Battle of Arausio - Aftermath

Aftermath

Rome was a war-faring nation and was accustomed to setbacks. However, the recent string of defeats ending in the calamity at Arausio was alarming for all the people of Rome. The defeat left them with a critical shortage of manpower but also with a terrifying enemy camped on the other side of the now-undefended Alpine passes. In Rome, it was widely thought that the defeat was due to the arrogance of Caepio rather than to a deficiency in the Roman Army, and popular dissatisfaction with the ruling classes grew.

As it turned out, the Cimbri next clashed with the Arverni tribe, and after a hard struggle set out for the Pyrenees instead of immediately marching into Italy. This gave the Romans time to re-organise and elect the man who would become known as the savior of Rome, Gaius Marius.

Plutarch, in his "Life of Marius," did mention that the soil of the fields the battle had been fought upon were made so fertile by human remains that they were able to produce "magna copia" (a great quantity) of yield for many years.