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Punic Wars, (264-146 bce), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean.

The origin of these conflicts is to be found in the position which Rome acquired, about 275 bce, as leader and protector of all Italy. The attendant new obligation to safeguard the peninsula against foreign interference made it necessary not to allow the neighbouring island of Sicily to fall into the hands of a strong and expansive power. Carthage, on the other hand, had long been anxious to conquer Sicily and so to complete the chain of island posts by which it controlled the western Mediterranean.

The proximate cause of the first outbreak was a crisis in the city of Messana ( Messina), commanding the straits between Italy and Sicily. The Mamertini, a band of Campanian mercenaries, had forcibly established themselves within the town and were being hard pressed in 264 by Hieron II of Syracuse. The Mamertini appealed to both Rome and Carthage, and the Carthaginians, arriving first, occupied Messana and effected a reconciliation with Hieron. The Roman commander, nevertheless, persisted in throwing troops into the city, and, by seizing the Carthaginian admiral during a parley, induced him to withdraw. This aggression provoked war with Carthage and Syracuse.

Operations began with a joint attack upon Messana, which the Romans easily repelled. In 263 the Romans advanced with a considerable force into Hieron's territory and induced him to seek peace and alliance with them. They besieged and captured the Carthaginian base at Agrigentum in 262 but made little impression upon the Carthaginian fortresses in the west of the island and upon the towns of the interior.

In 260 the Romans built their first large fleet of standard battleships. At Mylae ( Milazzo), off the north Sicilian coast, their admiral Gaius Duilius defeated a Carthaginian squadron of superior maneuvering capacity by grappling and boarding. This left Rome free to land a force on Corsica (259) and expel the Carthaginians but did not suffice to loosen their grasp on Sicily. A large Roman fleet sailed out in 256, repelled the entire Carthaginian fleet off Cape Ecnomus (near modern Licata) and established a fortified camp on African soil at Clypea (Kélibia in Tunisia). The Carthaginians, whose citizen levy was utterly disorganized, could neither keep the field against the invaders nor prevent their subjects from revolting. After one campaign they were ready to sue for peace, but the terms which the Roman commander Marcus Atilius Regulus offered were intolerably harsh. Accordingly they equipped a new army in which, by the advice of a Greek captain of mercenaries named Xanthippus, cavalry and elephants formed the strongest arm. In 255, under Xanthippus' command, they offered battle to Regulus, who had taken up position with an inadequate force near Tunis, outmaneuvered him, and destroyed the bulk of his army. A second Roman fleet, which subsequently reached Africa after defeating the full Carthaginian fleet off Cape Hermaeum ( Sharīk Peninsula), withdrew all the remaining troops.

The Romans now directed their efforts once more against Sicily. In 254 they captured the important fortress of Panormus ( Palermo), but when Carthage threw reinforcements into the island the war again came to a standstill. In 251 or 250 the Roman general Lucius Caecilius Metellus at last brought about a pitched battle near Panormus in which the enemy's force was effectively crippled. This victory was followed by an investment of the chief Punic base at Lilybaeum ( Marsala), together with Drepanum ( Trapani), by land and sea. The besiegers met with a gallant resistance and in 249 were compelled to withdraw by the loss of their fleet in a surprise attack upon Drepanum, in which the admiral Publius Claudius Pulcher was repulsed with a loss of 93 ships. While this was the Romans' only naval defeat in the war, their fleet had suffered a series of grievous losses by storm, and now it was so reduced that the attack upon Sicily had to be suspended. At the same time, the Carthaginians, who felt no less severely the financial strain of the prolonged struggle, reduced their forces and made no attempt to deliver a counterattack. The only noteworthy feature of the ensuing campaigns is the skillful guerrilla war waged by a new Carthaginian commander, Hamilcar Barca, from his strong positions on Mt. Ercte (247-244) and Mt. Eryx (modern Erice) (244-242) in western Sicily, by which he effectually screened Lilybaeum from any attempt on it by the Roman land army.

