First Triumvirate

The First Triumvirate is a term historians use for an informal political alliance between three prominent men of the late Roman Republic: Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Julius Caesar was a prominent popularis (singular of populares) politician. Pompey was considered the greatest military commander of his time. This gave him great prestige and popularity. Crassus was a property speculator, the largest landlord and the richest man in Rome. Pompey and Crassus had extensive patronage networks. The three men formed an alliance with which they could gather sufficient popular support to counter the stranglehold the Roman Senate had over Roman politics. The senate had thwarted some bills these men had sponsored. With this alliance they aimed to overcome the senate's resistance to these bills and to have them passed. The triumvirate lasted from 59 BC to Crassus' death in the Battle of Carrhae, where he was defeated during his campaign against the Parthians in 53 BC, this then created friction between Caesar and Pompey as they had no buffer. The alliance had been kept secret until Pompey and Crassus publicly supported a land law proposed by Caesar in 58 BC. According to Goldsworthy, the alliance was, "not at heart a union of those with the same political ideals and ambitions," but one where "all [were] seeking personal advantage."

In the background of the formation of this alliance were the frictions between two political factions of the Late Republic, the populares (in favour of the people) and optimates (the good men). The former drew support from the plebeians (the commoners, the majority of the population). Consequently they espoused policies addressing the problems of the urban poor and promoted reforms that would help them, particularly redistribution of land for the landless poor and farm and debt relief. It also challenged the power the nobiles (the aristocracy) exerted over Roman politics through the senate, which was the body that represented its interests. The Optimes were a conservative faction that favoured the nobiles. They opposed reforms. This faction also wanted to limit the power of the plebeian tribunes (the representatives of the plebeians) and the Plebeian Council (the assembly of the plebeians) and strengthen the power of the senate. Julius Caesar was a leading figure of the populares. The origin of the process that led to Caesar seeking the alliance with Pompey and Crassus traces back to the Second Catilinarian conspiracy, which occurred three years earlier in 63 BC when Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the two consuls.

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