The Rise and Fall of the 1st Triumvirate (60 BC- 44 BC)

• Triumvirate = “three men”

• The First Triumvirate began with the slave revolt of Spartacus in the late 70s BC.

• A wealthy and influential general/politician, Marcus Crassus put down the revolt with his young friend, Gnaeus Pompey.

• Both of these men were of the Optimates party.

Crassus Pompey

• In 59 BC, an ambitious member of the Populares party, Julius Caesar, was commanded to conquer warring tribes in Gaul (France).

• Over the next ten years, he became powerful and wealthy from his conquests.

• Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a three-man alliance that essentially ran the Republic.

• Crassus was killed in 52 BC, and Pompey became fearful of Caesar’s popularity and power.

• In 49 BC, Caesar was denied the office of consul because Pompey and his followers in the Senate feared Caesar.

• Caesar led his army into Italy and drove Pompey across the sea.

• He caught up with Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece, and defeated his army in 48 BC.

• Pompey fled to Egypt, where allies of Caesar murdered him and cut off his head.

• For the next 4 years, Caesar ruled as dictator in Rome.

• He was a very good leader, but many senators still feared his power.

• On March 15, 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated, ironically in the theater that Pompey had built 12 years earlier.

The Theater of Pompey (now underground)

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