How Pompey became Rome's 'greatest' general

The Rome that young Pompey was born into was in the middle of great political upheaval.

The Roman Republic was in decline and the ruling class was increasingly corrupt. 

The Senate and political establishment were divided into two broad categories: the populares and the optimates.

The populares were those who advocated for the interests of the common people, while the optimates were staunch defenders of the position of the wealthy nobility.

Pompey’s family belonged to the latter group and, as a result, Pompey would side with the optimates faction.

Pompey the Great was born Gnaeus Pompeius in 106 BC at Picenum in Italy.

The Pompeius family was important in the local region but became powerful in Rome itself due to the career of Pompey's father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo. 

Pompeius Strabo was a novus homo (meaning 'new man') and had become a consul in 89 BC, serving alongside Lucius Cornelius Sulla, one of Rome’s most talented generals.

The younger Pompey was well-educated, and his early life was spent between Rome and his father’s estates in the province of Picenum. 

In 89 BC, when he was just sixteen years old, Pompey made his first appearance on the political stage.

He delivered a speech in support of his father’s candidacy for the consulship.

Pompey's father had fought the Social War (91-89 BC) against Rome's former Italian allies, where he served under his father.

He had commanded with such success that he was granted a triumph. When Pompeius Strabo died in 87 BC, Pompey took over the family estates and his father's army.

Pompey was only 20 years old.

Pompey first came to prominence during the Social War. Serving as an officer in his father's army, he proved himself to be a skilled and capable general.

He led Roman troops to a number of victories against the rebel forces. 

In 83 BC, when Sulla and his army had landed at Brundisium for Sulla's second march on Rome, Pompey used his money from his father's own estates to raise three legions and helped Sulla capture the city.

This act cemented Pompey's position as a key player in Roman politics. Sulla seemed to trust the young Pompey and, as a result, he was rewarded with a number of military commands.

He spent the next few years campaigning against Sulla's enemies in Asia and Africa.

First, Pompey went as pro praetor (a magistrate sent on behalf of a praetor) to Sicily to hunt down Marian supporters there, who were led by Papirius Carbo.

Upon arrival in Sicily, Pompey captured Carbo and put him on trial. Pompey found him guilty of conspiring against Sulla and sentenced him to death. 

The quick and brutal treatment of Carbo earned Pompey the nickname adulescentulus carnifex (the 'young butcher') by his enemies.

Once Sicily was under control, Sulla then sent Pompey to the province of northern Africa to fight Gnaeus Domitius and his rebel army. 

When Pompey landed in the region, it is said that 7,000 Roman soldiers defected from Domitius' army to Pompey's.

Domitius' remaining forces were defeated at the battle of Utica in 81 BC, during which Domitius was killed and the resistance to Sulla was crushed.

When Pompey returned to Rome from north Africa in 81 BC, Sulla is said to have given him the honourary title magnus (meaning ‘the Great’), this was meant to echo the title given to the Macedonian general, Alexander 'the Great', and Pompey began using the title frequently. 

Also, at this time, Pompey approached Sulla and asked for permission to hold a triumph through the streets of Rome.

Sulla, who had a reputation for strict observance of the cursus honorum, denied this request.

Triumphal marches were only for consuls who had won a military victory over non-Romans.

Sulla pointed out that Pompey, was not a consul and had only defeated other Romans.

Apparently, Pompey would not take 'no' for an answer and said to Sulla that "more people worship the rising sun than the setting sun".

Pompey seemed to be suggesting that he was more popular with the Roman people than Sulla.

To the surprise of many, Sulla then overturned his denial and allowed Pompey to have his triumph on March 12th, 81 BC.

In 78 BC, Sulla died and politicians that had been angered by his domination of the Roman political system had an opportunity to undo his laws.

One of Sulla's opponents, a populares called Marchus Aemilius Lepidus, became a consul in 77 BC and proposed undoing many of Sulla's initiatives.

Encouraged by Lepidus' proposals, farmers in the Etruria region of Italy rose up in armed revolt against the veteran soldiers from Sulla's army that had forced them off their land.

The Senate sent Lepidus, with an army, to put down these rebels. However, instead of fighting against them, Lepidus supported them and turned his army around to march on Rome.