In 242 Rome resumed operations at sea. By a magnificent effort on the part of private citizens a fleet of 200 warships was equipped and sent out to renew the blockade of Lilybaeum. The Carthaginians hastily collected a relief force, but in a battle fought off the Aegates Insulae ( Egadi Islands), west of Drepana, their fleet was caught at a disadvantage and mostly sunk or captured (March 10, 241). This victory, by giving the Romans undisputed command of the sea, rendered certain the ultimate fall of the Punic strongholds in Sicily. The Carthaginians accordingly opened negotiations and consented to a peace by which they ceded Sicily and the Lipari ( Eolie) Islands to Rome and paid an indemnity of 3,200 talents.

The interval between the First and Second Punic Wars (241-218 bce)

The loss of naval supremacy not only deprived the Carthaginians of their predominance in the western Mediterranean but exposed their overseas empire to disintegration under renewed attacks by Rome. The temper of the Roman people was soon made manifest during a conflict which broke out between the Carthaginians and their discontented mercenaries. A gross breach of the treaty was perpetrated when a Roman force was sent to occupy Sardinia, whose insurgent garrison had offered to surrender the island (238). To the remonstrances of Carthage the Romans replied with a direct declaration of war, and only withheld their attack upon the formal cession of Sardinia and Corsica and the payment of a further indemnity.

From this episode it became clear that Rome intended to use the victory to the utmost. To avoid complete humiliation Carthage had no resource but to humiliate its adversary. The recent complications of foreign and internal strife had indeed so weakened Punic power that the prospect of renewing the war under favourable circumstances seemed remote enough. However, the scheme of preparing for a fresh conflict found a worthy champion in Hamilcar Barca. He sought to compensate for the loss of Sicily by acquiring a dominion in Spain where Carthage might gain new wealth and form a fresh base of operations against Rome. Invested with an unrestricted foreign command, he spent the rest of his life in founding a Spanish empire (237-228). His work was continued by his son-in-law Hasdrubal and his son Hannibal, who was placed at the head of the army in 221. These conquests aroused the suspicions of Rome, which in a treaty with Hasdrubal confined the Carthaginians to the south of the Ebro. At some point also Rome entered into relations with Saguntum ( Sagunto), a town on the east coast, south of the Ebro. In 219 Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum and carried the town in spite of a stubborn defense.

It is a debatable point whether his attack contravened the new treaty. The Romans certainly took this view and demanded Hannibal's surrender. His defiant policy was too popular to be disavowed, however. The Carthaginian council upheld Hannibal's action and drew upon itself a declaration of war.

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Punic Wars | Summary, Causes, Battles, & Maps

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History of the Punic Wars, including battles, prominent generals, and the outcome.

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Hellenistic ruler and general. Rome's opponent in the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BCE).

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Pyrrhus, (born 319 bce-died 272, Argos, Argolis), king of Hellenistic Epirus whose costly military successes against Macedonia and Rome gave rise to the phrase "Pyrrhic victory." His Memoirs and books on the art of war were quoted and praised by many ancient authors, including Cicero.

Upon becoming ruler at the age of 12, Pyrrhus allied himself with Demetrius, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus of Macedonia. Dethroned by an uprising in 302 bce, Pyrrhus fought beside Demetrius in Asia and was sent to Alexandria as a hostage under the treaty between Ptolemy I Soter and Demetrius. Ptolemy befriended Pyrrhus and in 297 restored him to his kingdom. At first Pyrrhus reigned with a kinsman, Neoptolemus, but soon he had his colleague assassinated.

In 294 he exploited a dynastic quarrel in Macedonia to obtain the frontier areas of Parauaea and Tymphaea, along with Acarnania, Ampholochia, and Ambracia. Corcyra and Leucas were given to him in a marriage dowry. Next, he went to war against his former ally, now Demetrius I Poliorcetes of Macedonia. Pyrrhus took Thessaly and the western half of Macedonia and relieved Athens from Demetrius's siege, but was driven back into Epirus by Lysimachus (who had supplanted Demetrius) in 284.

In 281 Tarentum (in southern Italy) asked for Pyrrhus's assistance against Rome. He crossed to Italy with about 25,000 men, and in 280 won a complete, if costly, victory over a Roman army at Heraclea. In 279 Pyrrhus, again suffering heavy casualties, defeated the Romans at Ausculum (Ascoli Satriano) in Apulia. He then crossed to Sicily (278) and, as "king of Sicily," conquered most of the Punic province except Lilybaeum (Marsala). However, his despotic methods provoked a revolt of the Greek Sicilians, and in 276 (or early 275) he returned to Italy. In 275 he suffered heavy losses in a battle against Rome at Beneventum (Benevento).

