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The Cimbri gone after a flood some 2000 years ago. There is debate as to whether they were a Celtic or Germanic people. More than 100 years before the birth of Christ, many of the Cimbri, as well as the Teutoni, migrated south and west to the Danube valley, where they encountered the expanding Roman Empire. Another group of Cimbri may have migrated from Jutland along the Baltic Sea further east to what later become Prussia.

In 113 BC, the Cimbri and Teutoni invaded the lands of one of Rome's allies, the Taurisci , where they defeated a Roman army sent to defend the Taurisci. Continuing their migration southward and westward, some of the Cimbri passed through Gaul and into Spain, while others moved towards Italy. On their way, they picked up other allies among the resident Germanic and Celtic peoples. They came into frequent conflict with the Romans, who usually came out the losers. One of the greatest defeats the Romans suffered at the hands of the Cimbri and their allies was in 103 BC, when the proconsul Caepio and the consul Gn. Mallius Maximus lost as many as 20,000 men.

By 102 BCCenturies: 3rd century BC 2nd century BC 1st century BC Decades: 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC Years: 107 BC 106 BC 105 BC 104 BC 103 BC 102 BC 101 BC 100 BC 99 BC 98 BC 97 BC Events Marius defeats the, those Cimbri who had been in Spain had returned to join with their former comrades in a movement towards Italy. The consul MariusGaius Marius ( Latin: C·MARIVS·C·F·C·N) ( 157 January 13, 86 BC) was a Roman general and politician. Importance of Gaius Marius The career of Gaius Marius illustrates a number of the trends that would lead to the fall of the Republic. He was a novus homo led the campaigns against the Cimbri, whom his troops eventually destroyed at VercellaeIn 101BCE, Roman Consul Q. Catulus Caesar annihilated a large invasion force of the Germanic Cimbri near the settlement of Vercellae, located in Transpadane Gaul. Much credit for this victory has been given to the actions of his legate, L. Cornelius Sulla.