Pompey's rise to power can be attributed to his early alignment with Sulla against King Mithridates VI of Pontus, which gained him fame and recognition. He married Sulla's stepdaughter to further secure power. Pompey was later elected consul at the young age of 35 and celebrated multiple triumphs for his military victories. However, Pompey's political troubles began with the formation of the triumvirate with Caesar and Crassus, leading to civil war after Caesar attacked. Defeated by Caesar, Pompey fled to Egypt where he was killed by Ptolemy.
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The rise and fall of pompey
1. Pompey rise can be attributed to various factors which includes when Pompey aligns with Sulla
against King Mithrades VI of Pontus, marriage to step daughter of Sulla,Consulship at age 35
and first triumph and the second triumph .Also abolished the consulship of Ceaser absentee and
the Pompey was able to stop the pirates of the sea. More so Pompey was able to reorganisation
of the Asia Minor. However the fall of Pompey was as a result of the political troubles for
instance the triumvirate , Civil wars and Pompey fled to Egypt after being defeated by Caesar
and was killed by Plotemy king of Egypt.
The rise of Pompey can traced from early stage when Pompey at a young age raised the army
and supported Sulla against the King Mithrades of Pontus. Aligns with Sulla, after his return
from the First Mithridatic War against King Mithridates VI of Pontus; Pompey raises a legion
and cavalry in hopes of joining Sulla.This resulted in Sulla noticing the efforts Pompey and Sulla
understand that Pompey was an useful asset for gaining more fame and power through sending
Pompey to fight on behalf of Sulla. At 17 Pompey was involved in the war against the Italian
colonies according to H.P.Collins.Therefore Pompey raises a legion and cavalry in hopes of
joining Sulla and was capable to join Sulla which resulted in being now an useful general to the
Sulla and Roman people because from this expedition Pompey started to gain fame .Therefore
one can notice that the ambitious Pompey started with a small army but attracted the attention of
Sulla from there Pompey was on the rise since every mission was a success.
More so marriages helped Pompey to be on the spot for instance the first marriage to Sulla step
daughter which was to secure the recognition of Sulla. Therefore one can argue that marriages
helped Pompey to secure power in Rome because by the time of marriage Sulla was general
which means that the connections within the Roman politics. Marriage to Aemilia Scaura at the
behest of Sulla, Aemilia is already pregnant and eventually dies during childbirth according to
Hillman 1.More so the marriage of Pompey to Julia daughter of Julius Ceaser which was also to
gain support of Ceaser and to seal the alliance .Therefore marriage played a key role for Pompey
because the marriage could create alliance between strong political opponents . Caesar tied
Pompey to himself by marrying him to his daughter Julia even though she was betrothed to
another man this to support the point of marriage and the importance of Marriage in Rome.
1 Hillman,T., P., The Reputation of Cn. Pompeius Magnus among His Contemporaries from 83 to 59 B.C., Diss.New
York 1989.p.58
2. In addition Pompey was elected as a consul at the age of 35 which was an important office in the
Roman political history. Pompey was granted a second triumph for his victory in Hispania,
which, again, was extra-legal. title of Magnus. Sulla, dismounting outside the city gates to
receive the young general, also greeted him as Magnus, perhaps a little drily. Pompey asked for a
Triumph, but was told that only a senior magistrate could be paid that honour. 'More men
worship the rising than the setting sun', retorted Pompey2 .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). 3Livy noted that Pompey was made consul after a special senatorial
decree, because he had not occupied the quaestorship and was an equestrian and did not have
senatorial rank. Therefore one can argue that the post of Consul was therefore another step which
explains the rise of Pompey .The above fact prove that Pompey was now more influential and
powerful.
More so after four years of Roman politics, Pompey returned to action in 67 BC. Provided with
500 warships, 120,000 infantry, and 5,000 cavalry, he went to subdue pirates threatening Roman
grain supplies in the eastern Mediterranean4 .It was another hugely successful campaign. By
showing mercy to the defeated, Pompey extracted information from beaten Pirates, winning a
swift and almost bloodless victory. The victory over the pirates was another victory which gave
Pompey the fame and was considered as one of the greatest general of Rome.
In addition Pompey had fallen out with Crassus again. Even without him, he remained the most
powerful man in Rome, without political rival. Many in the Senate feared his unchecked power
and radical actions. Another rising star, Julius Caesar, was making them nervous with his
popularity. Bringing Pompey and Crassus back together, Caesar formed a secret political alliance
between the three men, known as the Triumvirate according to P.Southern5. Between Crassus’s
wealth, Pompey’s military might, Caesar’s political legitimacy, and their popularity, they were
unstoppable in their domination of Roman politics. Therefore first triumph played a crucial role
2 H.P.Collins,Greece andRome,Vol.22,No.66(Octo..,1953,http://www.jstor.org,p.100,accessed28-04-18
3 Seager,R.,Pompeythe Great:A Political Biography,Wiley-Blackwell;2ndedition,2002, p.18
4 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history-/pompey-the- great-assinated.
5 Southern,P.,Pompeythe Great:Caesar'sFriendandFoe,The HistoryPress,2003,P.73
3. for the career of Pompey because with such power Pompey was able to distribute land against
the will of the senate.
