The Senate gave their sanction to the proceeding by rewarding with the citizenship a slave of the name of Scaeva, who claimed the honor of having killed Saturninus. Marius had lost all influence in the state by allying himself with such unprincipled adventurers. In the following year (B.C. 99) he left Rome, in order that he might not witness the return of Metellus from exile, a measure which he had been unable to prevent. He set sail for Cappadocia and Galatia under the pretense of offering sacrifices which he had vowed to the Great Mother. He had, however, a deeper purpose in visiting these countries. Finding that he was losing his popularity while the Republic was at peace, he was anxious to recover his lost ground by gaining fresh victories in war, and accordingly repaired to the court of Mithridates, in hopes of rousing him to attack the Romans. The mad scheme of Saturninus, and the discredit into which Marius had fallen, had given new strength to the Senate. They judged the opportunity favorable for depriving the Equites of the judicial power which they had enjoyed, with only a temporary cessation, since the time of C. Gracchus. The Equites had abused their power, as the Senate had done before them. They were the capitalists who farmed the public revenues in the provinces, where they committed peculation and extortion with habitual impunity. When accused, they were tried by accomplices and partisans. Their unjust condemnation of Rutilius Rufus had shown how unfit they were to be intrusted with judicial duties. Rutilius was a man of spotless integrity, and while acting as lieutenant to Q. Mucius Scaevola, Proconsul of Asia in B.C. 95, he displayed so much honesty and firmness in repressing the extortions of the farmers of the taxes, that he became an object of fear and hatred to the whole body. Accordingly, on his return to Rome, a charge of malversation was trumped up against him, he was found guilty, and compelled to withdraw into banishment (B.C. 92).