In a panic, the Senate gave Pompey permission to defend Rome against Lepidus. Pompey used his own army once more to march north and defeated the rebel consul.

Then, in 77 BC, Pompey was given the command of Rome's forces in Spain. He was tasked with defeating Quintus Sertorius, a Roman general who had gone into exile and was leading another rebellion against Rome.

Sertorius' rebellion had been so successful, that he controlled almost all of Spain.

Pompey was facing no easy task, as Sertorius was a very capable commander and had the support of many of the local Iberian tribes.

Some survivors of Lepidus' revolt had escaped their defeat at the hands at Pompey and joined Sertorius, which strengthening his position.

For the next two years, Pompey and Sertorius both experienced victories and defeats on the battlefield against each other.

There was no clear outcome and Pompey was starting to fear that he would run out of soldiers and supplies.

He sent a request for help back to the Senate in 74 BC, but he was denied. When Pompey heard this, he sent a second letter back, warning the senators that if he wasn't sent help, the "current war I am fighting may actually find its way back to Italy".

The senators were not sure whether Pompey was threatening them or that he genuinely believed that Sertorius would win the war and march on Rome.

Either way, the Senate finally approved the request for more men and supplies.

In 73 BC, Sertorius was assassinated by one of his own commanders, called Perperna, who then took charge of his forces.

However, Perperna was not as gifted as Sertorius and Pompey finally defeated him in battle in the same year. Following his victory, Pompey marched back towards Italy.

However, also in 73 BC, while Pompey was fighting the rebels in Spain, another rebellion broke out, but back in Italy itself.

This time the revolt was led by two slaves who had been training to become gladiators.

One was a Thracian named Spartacus, and the other was a Gaul named Crixus.

They broke out of their gladiator school at Capua and freed 74 further slaves. They hid near Mount Vesuvius and used night attacks to free more slaves.

Eventually, 70,000 slaves would be liberated and joined the rebel army. 

Spartacus and his fellow slaves managed to defeat several Roman armies and moved south into southern Italy.

Running out of resources to raise new armies, the Senate called upon the richest man in Rome, called Crassus, to help them out.

With his own money, Crassus created a new army and went after Spartacus, eventually trapping the slave army.

Spartacus tried to break out of the trap and succeeded on the third attempt, but at a huge cost of lives. Spartacus and his men tried to flee north.

Crassus chased him again and finally defeated the slaves in Lucania, where Spartacus was also killed.

Crassus crucified 6000 men from the slave revolt along the Via Appia road to warn other slaves from following their example.

However, Crassus had not killed the last of the slave army and 5000 of them were still able to head north for freedom in 71 BC.

However, by pure chance, they ran into Pompey and his army as they were arriving back from Spain and Pompey destroyed the last scattered bands of slaves.

Following this, Pompey attempted to take credit for ending the entire Slave War, even though it was Crassus who had been the main Roman commander throughout the conflict.

The Senate agreed that Pompey should be awarded the honour of the victory and he was granted his second triumph in December 71 BC as a result of his victories.

Pompey's successes in Spain and against Spartacus had made him one of the most famous and popular men in Rome.

In 70 BC, he was elected as consul alongside Crassus. Due to their conflict over who should be given credit for defeating Spartacus, the two men did not work well together.

The only thing they could seem to agree on is that the limited placed upon the position of Tribune of the Plebs by Sulla should be repealed, which was achieved. 

In 67 BC, Pompey was given the task of dealing with the problem of piracy in the Mediterranean. By 102 BC, piracy had become a growing problem.

An estimated 1000 pirate ships were active in the Roman world. They had captured around 400 coastal towns, with the captured people being sold as slaves.

By 67 BC, growing pirate dominance threatened grain imports to Rome as they began attacking the harbor of Ostia, the primary port of the city of Rome.

To deal with this threat, a law called the lex Gabinia was passed, and Pompey was given a fleet of ships and an army. 

He spent just three months campaigning against the pirates, before eventually defeating them.

With the pirates no longer a threat, Pompey turned his attention to other matters.

In 66 BC, another law, called the lex Manilia, was passed. This law gave Pompey the command of Rome's forces in the east and tasked him with defeating Mithridates, the king of Pontus. 