The next year he defeated the new Macedonian ruler, Antigonus II Gonatas, whose troops hailed Pyrrhus as king. Suddenly abandoning Macedonia, however, he launched an unsuccessful attack on Sparta to restore Cleonymus (272). Pyrrhus was killed in a night skirmish in the streets of Argos.

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Pyrrhus, king of Hellenistic Epirus whose costly military successes against Macedonia and Rome gave rise to the phrase "Pyrrhic victory." His Memoirs and books on the art of war were quoted and praised by many ancient authors, including Cicero. Upon becoming ruler at the age of 12, Pyrrhus allied

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Learn about the conflict that set the stage for the end of the Roman Republic!

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Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138-78 BCE) was a ruthless military commander, who first distinguished himself in the Numidian War under the command of Gaius Marius. His relationship with Marius soured during the conflicts that would follow and lead to a rivalry which would only end with Marius' death. Sulla eventually seized control of the Republic, named himself dictator, and after eliminating his enemies, initiated crucial reforms. Believing he had left Rome for the better, he retreated to his villa in 79 BCE, but his reign could not forestall the fall of the Republic.

Early Life

Lucius Cornelius Sulla was born in 138 BCE to an old but not prominent patrician family. His only ancestor of any importance had been expelled from the Roman Senate. Unfortunately, the death of his mother would leave him penniless. However, he did not allow this misfortune to stop him and, while his career in politics began somewhat late, he still embarked on the usual political path, the cursus honorum. With success in the military and a timely inheritance, he quickly rose through the ranks of quaestor, praetor, and eventually consul. One historian said he appeared to be a man in a hurry.

His political career began in the usual manner when he was chosen by the commander and consul Gaius Marius to serve as his quaestor. Always believing himself to be lucky, it was in the Numidian War (112-105 BCE) where Sulla would distinguish himself when he helped secure the capture and surrender of the Numidian king Jugurtha. Because the king's father had assisted Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in the Second Punic War, Jugurtha and his family had long been enemies of Rome.

Marius & Sulla

With the surrender of Jugurtha and the end of the war, Marius returned to Rome in triumph where he would be elected consul unprecedentedly for every year 104-101 BCE. After a brief celebration of his triumph, Marius marched northward - Sulla would join him - where he would defeat rebellious Germanic tribes at Aix-en-Provence (102 BCE) and Vercellae (101 BCE). Despite these victories over Jugurtha and the Germanic tribes, the two men would soon become archenemies, possibly because of jealousy on the part of Marius. The historian Plutarch in his Lives spoke of this jealousy and how Sulla had reveled in it after their return to Rome.

For this Marius triumphed, but the glory of the enterprise, which through people's envy of Marius was ascribed to Sulla, secretly grieved him. And the truth is, Sulla himself was by nature vainglorious, and this being the first time that from a low and private condition he had risen to esteem amongst the citizens... (332)

After a series of well-placed bribes, Sulla would continue his climb on the political ladder by securing the position of praetor urbanusin 97 BCE and later proconsul to Cilicia where he would remain until 92 BCE.

The Social War

The jealousy and hatred would only deepen between Marius and Sulla. The Social War or War of the Allies (91-88 BCE) saw Rome face a revolt among the city's previously loyal allies in Italy who demanded equal rights, namely citizenship. The war would end when Rome conceded to most of their demands. By establishing a reputation for ruthlessness and brutality in the war - he was present at the siege of Pompeii - Sulla became Rome's 'first' general, a distinction Marius had previously held. Plutarch wrote of an incident prior to Sulla's leaving to fight in the war. Soothsayers foretold that a man of great qualities would take the government in hand and "quiet the present troubles of the city" (332). Sulla believed himself to be this man.

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[After the war] Marius was unable to render any great service, and proved that military excellence requires a man's highest strength and vigour (sic). Sulla, on the other hand, did much that was memorable, and achieved the reputation of a great leader among his fellow-citizens, that of the greatest of leaders among his friends, and that of the most fortunate even among his enemies. (339)

Having served with distinction, Sulla was rewarded with his first consulship in 88 BCE, serving with his future son-in- law Pompeius Rufus as his co-consul.

