1. The First Triumvirate

2. Marcus Licinius Crassus (115 BCE – 53 BCE) Marcus Licinius Crassus was the third and youngest son of Publius Licinius Crassus Dives, who was himself a consul and censor.

3. Their family was very wealthy, although they lost much of that wealth (through proscription) when they sided with Sulla in his march on Rome. After Sulla’s victory, Crassus rebuilt his family’s fortune through proscriptions, trafficking slaves, working his silver mines, and by buying and reselling homes and land. Crassus became one of the richest men in Rome, and was given the title Dives, which means “rich.”

4. He came from a long line of politicians, and with his wealth and connection to Sulla, he rose quickly up the political ladder. But, no matter how successful he was at politics and in his military career, Pompey’s successes always overshadowed his own. The Senate rewarded Pompey much more generously, which fuelled Crassus’ rivalry with him.

5. The Third Servile War broke out during his rise, led by a gladiator named Spartacus, and the consuls at the time were having no luck at stamping out the rebellion, which was starting to become a serious threat to Rome.

6. Crassus offered to equip, train, and lead new troops against the slaves, at his own expense. After fighting Spartacus and his rebels in the south of Italy for some time, Pompey and his army was about to return to Rome after being recalled. Spartacus didn’t want to be caught between the armies, and so pushed his men against Crassus’ troops. In this last battle Crassus was victorious. Spartacus died and 6000 slaves were captured alive.

7. Crassus ordered that the 6000 men be crucified along the Appian Way, a major road out of Rome. He never ordered that the bodies be taken down, so they hung there for years for travellers to see, as a reminder of what happens to those who rebel against Rome.

8. However, Crassus did not get recognition from the Senate for this great victory. Pompey sent a letter to the Senate claiming credit for ending the war. This infuriated Crassus, further fuelling his jealousy and greed.

9. Soon afterwards, both he and Pompey were elected consuls of Rome in 70 BCE. Around this time he became Caesar’s “patron”, financing his education and rise through the political and military ladders, and giving him political support. Caesar acted as a mediator between Crassus and Pompey, bringing the three of them closer to form the First Triumvirate around 60 BCE.

10. This was a secret deal between the three of them, that they would use their combined political and financial sway to ensure their power over Rome continued. Crassus and Pompey would make Caesar a consul in 59BCE, and in return Caesar would use his power to force whatever they wanted.

11. In 55 BCE he was again elected consul with Pompey, and was given the region of Syria to govern. Syria would have been an inexhaustible source of wealth for Crassus but he was too greedy, always wanting more wealth and power to match those accomplishments of Pompey and Caesar.

12. He attempted to conquer Parthia across the Euphrates, but was unsuccessful. His legions were defeated at the Battle of Carrhae (modern day Turkey).

13. Crassus’ men were near mutiny with this, and insisted he go to a meeting with the Parthian military leaders. He agreed, probably influenced by depression because his own son, Publius, was killed in the battle. At the meeting Crassus was seized and killed.

14. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106 BCE – 48 BCE) Pompey inherited both wealth and power from his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo. He had served in his father’s legions for 2 years, and when Strabo died when Pompey was 19 he took over his estates and the loyalty of his army.

15. As Sulla was now the Dictator of Rome, he ordered Pompey to Sicily and Africa to hunt down the remainder of the Marian party. Pompey had a unbroken string of victories in Africa, then returned to Rome as a hero of the people.

16. For this he demanded a triumph from the Senate, a very high honour reserved for praetors. Sulla refused to grant this at first as Pompey was only a privatus (private citizen), but Pompey refused to disband his legion and appeared at the gates of Rome with his demand, so Sulla gave in.

17. Pompey then demanded to be a proconsul, and after again threatening to not disband his legion, he was granted proconsul of Hispania. After conquering Quintus Sertorius and Marcus Vento, Marian generals, he gained control of the Iberian peninsula. This is where Pompey revealed his talents for administration and organization in battle. He was proving to be an excellent military leader.

