Whether through ignorance or corruption, this information was wrong; Caesar's soldiers were very loyal to him. The war ended with the head of Pompey … With the prospect of a campaign against the pirates, the prices of provisions fell. Archaeologists from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have pinpointed the exact spot where Roman senators stabbed Julius Caesar to death on March 15, 44 B.C., they announced yesterday. Another plebeian tribune, Gaius Manilius, proposed the lex Manilia. "[78] He was to have dominion over the waters of the entire Mediterranean and up to fifty miles inland for three years, empowered to pick fifteen lieutenants from the senate and assign specific areas to them, allowed to have 200 ships, levy as many soldiers and oarsmen as he needed and collect as much money from the tax collectors and the public treasuries as he wished. [28.1] Caesar had long ago decided that Pompey must be removed from his position of power; and Pompey, for that matter, had come to just the same decision about Caesar. He collected it in such abundance that the markets were filled and there was also enough to supply foreigners. The people praised him as the only politician who was willing to incur the enmity of both men for the good of Rome. He wanted all classes to recognize him as first citizen, available for further large-scale services to the state. Therefore, he ordered his fleet to blockade Mithridates and turned on the Albanians. He demanded an indemnity and ruled that the son should be king of Sophene, which Tigranes accepted. [150][151][152][153][154] A law that made Caesar governor of Gallia Cisalpina and Illyricum also passed. He united Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, which had been ravaged by the Arabians and Tigranes. The ambassadors of Aristobulus and Hyrcanus asked for his help, both offering Scaurus bribes and promises. The family possessed lands in Picenum, what is now the Marches region of eastern Italy, and a numerous body of clients, which Strabo greatly enlarged in the year of his consulship. He is a forgiving man, readily granting amnesty to everyone of Pompey's faction who deserts to his cause or surrenders to him after Pompey's defeat. He was urged to turn against him, since there were reports that Mithridates was preparing to march on Italy via the river Danube. Metellus then promptly defeated Hirtuleius at the Battle of Italica and marched after Sertorius. Pompey was granted an extension of his command in his provinces in Hispania and was given an annual sum for the maintenance of his troops. [114], Cassius Dio wrote that Pompey "arbitrated disputes and managed other business for kings and potentates who came to him. Pompey hesitated, and Cato stood for the consulship in order to deprive Caesar of his military command and have him tried, but he was not elected. Pompey also sent instructions to all the client rulers of the East to provide troops: Galatia, Cappadocia, Lesser Armenia, Lycia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Paphlagonia, Pontus, Greater Armenia, Commagene and Egypt all sent contingents. Pompey demanded the cession of Corduene, which Phraates was disputing with Tigranes, and sent Afrianius there, who occupied it unopposed and handed it to Tigranes before receiving a reply from Phraates. Caesar was joined by his 12th legion, which increased his numbers in Italy to two legions. The optimates favored entrusting Pompey with restoring order. "[72] According to Appian, however, there was a contention for honours between the two men—a reference to the fact that Pompey claimed that he had ended the slave rebellion led by Spartacus, whereas in actual fact Crassus had done so. The Marians had previously taken over Rome while Sulla was fighting the First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) against Mithridates VI in Greece. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. César Cervera FOLLOW. Plutarch wrote that Tigranes forbade him from coming and put a reward on him, while Cassius Dio did not mention a reward. Afrianius drove him out and pursued him as far as the area of Arbela, in northern Mesopotamia. Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus sought to further their careers despite an obstructionist majority in the Roman Senate. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Pompey entered Lesser Armenia, which was not under Tigranes' rule. The reforms reflected Sulla's view of the plebeian tribunate as a source of subversion that roused the "rabble" (the plebeians) against the aristocracy. Appian wrote that Sertorius fell unto "habits of luxury," drinking and consorting with women. According to Appian, the war against the pirates lasted only a few days. However, Pompey "treated Carbo in his misfortunes with an unnatural insolence," taking Carbo in fetters to a tribunal he presided over, examining him closely "to the distress and vexation of the audience," and finally, sentencing him to death. Caesar obtained the neutrality of Aemilius Paullus with a large sum of money, and the help of Curio by paying off his debts. When Caesar was given Pompey's seal ring, he cried. One of his accomplishments was ridding the area of pirates. Pompey's army outnumbered Caesar's, by almost 2:1. They were then to secure the command of provinces and armies for themselves and confirm his provinces for a further five years. A grateful Cicero stopped opposing Pompey. Pompey tried to have his numerically superior cavalry outflank Caesar's left wing and rout his army. However, much of Cilicia Pedias belonged to the kingdom of Armenia. Both Syria and Judea were lacking stability. Pompey could not look at Mithridates' body and sent it to Sinope. Pompey's remains were taken to Cornelia, who gave them burial at his Alban villa. Caesar sent a detachment to Ariminum (Rimini), the first town in Italy, and took it by surprise. This contrasts with the account of Plutarch, who did not mention any action in Judea. He won several naval victories off Cilicia and occupied the coasts of nearby Lycia and Pamphylia. "[109] According to Plutarch and Cassius Dio, instead, it was at this point that Pompey turned north. [145] Pompey never gave an insight into his own personal fortune, but it must have been vast. Plutarch thought that fear of Crassus had led Pompey and Caesar to be decent to each other and his death paved the way for the subsequent friction between these two men and the events that eventually led to civil war. The Senate was suspicious of both men, but deemed Pompey to be less of a threat and hated Caesar because he had disregarded the Senate when he was consul. For while the public rejoicing was great, a spirit of arrogance came upon Pompey, which went beyond the calculations based upon facts, and, throwing to the winds caution... he indulged himself in unlimited confidence and contempt for Caesar's power, feeling that he would need neither an armed force to oppose him nor any irksome labor of preparation, but that he would pull him down much more easily than he had raised him up. However, he then fled to the river. [93] The law was supported by Julius Caesar and justified by Cicero in his extant speech Pro Lege Manilia. [173][174] Plutarch wrote that Caesar felt that this was the end of his good relationship with Pompey. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The two forces fought the Battle of Pharsalus. He took and destroyed two strongholds being used by brigands: Lysias, ruled over by a Jewish brigand named Silas, and Syria's old military capital, Apameia. He also gave rewards to philosophers in Athens and gave the city money towards its restoration (it had been damaged by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during the First Mithridatic War). This area of Anatolia came truly under Roman control after Pompey's victories. He was initially called Magnus (“the Great”) by his troops in Africa (82–81 bce), and he … Once in office Lepidus attempted revolution, and Pompey promptly joined the forces of law and order against him. Claudius Marcellus called Caesar a robber and urged for him to be voted a public enemy unless he should lay down his arms. This turned the soldiers who had to stay behind against Sulla, but Pompey said that he would rather kill himself than go against Sulla. The outgoing commander and his replacement traded insults. These soldiers had subsequently remained in Egypt as part of the Ptolemaic army. The people called for a reconciliation. Earlier, Julius Caesar's aunt had married Marius, the urban plebeians' late hero, in an alliance that conferred aristocratic connections on Marius and access to money for Caesar's family. He wrote that Tigranes arrested his envoys because he thought that Mithridates was responsible for a rebellion by his son. Caesar went to Apollonia to leave his wounded men there, pay his army, encourage his allies and leave garrisons in the towns. He gave Lesser Armenia to Galatia under the Roman client king Deiotarus as a reward for his loyalty to Rome. One of them, Pharnaces II, plotted against him. Pompey grew wary of Caesar’s growing ambitions and drew closer to the Roman senatorial establishment. Pompey was concerned about the political instability to the southeast of Rome's new provinces in Asia Minor. Rubicon River divided Gaul provinces from Italy. He secured the obedience of his troops, but not their true loyalty. [18], The survivors of the Marians, those who were exiled after they lost Rome and those who escaped Sulla's persecution of his opponents, were given refuge on Sicily by Marcus Perpenna Vento. Livy wrote: "Having subdued the Cretans, Quintus Metellus gave laws to their island, which had until then been independent. Then, pretending fear, he pulled back drawing the enemy after him. He turned away, loathing the man who brought Pompey's head. In 49 BCE Julius Caesar crossed into Italy with his veteran soldiers, an act of war against the Roman Senate. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Greek author Plutarch of Chaeronea describes this marriage in chapter 53 of his Life of Pompey. Piso was nearly stripped of his consulship, but Pompey prevented Aulus Gabinius from proposing a bill to this effect. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Although his father had fought for Sulla’s enemy Gaius Marius in the first civil war, Pompey joined Sulla in 83 BCE with three legions. Two of the new plebeian tribunes, Mark Antony and Quintus Cassius Longinus, did not allow the motions to be ratified. According to Appian, as soon as Pompey arrived, he marched to lift the siege of Lauron, where he suffered a substantial defeat at the hands of Sertorius himself. Caesar went to Rome, after which he embarked on an astonishing 27-day forced march to Hispania and defeated the troops Pompey had there. "[143] His triumphs were for victories in Africa, Hispania and Asia. He recognised that they had undertaken piracy due to the poverty caused by the mentioned war and settled many of them in Mallus, Adana, Epiphania or any other uninhabited or thinly populated town in Cilicia. Contributions were also to be levied from the allied cities as quickly as possible. Like their forebears, Caesar and Pompey had also been firm allies, but the need of the … By 163 BC, the Maccabean Revolt established the independence of Judea. to draw Pompey away from the coast and from his stores at Dyrrhachium, and fight him in equal conditions; to go to Italy with his army and that of Gnaeus Domitius' via Illyria, should Pompey cross back to Italy; Pompey makes a guest appearance in the French comic book, In comics, Pompey appears as Julius Caesar's foe throughout the, He appears as a major character in the season 1 of the, 89 BC – Serves under his father at Asculum (during the. Artoces fled across the river Pelorus and made overtures, but Pompey would agree to terms only if he sent his children as hostages. The same action had been taken in Rhodes against Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, the consul of the previous year, and Publius Lentulus, an ex-consul, who were also escaping. Finally, in 67, the tribune Aulus Gabinius forced a bill through the popular assembly empowering Pompey to settle the pirate problem. Pompey moved on to Colchis and wanted to march to the Cimmerian Bosporus against Mithridates. [24][25], Catulus, who had recruited an army at Rome, now took on Lepidus, directly defeating him in a battle just to the north of Rome. [229], Plutarch tells us that Pompey built himself a house in the vicinity of the theater, "like a dinghy behind a yacht," more splendid than his old house on the Carinae but not extravagant enough to incite envy. When they got close to Artaxata (the royal residence), Tigranes, knowing Pompey's leniency, surrendered and allowed a Roman garrison in his palace. Water was also scarce, because Caesar had cut off the local streams. When the moon rose, it was behind the Romans, creating shadows and causing confusion for the enemy. Moreover, Pompey's cavalry was hindered by the narrow passages of the fortifications, many of which were occupied by Caesar's troops. From there, he reached the coast with a retinue of 30 cavalry and boarded a grain ship.[209]. [186][187], In Plutarch's version, Curio's demands were very popular. Pompey learned of this and invaded his territory, catching him unaware. By 72 BC, the year of his assassination, Sertorius was already in a desperate situation and his troops were deserting. During their joint consulate, they substantially repealed Sulla’s political reforms by restoring the powers of the tribunes and stripping senators of their monopoly as jurors on standing courts. The Cretans called on Pompey to come to Crete, claiming that it was under his jurisdiction. Metellus persisted, captured and punished the pirates, and sent Octavius away after insulting him in front of the army. [26][27][28][29], Quintus Sertorius, the last survivor of the Cinna-Marian faction (Sulla's main opponents during the civil wars of 88-80 BC), waged an effective guerrilla war against the officials of the Sullan regime in Hispania. [140], Appian gave the names of the paraded children of Mithridates VI. In 65 BC, Artoces, the king of the Iberians, who also feared an invasion, prepared to attack the Romans. Cassius Dio described Pompey's troop levy as a "small band. [194][195][196][197], From Dyrrhachium, Pompey marched to Macedonia, where he set up a training area and a camp at Beroea, a town in the lower Haliacmon valley, sixty kilometers west of Thessalonica. The consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus, canvassing for the command of the Third Mithridatic War, believing that it would bring glory with little difficulty and fearing that Pompey would leave the Sertorian War to take on the Mithridatic one, ensured that the money was sent to keep Pompey. When he got there, 7,000 of the enemy forces went over to him. Their king begged for mercy and Pompey pardoned him. Pompey sought to contest each hilltop, thereby making the effort more difficult. [137], In the Senate, Pompey was probably equally admired and feared. There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money: yet did Pompey touch nothing of all this, on account of his regard to religion; and in this point also he acted in a manner that was worthy of his virtue." [129] Josephus did write that Pompey marched on Nabataea, but did not mention the reason for this. By 100 BC, the Seleucid Empire was reduced to a few cities in western Syria. Commissioners were sent to investigate and the soldiers mocked Lucullus in front of the commission. Once Pompey is out of the way, several leading Roman citizens, including Brutus, decide that Julius Caesar may become a dictator, now that he doesn't have to share his power with Pompey. After a lengthy siege, Brutus surrendered. "[142] Plutarch wrote "That which most enhanced his glory and had never been the lot of any Roman before, was that he celebrated his third triumph over the third continent. Either in the porticus or the theater itself were numerous statues, the arrangement of which was entrusted to Cicero's good friend Atticus. Caesar was neither sure nor safe, whether he should come to Rome and run for consul. Plutarch wrote that "Crassus, for all his self-approval, did not venture to ask for the major triumph, and it was thought ignoble and mean in him to celebrate even the minor triumph on foot, called the ovation (a minor victory celebration), for a servile war. Plutarch wrote that, in Rome, Pompey was looked upon with both fear and great expectation. He was asked to stand for the consulship, even though he was only 35 and thus below the age of eligibility to the consulship, and had not held any public office, much less climbed the cursus honorum (the progression from lower to higher offices). In capturing the farthest outposts possible, Pompey intended to cause Caesar to stretch his lines farther, and thinner, thereby exposing weak spots in the line. Such developments increased the long-standing hostility between Jews and Hellenized people.[134]. Cassius Dio commented that Pompey was "always in the habit of pretending as far as possible not to desire the things he really wished. Josephus wrote that after his siege of the Temple in Jerusalem, Pompey gave the governorship of Syria (for 62 BC) as far as the river Euphrates and Egypt to Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, giving him two legions. When he completed matters in Judea, he went to Cilicia instead of Amisus. He hemmed in and killed many pirates, besieging the remnants. It was while he was encamped near Petra that he was told that Mithridates was dead, and he then left Arabia and went to Amisus. He was defeated continually. Pompey sent in an army led by Piso and placed garrisons in the city and at the palace, yet the enemy refused to negotiate. Therefore, before his envoys could return, Pompey planned his flight to Campania to pursue the war from there. He also mentioned Strato's Tower (later called Caesarea Maritima), Arethusa (now replaced by Al-Rastan) in Syria, and the city of Gaza as being restored to their people. Extraordinary commands would have to be created if Rome was to recover control of the sea from pirates. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Pompey decided he should let the consuls and their new recruits cross over to Dyrrhachium first, and they left by 8 March. A number of the cities in Judea and Galilee also adopted the Pompeian era. He annexed Syria and left Judaea as a dependent, diminished temple state. He gave some of his daughters in marriage to the more powerful Scythian princes. He was a relatively apolitical person; he went with issue at hand. The Senate disagreed and he dismissed the motion without coming to a resolution. Inscriptions carried in front of the procession indicated the nations he defeated (the Kingdom of Pontus, Armenia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Media, Colchis, Caucasian Iberia, Caucasian Albania, Syria, Cilicia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Judaea and Nabataea) and claimed that 900 cities, 1,000 strongholds, 800 pirate ships and 1,000 pirates were captured and that 39 cities were founded. The play opens with Julius Caesar having defeated his former friend and co-ruler Pompey, and everyone in Rome congratulating him on that. Pompey wrote to Metellus to urge him to stop the war and sent one of his lieutenants, Lucius Octavius. When Pompey was about to cross the river, Artoces sued for peace. Only Oroeses, the king of the Caucasian Albanians, and Artoces, the king of the Caucasian Iberians, resisted him. He rebuilt the city of Garara and restored seven inland cities and four coastal ones to its inhabitants. The camps of the opposing forces were close, thus Pompey sent a messenger to announce his arrival to Ptolemy and to request his aid. [115] Antiochus XIII Philadelphus (one of the last rulers of Syria) asked for them back, to no avail, and Pompey put them under Roman jurisdiction. Pompey penned up Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Lepidus's lieutenants, in Mutina. said Philippus, 'but as proconsuls,' implying that both the consuls of that year were good for nothing. On his arrival, Pompey cut to pieces 6,000 fugitives from the battle. There were detachments of Pompey standing around the senate house, that secretly went to Caesar along with Curio. Caesar had the support of the people and Pompey had the support of the aristocrats. During the campaign in Greece, he managed to regain the initiative, join his forces to that of Metellus Scipio (something that Caesar wanted to avoid) and trap his enemy. The men posted on the rampart could not withstand the shower of javelins and left their positions. The consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer opposed the bill very effectively. The Romans referred to Strabo as a novus homo (new man). This was because he had "helped Antiochus or Tigranes before him. He had finally decided to abandon Italy and to complete his war preparations in Greece. He asked the cities in the area for money to man his ships and looked for a temporary refuge in case the enemy caught up with him. In his version, instead, Pompey and Crassus agreed to stand for the consulship between themselves as a counterpoise to Caesar. [98] In Appian's account, when the deserters heard about the demand to hand them back, Mithridates swore that he would not make peace with the Romans and that he would not give them up.[99]. Pompey died the day before his 58th birthday. While the Sicilian cities had been treated harshly by Perpenna, Pompey treated them with kindness. [118] At the beginning of the campaigning season of 63 BC, Pompey left Antioch and marched south. He omitted Pompey from his will.[23]. Although Pompey never actually appears in this play he is important in helping to set the play's action in motion. In 60 BC, Pompey joined Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar in the unofficial military-political alliance known as the First Triumvirate, which Pompey's marriage to Caesar's daughter Julia helped secure. They were subduing Armenia and the adjacent part of Pontus, and, in the south, Afrianius was advancing to the river Tigris; that is, towards Parthia. He already had with him the five legions he brought from Italy, and to these were added four more; the veteran settlers in Macedonia and Crete provided one, the remains of the two legions which formed the permanent garrison of Cilicia provided one; and the consul Lentulus, now governor of Asia, recruited two more. [179][180], Pompey married Cornelia, a daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica. Part of the first triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey was known as Pompey the Great. [217] Pompey's tactics were usually efficient, albeit not particularly innovative or imaginative, and they could prove insufficient against greater tacticians. When Julius Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon River in defiance of the Senate and kicking off the Second Civil War in Rome, Cneo Pompey he put himself in front of the side of the optimates, proclaimed sentries of the old essences of the Republic. Caesar now worked to undo the Sullan constitution in cooperation with Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius), who had started his career as a lieutenant of Sulla but had changed sides since Sulla’s death. Pompey divided the sea and the coast into thirteen districts, each assigned to a commander with his own forces. 