The Mithridatic War

In the east Mithridates Eupator of Pontus was causing problems. In 104 BCE he had invaded the provinces of Galatia and Paphlagonia. After an invasion of nearby Bithynia, he withdrew when issued a warning by the Roman Senate. However, he soon disregarded the warning and attacked the three Roman legions sent against him; he had all Italian residents' property confiscated and ordered the locals to kill all Italians. The end result was economic chaos and bankruptcy for many in Rome. Sulla was given the command of the Roman forces to face Mithridates. However, the tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus blocked the order and calling the elderly Marius out of retirement, awarded the command to him. Many believed the two men had struck a deal. Marius, who was nearly 70 at the time, entered the fray embittered, seeking vengeance.

Sulla was irate. Not only was possible victory stolen from him but the spoils of war. Realizing that he had the support of the army - six legions or about 30,000 men - he marched on the unsuspecting Rome. Plutarch wrote:

[Sulla] shouted orders to set fire to the houses, and seizing a blazing torch, led the way himself, and ordered his archers to use their fire-bolts and shoot them up at the roofs. This he did not from any calm calculation, but in a passion, and having surrendered to his anger the command over his actions ... made his entry by the aid of fire, which made no distinction between the guilty and the innocent. (357-358)

Seizing command, his first act was to have Rufus killed; the tribune was found hiding in his villa. Luckily, fearing the wrath of Sulla, Marius escaped with his life to Africa. Unfortunately, Sulla's officers (excluding his quaestor) soon deserted him. Sulla's good fortune could not last.

Sulla, the Public Enemy

Sulla earned his reputation for ruthlessness by granting his men permission to pillage & murder as they saw fit. After the final clash at the Colline Gates, it was said that the Tiber was littered with bodies.

With fighting breaking out in the streets and the Senate against him, Sulla realized his best decision was to withdraw to the east. He escaped the city and with six legions chose to march against Mithridates. Marius returned to Rome - initiating five days of murder and plunder - where he was again declared consul only to die shortly afterwards, in 86 BCE. Many of Sulla's supporters were executed. The rebellious Sulla refused to obey a summons to return to the city to face a trial. At the urging of the consul Cinna, the Roman Senate declared him an enemy of the state and condemned him to death. Ignoring the wishes of Cinna and the Senate, Sulla continued eastward and not only defeated Mithridates but crushed a rebellion in Greece. While in Athens, Sulla again earned his reputation for ruthlessness by granting his men permission to pillage and murder as they saw fit, eventually destroying the very groves where the great philosophers Plato and Aristotle had 'reflected on the human condition.' Even the ancient symbol of Athens, the Acropolis, was plundered. He would campaign in the east for five years.

Upon his return to Rome in 83 BCE, Sulla was joined by the commanders Caecilius Metellus Pius, Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Together they would be victorious over those who remained loyal to the deceased Marius. In a final clash, Sulla defeated the opposition at the Colline Gates outside Rome. 3,000 would be taken prisoner while another 3,000 would surrender. They were all imprisoned at the Campus Martius until executed. Their bodies were unceremoniously thrown into the Tiber. In was said that the Tiber was littered with bodies; some 10,000 supposedly died. Wisely, the Senate acknowledged Sulla's victories in the east and was persuaded to name him dictator, granting him immunity for his past actions.

Dictatorship

In one of his first actions, Sulla had Marius's ashes exhumed and thrown into the Tiber. Similarly, all of the former consul's supporters were executed. In total 80 senators and 2,600 equites were either executed or exiled; the Senate was left depleted. He posted proscription lists in the Forum, naming outlaws whose property would be confiscated. With victories in the east and success at Rome, Sulla felt truly lucky and in recognition of this fact added the word 'Felix' meaning either 'the fortunate one' or 'the favorite of the goddess Venus' to his name.

Although he sought the approval of the Senate, in reality, Sulla had unchecked powers to make or repeal laws. In 81 BCE, Sulla enacted a series of reforms which were considered as a restoration or 'sweeping away of clutter.' Because of his past hatred for the tribune Rufus, he curbed the powers of the tribunes by limiting their power of the veto; he raised the number of quaestors and praetors; he made quaestors members of the Senate to increase its numbers; and finally, passed stricter controls over persons with imperium outside Italy. Besides these and other reforms, he established new law courts and rebuilt both the Senate house and the Temple of Jupiter, which had been struck by lightning or, according to another version, burned down. Throughout, he promised the citizens he would not diminish their rights. Even the skeptical Cicero approved of Sulla's ends, although he disliked the means. After granting land in Campania and Etruria to veterans of the army, he retired to his villa on the Bay of Naples in 79 BCE, where he died one year later. His epitaph read "No better friend, no worse enemy."

