st which was yet to come with the most formidable antagonists the
Romans had ever encountered, and who were destined in after times to
subvert the empire.

(M964) The Cimbri formed a confederation with the Helvetii and the
Teutons, and after an unsuccessful attempt to sweep away the Belgae, who
resisted them, concluded to invade Italy, through Roman Gaul and the
Western passes of the Alps. They crossed the Rhone without difficulty, and
resumed the struggle with the Romans. Marius awaited them in a well-chosen
camp, well fortified and provisioned, at the confluence of the Rhone and
the Isere, by which he intercepted the passage of the barbarians, either
over the Little St. Barnard--the route Hannibal had taken--or along the
coast. The barbarians attacked the camp, but were repulsed. They then
resolved to pass the camp, leaving an enemy in the rear, and march to
Italy. Marius, for six days, permitted them to defile with their immense
baggage, and when their march was over, followed in the steps of the
enemy, who took the coast road. At Aquae Sextiae the contending parties came
into collision, and the barbarians were signally defeated; the whole horde
was scattered, killed, or taken prisoners. It would seem that these
barbarians were Teutons or Germans; but on the south side of the Alps, the
Cimbri and Helvetii crossed the Alps by the Brenner Pass, and descended
upon the plains of Italy. The passes had been left unguarded, and the
Roman army, under Catulus, on the banks of the Adige, suffered a defeat,
and retreated to the right bank of the Po. The whole plain between the Po
and the Alps was in the hands of the barbarians, who did not press
forward, as they should have done, but retired into winter quarters, where
they became demoralized by the warm baths and abundant stores of that
fertile and lovely region. Thus the Romans gained time, and the victorious
Marius, relinquishing all attempts at the conquest of Gaul, conducted his
army to the banks of the Po, and formed a junction with Catulus.

(M965) The two armies met at Vercillae, not far from the place where
Hannibal had fought his first battle on the Italian soil. The day of the
battle was fixed beforehand by the barbaric general and Marius, on the
30th of June, B.C. 101. A complete victory was gained by the Romans, and
the Cimbri were annihilated. The victory of the rough plebeian farmer was
not merely over the barbarians, but over the aristocracy. He became, in
conse