born 0441; 126, Nursia, Sabini
died 73 BC
Roman statesman and military commander.
He commanded an army in the Social War , and he helped Marius take Rome (8786) in his struggle against Sulla . As praetor in 83 he was sent to Spain; he fled to Mauretania when Sulla pursued him but later overthrew Sulla's governor in Farther Spain and by 77 was ruler of most of Spain. When Pompey the Great and Metellus Pius finally arrived to put down the rebellion, he skillfully kept them at bay until the tide turned in his favour. When troop morale sank, he was murdered by a conspiracy of officers.