Legacy

Sulla was seen as arrogant and ruthless, though personally claiming to have never sought tyranny. One historian stated that he demonstrated how the army was loyal an individual and not the state. Despite the presence of an ugly facial birthmark - the Athenians cruelly compared it to a mulberry tipped with oatmeal - he considered himself lucky. Although initially penniless, a wealthy widow left him her fortune. While history has considered him a callous commander, from his early childhood he loved literature and the arts, hanging around the theater wherever he went. His luck would carry him through victories against Jugurtha and the Germans as well as Mithridates. He rose through the ranks from quaestor to consul. Believing he had been betrayed in Rome, he escaped the city to the east only to return and become dictator. However, the reforms he initiated could not save the city from its future. With the death of Caesar and the birth of an empire under Augustus, Rome would be reborn and continue as a prevailing power for another five centuries.

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Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138-78 BCE) was a ruthless military commander, who first distinguished himself in the Numidian War under the command of Gaius Marius. His relationship with Marius soured during the conflicts that would follow and lead to a rivalry which would only end with Marius' death.

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A Roman Revolution?

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The Roman Republic was in death’s throes. Within a few short years, the “dictator for life” Julius Caesar would be assassinated, and, as a result, the government would descend into chaos...

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Explore the life and career of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus-- son-in-law/mortal enemy of Julius Caesar.

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Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a military leader and politician during the fall of the Roman Republic. He was born in 106 BCE and died on 28th September 48 BCE. His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo.

Pompey's life can be easily split into four phases: his early career (106- 71 BCE), his consulship until the triumvirate (70- 60 BCE), his later career in Rome (59- 50 BCE) and the Civil War (49-48 BCE).

Early Career

Pompey's military career started in the Social Wars (91- 89 BCE) when he served under his father's army at Asculum (89 BCE). In 83 BCE Pompey procured a private army of three legions, taken from his father's veterans and clients, in order to fight for Sulla. After this Pompey was sent as pro praetor (a magistrate sent in place of a praetor) to Sicily and then Africa to put down dissidents. It was in 81 BCE that Sulla gave Pompey a triumph, on the 12th March, despite the fact that Pompey was still only an equites, and as such, not officially eligible for a triumph, it was also around this time that Pompey took the name Magnus, Great, which clearly echoed the great Macedonian general, Alexander the Great. After the death of his first wife Aemilia, Pompey married Sulla's step daughter Mucia Tertia, which like most marriages of the time, was probably a political move. Despite this fact, Sulla still felt it necessary to remove Pompey from his will when in 78 BCE and he supported Lepidus for the consulship; it seems that by the next year Pompey had learnt his lesson, and instead supported Quintus Lutatius Catulus, this was also because Lepidus now spoke of revoking the Sullan laws. In 77 BCE Pompey was sent pro consule in order to assist in the struggle against Sertorius in Spain. Sertorius was an opponent of Sulla who had been active in that area since c. 83 BCE. Pompey returned from there in 71 BCE, wiping out the scattered bands of slaves who had fought under the now defeated Spartacus. In doing so, Pompey tried to take credit for ending the Slave War, when in fact it was Crassus who had been the main Roman protagonist in the war. As a result of Pompey's victories he was granted his second triumph on the 29th December 71 BCE.

From Consul to the Triumvirate

Pompey, an experienced man by 70 BCE, was, however, illegible for the consulship since he was too young and had not held the positions of or praetor inline with the cursus honorum. Despite this, the rules were waived, and Pompey took the consulship for that year with Crassus. After his consulship Pompey did not take a province under his control, as was standard. Instead, the Gabinian Law of 67 BCE gave Pompey the power and authority to oppose and dispose of the increasing problem of piracy in the Mediterranean, which posed a threat to Rome's grain supply.

[Q. Lutatius Catulus] speaking against the [Gabinian] law said in an informal harangue that Pompey was certainly an outstanding man, but that he was too eminent for comfort in a free res publica and that all power should not be placed in the hands of one man.
(Velleius II, 32, I)

Pompey successfully dealt with the Mediterranean pirates within three months.