18. Pompey and his army returned to Rome after being summoned back, and met 5000 of Spartacus’ rebel slaves who had escaped the battle won by Crassus. He slaughtered all 5000, and sent a letter to the Senate claiming his victory over Spartacus and the end of the Third Servile War.

19. Although some people (especially Crassus) thought Pompey was only good at stealing others’ glory, he had the love and admiration of the people.

20. Even though he was only a privatus and wasn’t of legal age to be elected consul, it still looked inevitable. After winning his second triumph for his victory in Hispania he was elected consul in 70 BCE with Crassus, at only 35 years of age. This was the first time a man had been elected directly from privatus to consul. Because of this he was hated by many noblemen, and loved all the more by the people.

21. Pompey openly broke with the aristocrats during his consulship. He was a darling of the masses, giving them back many rights that Sulla had taken away, such as restoring power to the tribunes. He was strongly supported in his consulship by Julius Caesar, which created the connection and friendship between the two.

22. After his consulship he was nominated to command the naval fleet against attacks by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. He was successful in wiping out the pirates over a three month span.

23. After that he was sent to the East for three years, where he expanded the territories of the Roman Republic. His victories were winning him the favour of the people, although some in the Senate were worried about his growing power. He returned to Rome in 61 BCE to his third triumph, a parade lasting two full days.

25. While he was gone Caesar had been gaining political power and his own favour with the people through his conquests, and offered him a place in the First Triumvirate with himself and Crassus.

26. As Caesar gained power the bonds between the three men were fraying, and in 56 BCE they had a secret meeting to determine their next moves. They decided that Pompey and Crassus would run for consulship again in 55 BCE, while Caesar continued his command of Gaul. Pompey was elected consul for a second time with Crassus, and governed Hispania in absentia (while not actually there).

27. In 52 BCE there was a lot of civil unrest in Rome, and the Senate asked Pompey to settle it with his authority. They granted him consul without a colleague (as many in the Senate were too suspicious of his motives to offer him dictatorship).

28. During this time Caesar’s popularity with the people was growing because of his conquests in Gaul. Pompey was getting jealous and afraid of him, as he was taking popularity and power away from Pompey himself, and he started passing laws that were obviously aimed at Caesar.

29. The first law he passed was to make it possible to be prosecuted for past electoral bribery, a tactic Caesar had used to get Pompey and Crassus elected to consul the second time. The second law was to make it impossible to stand for consulship in absentia, even though this was frequently done, and even protected by a previous law. The third law made it clear to Caesar that he would not be able to stand for consulship unless he turned over control of his armies. This would have left him completely defenceless to his enemies.

30. This forced Caesar to make an impossible decision. He decided to cross the Rubicon into the Italian peninsula.

31. Pompey and his army fled East from Caesar, and stopped in the city of Dyrrhachium, where he attempted to wait Caesar out while he laid siege to the city. In the siege Caesar lost 1000 men, but Pompey didn’t take advantage of this, and lost his opportunity to defeat Caesar. Caesar himself said, “Today the enemy would have won, if they had had a commander who was a winner.”

32. Caesar chased Pompey and his followers to Greece, where they had the bitter Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE. Pompey was expected to win this as he had a larger army, but mistakes were made by his men which led to his defeat. Pompey ran for his life, and met up with his wife and son. They decided to run to Egypt to seek refuge.

33. The young king of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII, and his servant Pothinus considered what they should do with Pompey, while he and his family waited offshore.

34. Pothinus had Pompey and a few of his comrades take a small boat to a waiting Egyptian party onshore, which he thought to be a welcoming party. When Pompey landed he was stabbed to death by his comrades while his wife and son watched from the sea.

36. His body was cremated and his head and seal were presented to Caesar as evidence that Pompey was dead. Caesar thought that the way Pompey was assassinated was a grave insult to his proud enemy and former friend, and put Pompey’s treacherous comrades and Pothinus to death.