[citation needed] Gracchus is first mentioned in 216 BC as a curule aedile;[3] he was made magister equitum in the dictatorship of Marcus Junius Pera after the defeat at Cannae.
[4] He was elected consul to serve for 215 BC, at the recommendation of the dictator whose orders he had faithfully obeyed even when obliged to abandon Italian allies to their fate.
[7] During his first consulship, Fabius and the senate decided to enlist slave volunteers into the Roman army in separate legions in return for their freedom.
He rapidly became known as an effective general of the volunteer slaves, winning their loyalty and trust for his clemency when some broke and ran from the field.
[9] During his consulship, he appointed Gaius Claudius Centho as dictator to oversee consular elections and commanded near Luceria in northern Italy.