Pompey spent the next few years campaigning against Mithridates and his allies.

He eventually succeeded in defeating them and ended the Third Mithridatic War. 

Next, he turned his attention to Syria and conquered that too, including the region of Judea in 63 BC.

It was during this event that the city of Jerusalem fell under control of the Romans after a three-month siege.

However, many of the things that Pompey did as part of these campaigns were not in line with the original commission given to him by the Senate.

Pompey had set up new Roman provinces and involved himself in additional conflict, that he had no permission to do.

As a result, many senators started arguing that Pompey was becoming too powerful and arrogant.

They warned Pompey that if he did not return to Rome and answer for his 'crimes', he would be likely to be declared a threat to the state.

When Pompey heard this, he knew he was in a difficult position. He needed the Senate's approval for all of the actions he had already done.

Therefore, he had to return to Rome and ask the senators to agree to the new provinces and territories he had taken control of.

Also, Pompey had promised his soldiers land for each one when they retired from soldiering.

However, Pompey needed the Senate to formally approve these land grants.

Pompey returned to Italy in 61 BC, and many senators feared that he would use his army to march on Rome as Sulla had done.

However, to the surprise of many, he disbanded his forces and allowed them to enter retirement. Pompey then travelled to Rome as a private citizen.

Once in the city, the Senate allowed Pompey to celebrate another triumph for his defeat of Mithridates and for his other victories in the east.

During this procession, Pompey paraded all of the wealth he had accumulated, including 75 million drachmae of silver coins, which was the equivalent of the entire yearly tax revenue of the Roman state at the time.

Pompey himself led the parade, apparently while wearing the cloak of Alexander the Great, although some Roman observers were sceptical about its authenticity.

Regardless, it was clear that Pompey wanted people to identify himself with the ancient world's greatest conqueror: Alexander.

However, Pompey's popularity with the people of Rome concerned the Senate. Despite Pompey's hopes, the senate rejected his proposals for land-grants for his disbanded army and also denied approval to Pompey's eastern settlements.

By this time, Pompey was one of the most powerful men in Rome. His popularity and military successes had made him a force to be reckoned with.

However, this level of popularity meant that the Senate were less likely to give him what he wanted.

So, in 60 BC, Pompey formed a political alliance with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus.

This alliance, known as the First Triumvirate, proved to be a successful political arrangement and it lasted for several years.

Even though Pompey and Crassus still hated each other, they realised that they needed to work together in order to achieve their own aims.

In 59 BC, the First Triumvirate was successful in getting Pompey his land grants, as well as getting Crassus and Caesar their own needs.

The political alliance lasted for a few more years, but once the three men no longer needed each other, it began to fall apart.  

Caesar spent the years from 58 to 50 BC on military campaign in Gaul (modern France).

The First Triumvirate began to unravel after the death of Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, where his forces were decisively defeated by the Parthians.

During this time, Pompey reestablished his political prominence and earned the respect of the Senate.

In 52 BCE, Pompey was appointed sole consul by the Senate, a rare and significant move that was made so that he could restore order following the murder of Clodius Pulcher.

At the end of 50 BC, the Senate feared that Julius Caesar had now become too powerful in Gaul and expected him to march his army on Rome.

To protect against this, the Senate called on Pompey to lead their armies.

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River (the boundary between Italy and Gaul) with his army.

This was a direct challenge to Pompey's authority and sparked a civil war between the two men. 

The war lasted for two years and eventually ended at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece in 48 BC, where Julius Caesar's forces defeat Pompey's larger army.

Pompey fled from Greece to Egypt. He was assassinated on September 28, 48 BCE, upon landing in Egypt; he was betrayed and murdered by orders of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, who sought to gain favor with Julius Caesar. 

Pompey the Great was one of the most successful generals of his time. He played a key role in defeating both Sertorius and Spartacus, two major rebellions against Roman rule.

He also conquered Syria and Judea, adding these regions to Rome's empire. 

During his career, Pompey celebrated three triumphs: a remarkable achievement that celebrated the conquest of the vast territories he had conquered, including Africa, Europe, and Asia.