Furthermore Pompey was still in the East, resettling pirates as peaceful farmers, when in Rome
another tribune, Gaius Manilius, carried through, against weakened opposition, a bill appointing
Pompey to the command against Mithradates, with full powers to make war and peace and to
organize the whole Roman East . Considering these recurring initiatives, rate to say that the
Romans were basically indifferent posed by the pirates, yet a comparison with the the ensuing
campaign under Pompey makes it then that the issue became according to Manuel Troster
6.Pompey displaced Lucullus and lost no time defeating Mithradates in Asia Minor. After the
death of Mithradates in 63, Pompey was free to plan the consolidation of the eastern provinces
and frontier kingdoms. Pompey rejected the Parthian king's request to recognize the Euphrates
as the limit of Roman control and extended the Roman chain of protectorates to include Colchis,
on the Black Sea, and the states south of the Caucasus7. The organization of the East remains
Pompey's greatest achievement. His sound appreciation of the geographical and political factors
involved enabled him to impose an overall settlement that was to form the basis of the defensive
frontier system and was to last, with few important changes, for more than 500 years.
However the civil war led to the downfall of Pompey since Caesar wanted a political office and a
civil war broke out. Also to gain it, he had to return to Rome without the armies he had gathered
on his campaign in Gaul. Fearing that Pompey might not protect him from the violence of the
city, Caesar decided to return with his armies .In 49 BC, Caesar and his army illegally crossed
the Rubicon River into Rome’s heartland. A civil war had begun.In the space of two months;
Caesar drove Pompey out of Italy according to Seager8. While Pompey crossed to Greece,
Caesar, and his followers put down supporters of Pompey and the Senate in Spain and North
Africa. Then Caesar turned his eye to finishing off his rival. On August 9, 48 BC, the two men
clashed for the final time at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey, once a great commander, was
defeated by the greater tactical skill of his former ally. Defeated, he fled the field.
6 Tröster,Manuel. Roman Hegemony and Non-StateViolence.A Fresh LookatPompey’sCampaign
againstthePirates,Greece & Rome 56 (2009), p.14-33.
7 Hillman,T.,P., The Reputation of Cn.PompeiusMagnusamong HisContemporariesfrom83 to 59 B.C.,
Diss.NewYork1989.p.57
8 Seager,R.,Pompeythe Great:A Political Biography,Wiley-Blackwell;2nd edition,2002, p.15
4. Although powerful, the Triumvirate was troubled. Three such ambitious and strong-willed men
inevitably came into conflict. Around 58 BC, the political puppets and street thugs acting for
Caesar and Pompey in Rome clashed, tearing the two men apart9. Crassus brought them back
together in 56 BC, helped by the fact that Pompey was married to Caesar’s daughter Julia.In 54
BC, Julia died giving birth. The following year, Crassus was killed in a campaign at the Battle of
Carrhae. Political violence continued to bloody the streets of Rome. In 52 BC, Pompey married
the daughter of Publius Metellus Scipio, an opponent of Caesar. Their alliance was crumbling.
Furthermore Pompey’s army was elsewhere. Caesar knew it would take time for Pompey to
organize his army, so he attacked. His tactic worked and his legendary speed surprised Pompey
and threw all of Rome into a panic. One by one people began to lose confidence in Pompey and
blame him for what happen according to Freeman10. Also Pompey narrowly escaped death at his
camp when it was attacked, and decided to take refuge with King Ptolemy of Egypt. However,
Ptolemy didn’t want to offend Caesar, the obvious winner. So as soon as Pompey stepped on
shore he was shot and killed. Although he lost, Pompey had helped Rome as a whole with his
organized and powerful ruling. This young general accomplished a lot until his death, much
more than many others according to A.Goldsworthy11. People such as Pompey have helped to
strengthen Rome, and create history
All in all Pompey still regarded as one of the most powerful generals ever lived because even
though he had small beginnings Pompey rise to power was as result of his alignment to help
Sulla which put him on spot, rearranging Asia minor and Pompey defeated the pirates of the sea
.Also Pompey was consul at age 35 which was against the law but however the downfall of
Pompey was as result of civil war with Ceaser .Also Pompey was killed by the King of Egypt
Ptolemy.
9 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history-/pompey-the- great-assassinated
10 Gilliver.C,Whitby M,Rome at War: Caesarand hislegacy,Vol.6,OspreyPublishing,p.18
11 Adrian Goldsworthy ,In the Nameof Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire,YaleUniversity
press,2016,p.34
6. Bibliography
Collins.P.H,Greece andRome,Vol.22,No.66(Octo..,1953),http://www.jstor.org,p.100,accessed 28-04-18
Gilliver.C,WhitbyM,Rome at War: Caesarand hislegacy,Vol.6,OspreyPublishing,
Goldsworthy .A,In theNameof Rome:The Men Who Won the Roman Empire,YaleUniversity press
,2016,
Hillman,T.,P., The Reputation of Cn.PompeiusMagnusamong HisContemporariesfrom83 to 59 B.C.,
Diss.NewYork1989.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history-/pompey-the- great-assassinated
Tröster,M. Roman Hegemony and Non-StateViolence.A Fresh Lookat Pompey’sCampaign againstthe
Pirates,Greece & Rome 56 (2009),
Seager,R.,Pompeythe Great:A Political Biography,Wiley-Blackwell;2ndedition,2002,
Southern,P.,Pompeythe Great:Caesar'sFriendandFoe,The HistoryPress,2003,
