the barbarians had
divided their forces. The Cimbri marched round the northern foot of the
Alps, in order to enter Italy by the northeast, crossing the Tyrolese
Alps by the defiles of Tridentum (_Trent_). The Teutones and Ambrones,
on the other hand, marched against Marius, intending, as it seems, to
penetrate into Italy by Nice and the Riviera of Genoa. Marius, anxious
to accustom his soldiers to the savage and strange appearance of the
barbarians, would not give them battle at first. The latter resolved to
attack the Roman camp; but as they were repulsed in this attempt, they
pressed on at once for Italy. So great were their numbers, that they are
said to have been six days in marching by the Roman camp. As soon as
they had advanced a little way, Marius followed them; and thus the
armies continued to march for a few days, the barbarians in the front
and Marius behind, till they came to the neighborhood of Aquae Sextiae
(_Aix_). Here the decisive battle was fought. An ambush of 3000
soldiers, which Marius had stationed in the rear of the barbarians, and
which fell upon them when they were already retreating, decided the
fortune of the day. Attacked both in front and rear, and also dreadfully
exhausted by the excessive heat of the weather, they at length broke
their ranks and fled. The carnage was dreadful; the whole nation was
annihilated, for those who escaped put an end to their lives, and their
wives followed their example. Immediately after the battle, as Marius
was in the act of setting fire to the vast heap of broken arms which was
intended as an offering to the gods, horsemen rode up to him, and
greeted him with the news of his being elected Consul for the fifth
time.

The Cimbri, in the mean time, had forced their way into Italy. The
colleague of Marius, Q. Lutatius Catulus, despairing of defending the
passes of the Tyrol, had taken up a strong position on the Athesis
(Adige); but, in consequence of the terror of his soldiers at the
approach of the barbarians, he was obliged to retreat even beyond the
Po, thus leaving the whole of the rich plain of Lombardy exposed to
their ravages. Marius was therefore recalled to Rome. The Senate offered
him a triumph for his victory over the Teutones, which he declined while
the Cimbri were in Italy, and proceeded to join Catulus, who now
commanded as Proconsul (B.C. 101). The united armies of the Consul and
Proconsul crossed the Po, and hastened in search of the Cimbri, wh