Gracchi Marius was a Roman general. Marius employed his soldiers to defeat an invasion by the Germanic Climbri and Teutons. His political influence and military leadership allowed him to obtain many successive terms as consul. Sulla was a subordinate who contested against Marius for supreme power. Sulla seized power and marched to the east with his soldiers. Marius himself launched a coup in Sulla's absence and put to death some of his enemies. When Sulla returned with his army he became dictator and a reign of terror followed. Sulla stripped people of their power and made the senators...

From the preface: "It would be scarcely possible for anyone writing on the period embraced in this volume, to perform his task adequately without making himself familiar with Mr. Long's 'History of the Decline of the Roman Republic' and Mommsen's 'History of Rome.' To do over again (as though the work had never been attempted) what has been done once for all accurately and well, would be mere prudery of punctiliousness. But while I acknowledge my debt of gratitude to both these eminent historians, I must add that for the whole period I have carefully examined the original authorities, often...