You are right, the generals upgrade does not depend on the Marianus reforms, it is given by the imperial palace. I don't know how I came up with that idea considering I've actually seen the upgrade bonus in the buildings file. The idea with Carthage is nice but I guess there's no point in triggering the reforms unless you're Roman. So much for "saving" Rome for later I guess. I'll stay carefully away from them until I can get an army to match their own and conquer the rest of the Romans in the meantime. Thanks for the info.