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Pompey the Great
(106-48 BC), Roman general and statesman, the erstwhile ally and son-in-law
of Julius Caesar, but later his arch-rival for power.
Pompey was born Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in Rome on September 29, 106
BC, into a senatorial family; his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was consul
in 89 BC. At the age of 17 Pompey fought, along with his father, on the
side of Lucius Cornelius Sulla against the faction of Gaius Marius and
Lucius Cornelius Cinna. In 84 BC he raised three legions and defeated the
Marian party, and he was later sent to destroy the remnants of the Marian
faction in Africa and Sicily. On his triumphant return to Rome he was honored
with the title Magnus, or the Great. Pompey subsequently defeated the followers
of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, a one-time Sulla partisan, whom he drove out
of Italy, and destroyed the Marian party in Spain (76-71 BC). Returning
to Italy, Pompey brought an end to the Servile War instigated by the slave
Spartacus. He was now the idol of the people and was elected consul for
the year 70 BC, serving with Marcus Licinius Crassus.
In 67-66 BC, Pompey cleared the Mediterranean Sea of pirates and was
subsequently given control of the provinces in the east and put in charge
of the war against Mithridates VI of Pontus. Between 65 and 62 BC, Pompey
conquered not only Mithridates but also Tigranes the Great, king of Armenia,
and Antiochus XIII of Syria, annexing the territory of the latter to the
Roman dominions. He also subdued the Jews and captured Jerusalem. On his
return to Italy he disbanded his army and in 61 BC entered Rome in triumph
for the third time. After his return he was anxious that his acts in Asia
should be ratified by the Senate and certain lands be apportioned among
his veterans. The Senate, however, declined to accede to his wishes, and
Pompey, turning against the aristocratic party, now formed a close alliance
with Julius Caesar, and the two men, together with Crassus, formed in 60
BC the coalition commonly called the First Triumvirate. Caesar's daughter
Julia was given in marriage to Pompey, and the following year Caesar repaired
to Gaul, and there for nine years carried on a career of conquest while
Pompey spent his time at Rome.
Jealousies, however, arose between the two leaders. Julia died in 54
BC, and Crassus was slain in Syria the following year. Pompey then returned
to the aristocratic party, whose members desired to check Caesar's ambitions
and deprive him of his command. Caesar consented to the order to lay down
his office and return to Rome, provided that Pompey, who had an army near
Rome, would do the same. The Senate insisted on an unconditional resignation,
but Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, thus defying the Senate and its
armies, which were under Pompey's command. Pompey withdrew his forces to
Brundisium (now Brindisi) and then to Greece. Caesar meanwhile made himself
master of Italy and defeated a strong army in Spain commanded by Pompey's
legates and then crossed the Adriatic to attack Pompey. The latter, who
had gathered a strong army, was victorious in the opening encounters, but
was defeated at Pharsalus in 48 BC. He escaped to Egypt, where he was murdered
on September 28, 48 BC.
"Pompey the Great," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