Pompey successfully dealt with the pirates within his first three months of control, despite the fact that the Gabinian Law granted him command for three years, and in 66 BCE a further law was passed which gave him the command of the Roman army against Mithridates VI of Pontus. This law forms Cicero's Pro lege Manilia, his first purely political speech which speaks in favour of the law, despite there being strong opposition towards the law from the optimate factions of Rome at the time. After defeating Mithridates VI, Pompey turned Bithynia, Pontus, and Syria into Roman provinces, paving the way for Rome's later advances into the East. It was in 62 BCE that Pompey returned to Italy, and disbanded his army, finally entering Rome on his birthday, 30th September 61 BCE. Upon returning, Pompey celebrated a triumph the likes of which Rome had never seen before, one that lasted a whole two days!

He celebrated the triumph in honour of all his wars at once, including in it many trophies beautifully decked out to represent each of his achievements, even the smallest; and after them all came one huge one, decked out in costly fashion and bearing an inscription stating that it was a trophy of the inhabited world. ( Cassius Dio, Roman History, 37.21.2)

He was awarded a triumph exceeding in brilliance any that had gone before... it occupied two successive days, and many nations were represented in the procession from Pontus, Armenia, Cappadocia, Cilicia and all Syria, besides Albanians, Heniochi, Achaeans of Scythia, and Eastern Iberians. (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 116)

Among these peoples no less than 1,000 strongholds had been captured, according to the inscriptions, and cities not much under 900 in number, besides 800 piratical ships, while 39 cities had been founded... but that which most enhanced his glory and had never been the lot of any roman before, was that he celebrated third triumph over the third continent. For others before had celebrated three triumphs; but he celebrated his first over Libya, his second over Europe, and this his last over Asia, so that he seemed in a way to have included the whole world in his three triumphs. ( Plutarch, Life of Pompey the Great, 45.1-5)

However, not all was as Pompey had hoped for, the senate denied his proposals for land-grants for his disbanded army and they denied ratification of Pompey's eastern settlements too; this decision was headed by Cato the Younger (the great grandson of Cato the Elder). Then, with Caesar's return from Spain in 60 BCE, Pompey formed the first triumvirate (which in itself is a modern, rather than ancient term) with Caesar and Crassus, arguably the three most politically influential and powerful men in Rome (especially when their efforts were combined).

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Later Career

In 59 BCE Caesar was appointed consul, with the support of Crassus and Pompey, which enabled Pompey to fulfil the land-grants to his veteran soldiers and to also have his settlement in the east ratified. One of the most obviously political motivated events of Pompey's life was the divorce of his wife Marcia in order to marry Caesar's daughter, Julia. However, despite the political motivation of this marriage, Pompey did come to love Julia, and this is mentioned by contemporaries. Despite Caesar putting in place what Pompey had wanted, and the political marriage, Pompey's success was beginning to decline and in 58/7 BCE he was attacked by Publius Clodius Pulcher. In 57 BCE Pompey both managed to secure Cicero's return from exile and secured the control of Rome's corn supply (a very important role, that lasted for five-years and granted him proconsular imperium and fifteen legates, but no army was provided). It is interesting to note Pompey's sudden shift to matters public and civilian, considering that he was primarily a military man; however, what this might suggest is his logistical skills as a general had been transferred to the organisation of corn supplies. However, also in this year, Pompey failed to restore the father of Cleopatra VII, Ptolemy XII Auletes, to power in Egypt. Nevertheless, the triumvirate seemed to work both ways for Pompey, and in 55 BCE, after the three men's agreement had been reaffirmed at Luca, both Pompey and Crassus were appointed consuls again. It is interesting to note, that despite being given the two Spanish provinces to govern over, Pompey chose to have them governed by legates, so that he could stay at Rome. What becomes apparent is the sheer wealth that Pompey's campaigns had brought to him and Rome, and this is embodied with the creation of the Theatre of Pompey just outside Rome, at the Campus Martius, which was opened with extravagant games. The theatre itself also consisted of a Temple to Venus Victrix, and a statue of Pompey himself.

