For his victory over invading Germanic tribes in the Cimbrian War, he was dubbed "the third founder of Rome" (the first two being Romulus and Camillus). Rising from a well-off provincial Italian family in Arpinum, Marius rose to high office on his excellent record of military victories. He set the precedent for the shift from the militia levies of the middle Republic to the professional soldiery of the late Republic he also improved the pilum, a javelin, and made large-scale changes to the logistical structure of the Roman army. He was also noted for his important reforms of Roman armies. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. 157 BC – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman.