When you hear about ancient battles and wars, the stories are often dominated by famous generals whose names have come down to us through history.

However, military success often relied on more mundane things.

In the year 107 BC, a Roman general and statesman by the name of Gaius Marius did exactly such a thing

when he overhauled the Roman military. Learn more about the Marian reforms and how they set the

stage for the Roman Empire on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Surf Shark VPN.

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Before we get into the details about what the Marian reforms were, we first need to understand why they were necessary.

When Rome started out it was just a city and it controlled a small territory.

As with every ancient culture, the economy was dependent on agriculture. When wars or battles were fought, they were fought mostly with land-owning farmers.

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