Inscriptions show that whereas in the past the proceeds to that state treasury from taxation were some 50,000,000 drachmae, Pompey's additions to the empire were now bringing in 85,000,000; and that he was adding to the state treasury in coined money and gold and silver plate 20,000 talents, and this apart from the money he had given to his soldiers, each of whom had received at least 15,000 drachmae. (Plutarch, Life of Pompey the Great, 45.3-4)

However, the next two years saw tensions build within the triumvirate, firstly Pompey dropped out from any sort of further political marriage links with Julius Caesar after Julia died in childbirth in 54 BCE, and in 53 BCE Crassus was killed in Parthia, both of these events served to increase the tension between Caesar and Pompey that would eventually spark into Civil War. When Clodius was murdered in 52 BCE, Pompey was elected sole consul for the year, and was even backed by Cato. Pompey then went on to put Titus Annius Milo on trial and created new legislation with regards to violence, bribery, and the nature of magistracies. Whilst these actions would not have perhaps been seen favourably by Caesar; that is not to say that they were not directly enacted so as to do so. However, when Pompey increased his own imperium for another five years, he seismically affected the status quo. It was also around this time that Pompey married Cornelia, his political ally Quintus Caecilius Mettelus Piso Scipio's daughter; again, as with Julia before her, whilst being a political marriage, it was by no means a loveless marriage. There were calls for Pompey to recall Caesar, and this led to Gaius Scribonius Curio in 50 BCE calling for either both of the men, or neither of them, to put aside their command. Cicero sums up the situation succinctly:

It is a struggle between two kings, in which defeat has overtaken the more moderate king [Pompey], the one who is more upright and honest, the one whose failure means that the very name of the Roman people must be wiped out, though if he wins the victory, he will use it after the manner and example of Sulla. (Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 10.7.1)

Civil War

Pompey was unable to come to terms with this situation and took over the command of the Republic's armies in Italy in 49 BCE, the year that Caesar crossed the Rubicon and uttered the famous words, alea iacta est (the dice are thrown). He then moved the army from Brundisium to Macedonia, where he mobilised his forces. In 48 BCE Caesar arrived, and, knowing that Caesar's force was greater than his, Pompey retreated when Caesar tried to blockade him in Dryrrachium. The passage below from Plutarch helps to make sense of this, whilst Caesar already had an experienced, battle-hardened army, Pompey had to mobilise one from scratch, one that would be less experienced than Caesar's:

When some said that if Caesar should march upon Rome, they did not see any forces with which to defend it from him, with a smiling face and calm manner Pompey told them not to fear: "For," he said, "in whatever part of Italy I stamp upon the ground, there will spring up armies of infantry and cavalry." (Plutarch, Life of Pompey the Great, 57.5)

On the 9th August (the reason why he was persuaded to do so is unclear) Pompey met Caesar in pitched battle at Pharsalus in Thessaly and suffered terrible losses and a cruel defeat. Caesar had become a formidable general, having gained much valuable experience from his campaigns in Gaul. Pompey then fled to Egypt, but was stabbed to death as he disembarked at Alexandria on the 28th September 48 BCE. With the defeat of Pompey and the victory of Julius Caesar, the foundations of Imperial Rome were dug and any sentiment of a 'democratic' Rome was buried with it.

Sincere belief in Rome's freedom died long ago, when Marius and Sulla were admitted within the walls; but now, when Pompey has been removed from the world, even the sham belief is dead.
(M. Annaeus Lucanus, On the Civil War, 9.204-6)

Pompey's career was to some extent typical of a new type of Roman statesman that came to the fore in the late Republic, that of the 'military dynast', which could be seen to have had its origins in the careers of Marius and Sulla. However, in the end, Pompey tends to be seen by history as one of the great losers, which tends not to give true credit to his earlier career and what he achieved during it.

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Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a military leader and politician during the fall of the Roman Republic. He was born in 106 BCE and died on 28th September 48 BCE. His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo.

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Discover the weird world of the Julio-Claudian emperors.

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Julio-Claudian dynasty, (ad 14-68), the four successors of Augustus, the first Roman emperor: Tiberius (reigned 14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius I (41-54), and Nero (54-68). It was not a direct bloodline. Augustus had been the great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar (of the Julia gens), whereas Tiberius, the adopted son of Augustus, came from the aristocratic Claudia gens. Caligula was a great-grandson of Augustus; Claudius was a nephew of Tiberius; and Nero was the great-nephew and adopted son of Claudius.

The ablest of the line was Tiberius. He was undoubtedly a capable and vigorous ruler, who enforced justice in the government of the provinces, maintained the integrity of the frontiers, and husbanded the finances of the empire; but he became intensely unpopular in Roman society and in his last years became a cruel tyrant. His successor, Gaius, generally known as Caligula, became known for his wild caprices and uncontrolled passions, which issued in manifest insanity. Upon his assassination he was followed by his uncle, Claudius, whose personal disabilities made him an object of derision to his contemporaries but who had many statesmanlike faculties. His reign left an abiding mark on the history of the empire, for he carried forward its development on the lines intended by Augustus. Client-states were absorbed, southern Britain was conquered, the Romanization of the West received a powerful impulse, public works were executed in Rome and Italy, and the organization of the imperial bureaucracy made rapid strides. Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian line, has been handed down to posterity as the incarnation of monstrous vice and fantastic luxury. But his wild excesses scarcely affected the prosperity of the empire at large; the provinces were well governed, and the war with Parthia led to a compromise in the matter of Armenia, which secured peace for half a century. The dynasty ended amid rebellion and civil war. Nero died, probably by suicide, and was succeeded by the general Galba, who had been a leader of one of the revolts.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

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Julio-Claudian dynasty, (ad 14-68), the four successors of Augustus, the first Roman emperor: Tiberius (reigned 14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius I (41-54), and Nero (54-68). It was not a direct bloodline. Augustus had been the great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar (of the Julia gens),

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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The reigns of the emperors Vespasian (69-79 A.D.), Titus (79-81 A.D.), and Domitian (81-96 A.D.) comprised the Flavian dynasty. The Flavians, unlike the Julio-Claudians before them, were Italian gentry, not Roman aristocracy. They restored stability to Rome following the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.) and the civil wars that had wreaked havoc on the empire, and particularly on Italy itself. Vespasian showed great moderation and common sense in his dealings as emperor, but he was also known for his greed. One reason was that he needed to increase taxation in order to restore public finances and refill the imperial treasury. He reformed the Senate, whose authority and numbers had diminished under Nero and during the civil wars. Vespasian also recruited equestrian officers, who brought personal wealth, and Italian and provincial members, who brought local knowledge, to the imperial administration and civil service. Furthermore, he guaranteed a stable succession with his sons Titus and Domitian, both able administrators.

Titus is remembered principally for his destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D., but during his reign as emperor, Rome also witnessed a great natural disaster-the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. He was responsible for completing the Amphitheatrum Flavium in 80 A.D., which became known as the Colosseum because it was situated near the site of a colossal statue of Nero.

Artistic talent and technical skill inherited from Nero's regime were used to aggrandize the Flavians' military accomplishments. Titus' brother and successor, Domitian, was responsible for erecting the Arch of Titus in Rome (82 A.D.) in commemoration of the capture of Jerusalem. In the provinces, where there were fewer commemorative monuments, portraiture and coinage persisted as the chief reminders of imperial power. Domitian was also responsible for signing a peace treaty with Decebalus, the Dacian king, in 89 A.D. Although popular with his troops, Domitian incurred the Senate's displeasure with his absolutist tendencies and by elevating equestrian officers to positions of power formerly reserved for the Senate. He eventually succumbed to paranoia and engaged in a vicious round of executions that led to his own assassination in 96 A.D.

Department of Greek and Roman Art. "The Flavian Dynasty (69-96 A.D.)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/flav/hd_flav.htm (October 2000)

Boyle, A. J., and W. J. Dominik, eds. Flavian Rome: Culture, Image, Text. Boston: Brill, 2003.

Luciani, Roberto. The Colosseum: Architecture, History and Entertainment in the Flavian Amphitheatre, Ancient Rome's Most Famous Building. Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 1990.

McDermott, William C., and Anne E. Orentzel. Roman Portraits: The Flavian-Trajanic Period. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1979.

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Authors: Department of Greek and Roman Art

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The Flavian Dynasty (69-96 A.D.) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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The reigns of the emperors Vespasian (69-79 A.D.), Titus (79-81 A.D.), and Domitian (81-96 A.D.) comprised the Flavian dynasty. The Flavians, unlike the Julio-Claudians before them, were Italian gentry, not Roman aristocracy. They restored stability to Rome following the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.)