'No, indeed!' In the accounts of Plutarch and Cassius Dio, instead, he went to Armenia first and to Colchis later. Most were resettled in Dyme in Achaea, Greece, which was underpopulated and had plenty of good land. Pompey decided to arbitrate the dispute later, at the beginning of spring, and marched to Damascus. Appian wrote that this success gave Pompey great reputation and power. Domitius, who was only a four-hour march away, avoided the danger and joined Caesar, who was on his way to Aeginium, a town just past the border of Thessaly. He had his son Machares, who ruled it and had gone over to the Romans, killed and recovered that country. Based, so it was said, on that of Mytilene, it was Rome's first stone theater and a landmark in the history of Roman architecture. Cassius Dio added that Pompey had sent a detachment to pursue him, but he outstripped them by crossing the river Phasis. The pirates pillaged coastal fields and towns. There was unrest among the scared deserters, which were joined by some of Mithridates' men, who feared having to fight without them. [172], In 54 BC, Pompey was the only member of the triumvirate who was in Rome. The two men received the submission of several towns. He sent a force under Afrianius against Phraates, who was plundering the subjects of Tigranes in Gordyene. Soli was among these cities. Caesar also enjoyed the support of Marcus Licinius Crassus, allegedly Rome's wealthiest man and a political force on his own, who had also seen his agenda blocked by the optimates. According to Appian, the aim of this was to create prejudice against Caesar, who did not seem likely to give up his command, and to have a successor for Caesar's command appointed immediately, thus forcing Caesar to disband his armies, while Pompey retained his with impunity. [10] As his father's heir, Pompey could be held to account. Pompey married Caesar’s daughter Julia to secure their bond. Pompey was not much into politics as an ideal. I will simplify. Moreover, he reproached his Roman soldiers for treachery. Phraates brought many charges against Tigranes and many insinuations against the Romans. Papirius Carbo had a fleet there, and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus had forced entry into the Roman province of Africa. He sent letters throughout Italy that challenged Pompey, who responded with a letter campaign himself and tried to make Caesar look as if he had turned down reasonable terms. [130] Strabo in his Geographica gives a short account of Pompey's siege of the temple, in line with the account of Josephus. Caesar gave them 250 drachmas and sent them to Rome, together with a legion of his own. He also had the support of his war veterans: "Prestige, wealth, clients, and loyal, grateful veterans who could be readily mobilized—these were the opes which could guarantee [Pompey's] brand of [power]. Greece), whether Greeks or Romans, were to take an oath. His adversaries also gave him the nickname adulescentulus carnifex ("teenage butcher") for his ruthlessness. Appian gave an explanation for the young Tigranes turning against his father. Pompey's soldiers said that Caesar's troops were worn out, longed to return home, and would defect to Pompey as soon as they had crossed the Alps. The camp guards fought hard, but the men who had fled from the battlefield without arms were more keen on escaping than fighting. The translation below was … He thrust a sword into Pompey, and then Achillas and Savius stabbed him with daggers. Pompey was born in Picenum (modern Marche and the northern part of Abruzzo) to a local noble family. However, his father found other ships and sent them after him, and Machares eventually killed himself. All Thessalian towns not held by Metellus Scipio's troops submitted to Caesar.[208]. [39] It was a serious blow to Pompey's prestige. Against Perpenna, a tactician far inferior to his former commander-in-chief, Pompey decided to revert to a more aggressive strategy and he scored a decisive victory that effectively ended the war. Pompey entrenched a camp near this spot to gain land for fodder. Pompey the Great, Latin in full Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, (born September 29, 106 bce, Rome—died September 28, 48 bce, Pelusium, Egypt), one of the great statesmen and generals of the late Roman Republic, a triumvir (61–54 bce) who was an associate and later an opponent of Julius Caesar. His third triumph (61) trumpeted the grandeur of his achievement. A senator asked Philippus if he "thought it necessary to send Pompey out as proconsul. The next day, he ordered the men in charge of the Temple to purify it, and to bring offerings to God, as Jewish law required.