The theft of the gold was soon overshadowed by Caepio's prominent role in the defeat at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC, the greatest Roman disaster since Cannae. Now proconsul and unwilling to cooperate with his superior, the "novus homo" consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus, Caepio, eager for glory, provoked a battle with the Cimbri. The end result was a rout, with at least 70,000 Roman legionaries dead, and total losses numbering over 120,000.