearful friends and clients accompanied Metellus Numidicus to the gates of Rome to watch him depart for exile.²⁸

But as they celebrated finally nailing Metellus, Saturninus and Glaucia were about to discover that their marriage of convenience with Marius had come to an end. With land for his veterans secured, and his old nemesis Metellus finally dispensed with, Marius had nothing further to gain from backing the radicals. His labors complete, Marius could now move on to consolidate his own position inside the nobility and transition to life as a powerful elder statesman. But for Saturninus and Glaucia, all these laws were just the beginning. As they pushed forward, Marius drew back, and the stage was set for a final bloody confrontation.

WITH THE ELECTIONS for 99 approaching, Saturninus and Glaucia planned to push their agenda even further. Saturninus ran for reelection as tribune and was joined by the “son” of Tiberius Gracchus. In a shot across the bow, Marius ordered the fake Gracchus arrested for fraud and tossed in prison. The fake Gracchus was later sprung from jail and Saturninus won reelection; but it was obvious Marius was no longer on their side.²⁹

This political break was confirmed when the consular election began. Three men emerged as frontrunners. The popular orator Marcus Antonius, recently returned in triumph from his suppression of Cilician pirates, had the full backing of the optimates; his election was nearly guaranteed. The leading contender for the other spot was Gaius Memmius. Having built his own career railing against the corrupt nobility during the Jugurthine War, Memmius was a powerful populare candidate who threatened to leave no space for the third man in the ring: Gaius Servilius Glaucia.³⁰