First Triumvirate

This article is about Roman political alliance between Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar. For the 19th century AD Argentinian alliance, see First Triumvirate (Argentina).

From left to right: Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey the Great

The First Triumvirate was an unofficial political alliance known as an Amitica, between three prominent Roman politicians (triumvirs) which included Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus. "Pompey and Caesar now formed a pact, jointly swearing to oppose all legislation of which any one of them might disapprove. It lasted from approximately 59 BCE to Crassus' defeat by the Parthians in 53 BCE. The alliance was "not at heart a union of those with the same political ideals and ambitions", but one where "all [were] seeking personal advantage."

Creation

Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompey had been colleagues in the consulship in 70 BC, when they had legislated the full restoration of the tribunate of the people. However, since that time, the two men had entertained considerable antipathy for one another, each believing the other to have gone out of his way to increase his own reputation at his colleague's expense. Caesar contrived to reconcile the two men, and then combined their clout with his own to have himself elected consul in 59 BC; as Goldsworthy notes, "Caesar used persuasiveness and charm to convince the old enemies" that he could give them what they wanted if they both joined in supporting him. Caesar and Crassus were already allies, Crassus already having made "substantial loans" to Caesar, and he solidified his alliance with Pompey by giving him his daughter, Julia, in marriage. Each triumvir had their own reasons for joining together; per Goldsworthy, "Pompey wanted land for his veterans and ... ratification of his eastern settlement … Crassus... relief for the tax collectors of Asia… [Caesar] needed powerful backers if he was to achieve anything."

The Triumvirate was kept secret until the Senate obstructed Caesar's proposed agrarian law establishing colonies of Roman citizens, and the associated distribution of portions of the public lands (ager publicus). He promptly brought the law before the Council of the People in a speech that found him flanked by Crassus and Pompey, whose enthusiastic support thus revealed the alliance. Caesar's agrarian law was carried through, and the Triumviri then proceeded to allow the demagogue Publius Clodius Pulcher's election as tribune of the people, successfully ridding themselves both of Marcus Tullius Cicero and Cato the Younger, both adamant opponents of the Triumviri.

Caesar was elected consul jointly with Marcus Bibulus. The senate awarded Caesar and Bibulus "the woods and roads" as their proconsul territory, for which Caesar took offense.

The Triumvirate proceeded to make further arrangements for itself; through a tribune, Caesar passed his own ruling on the proconsul territory matter, the triumvirate naming him proconsul of both Gauls (Gallia Cisalpina and Gallia Transalpina), and of the Roman province of Illyricum, with command of four legions, for five years. Caesar's new father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, was made consul for the year 58 BC.

By 56 BC, the bonds between the three men were fraying, so Caesar invited Crassus, then Pompey, to a secret meeting, the Lucca Conference, to rethink their joint strategy, a meeting that renewed their political alliance. They agreed that Pompey and Crassus would again stand for the consulship in 55 BC; once elected, they would extend Caesar's command in Gaul by five years. At the end of their joint consular year, Pompey would keep Hispania in absentia, and Crassus would have the influential and lucrative governorship of Syria and use it as a base to conquer Parthia

The alliance allowed the triumvirs to dominate Roman politics completely, but it would not last indefinitely due to the ambitions, egos, and jealousies of the three. Caesar and Crassus were implicitly "hand-in-glove", but Pompey disliked Crassus and grew increasingly envious of Caesar's spectacular successes in the Gallic War, whereby he annexed the whole of the Three Gauls to Rome.

Death of Crassus and Pompey and breakdown of relations

Julia's death during childbirth and Crassus's ignominious defeat and death at Carrhae at the hands of the Parthians in 53 BC effectively undermined the alliance. Pompey remained in Rome, governing his Spanish provinces through lieutenants, and remained in virtual control of the city throughout that time. He gradually drifted further and further from his alliance with Caesar, eventually marrying the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Cornelianus Scipio Nasica, one of the boni ("Good Men"), an archconservative faction of the Senate steadfastly opposed to Caesar.

Pompey was elected consul without colleague in 52 BC, and took part in the politicking which led to Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BC, starting the Civil War. Pompey was made commander-in-chief of the war by the Senate, and was defeated by his former ally Caesar at Pharsalus despite the fact that he heavily out-numbered Caesar's army. Pompey's subsequent murder in Egypt in an inept political intrigue left Caesar sole master of the Roman world.

The death of both Crassus and Pompey secured the breakdown of the First Triumvirate, as only one triumvir remained: Caesar.

Family tree

Family tree showing the relationship between the three members of the First Triumvirate, as well as their relationships with other prominent members of the Republic.

See also

• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• Triumvirate
• Second Triumvirate
• Assassination of Julius Caesar

Literature cited

• Boak, Arthur E.R. (1925). History of Rome to 565 A.D., New York:Macmillan, see [1], accessed 18 April 2015.
• Boatwright, Mary T.; Daniel J. Gargola & Richard J. A. Talbert (2004). The Romans: From Village to Empire, Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195118758, see [2], accessed 18 April 2015.
• Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (2014). "Julius Caesar (Roman ruler): The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul," and "Julius Caesar (Roman ruler): Antecedents and outcome of the civil war of 49–45 bcd," at Encyclopedia Britannica (online), see [3] and [4], accessed 18 April 2015.

External links

• Herodotuswebsite.co.uk - an article on how the First Triumvirate came into being. (Site no longer active, please refer to this link, accessed via the Wayback Machine)de:Triumvirat#Das Erste Triumvirat

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