In 169 BC, he served as a praetor, being assigned to
Hispania Citerior and
Hispania Ulterior. In 155 BC, he celebrated a
triumph against the
Apuani. In 152 BC he assumed his third
Consulship and replaced the previous Consul,
Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, in his command against the
Celtiberians in Spain. Having arrived with reinforcements, he negotiated the surrender of Ocilis and defeated the Nergobriges, before they and the other
Celtiberian tribes of the
Arevaci, the
Belli, and the Titthi, sued for peace with Rome. Marcellus sent ambassadors back to the Senate in Rome, urging them to accept the peace proposals and end the long war in Spain. The Senate however, refused and began gathering a new army to be again sent to Spain the following year, appointing
Lucius Licinius Lucullus, Consul-Elect for 151 BC, to replace Marcellus once his term as
Consul expired. Upon learning of this, Marcellus nevertheless remained resolved to make peace in Spain and end the war before
Lucullus' arrival. However, the Arevaci then attacked Nergobriga, the city of the Nergobriges, and broke the truce agreed with Marcellus. In retaliation, the Romans marched to besiege the
Arevaci capital of
Numantia; however, before the assault could begin, the Numantines re-opened negotiations for peace and, in a conference with Marcellus, the Numantine leader, Litenno, offered to make peace with Rome on behalf of the Arevaci, Belli and Titthi. Delighted, Marcellus accepted the offer and, the tribes having handed over the required hostages and money as guarantees that they would not break their promise, concluded the war in Spain before
Lucullus and his army arrived. During his consulship for either 169 or 152 BC he founded the city of Corduba (
Córdoba, Spain). ==References==