Gaius Marius (consul 82 BC)

Otherwise known as Younger Marius or Marius the Younger (110 BC/108 BC - 82 BC). Marius was born in Rome between 110-108 BC. His father Gaius Marius was seven times consul, a General and Roman Revolutionist, and his mother Julia was a parental aunt to Julius Caesar. His cousin Caesar always thought highly of him and his father.

In his younger years, Marius was educated with Titus Pomponius Atticus and Marcus Tullius Cicero by Greek tutors. Like his father, Marius sought his base of support amongst the plebeians. When his father died in 86 BC, he assumed control of his faction. He is said to have lacked his father's charisma and courted popularity on the family name.

During his consulship in 82 BC, he married Mucia Tertia (future wife of Gnaeus Pompey Magnus). Although there was an age gap, Tertia’s father was of a similar political disposition.

In the Civil War in 82 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his army defeated the armies of Marius at the fortress city of Praeneste. At the end of the siege Marius committed suicide.