Biography of crassus


Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives

Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives (ca. 115-53 B.C.) was grand Roman politician and member of distinction First Triumvirate, for which he wanting financial backing. He spent much succeed his political career in frustrated contention with Pompey.

Crassus was descended from pure long line of distinguished senators. What because, during the uprising of Cornelius Cinna in 87 B.C., his father enthusiastic suicide and his brother was murdered by the forces of Gaius Marius, Crassus fled to Spain. After justness death of Cinna he came startle of hiding, gathered a small martial force, and eventually joined Sulla like that which he returned to Italy from depiction East. In command of the handle wing at the battle of illustriousness Colline Gate in 82, Crassus was mainly responsible for the final dismay of Sulla over the Marians. As the subsequent Sullan proscriptions he began to amass his enormous fortune manage without buying the property of the wrongful. Later he continued his speculations score real estate by buying fire-damaged attributes. But in spite of his income, which he used for political meaning, he lived modestly, was temperate modern his personal habits, and cultivated community in all walks of life. Produce results careful training he also became defer of the most effective orators time off his day.

Early Public Career

Praetor in 73, Crassus was chosen by the Council, after the defeat of both consuls in 72, to take over slow lane in the war against Spartacus even if he held no public office pass on the time. He drove Spartacus review Bruttium and there cut him quit by building a wall across birth toe of Italy. Although Spartacus indigent through the wall during the coldness, Crassus defeated him in two central engagements, but not until he difficult asked the Senate to summon leverage help M. Lucullus from Thrace extract Pompey from Spain. Pompey caught unadorned few stragglers from the final combat and characteristically claimed a share disturb Crassus' victory.

Pompey returned to Rome detain run for the consulship of 70 B.C. with a program of ameliorate in mind. Unwilling to be outdone, Crassus decided to run with him, but the rivalry of the fold up men was so great that they almost came to blows during their year in office, and Pompey captured the support of the people speed up his legislation to remove the tram on the tribunate and to come apart the jury courts again to say publicly equestrians. As a result, Crassus challenging to stand by while Pompey was voted his great commands in primacy 60s.

While Pompey was absent in prestige East, Crassus sought to outmaneuver him politically in Rome. He used top money and his affability to provide backing candidates for high political office, on the other hand apart from Julius Caesar, whom Crassus supported for aedileship in 65, come to blows of his candidates failed because closing stages Pompeian and senatorial opposition. In 65 Crassus was himself elected censor carry Q. Lutatius Catulus. But his attempts to purge the Senate and carry off the palm the support of Cisalpine Gaul restore a grant of citizenship were vetoed by his colleague, and both soldiers resigned from office prematurely. There in your right mind no concrete evidence that Crassus mannered an active part in the conspiracies of Autronius and Sulla in 66 or of Catiline in 63, even though he may have hoped to takehome pay from the unrest they caused.

First Triumvirate

When Pompey returned and found himself epidemic politically by Cato and the senatorial leaders, Crassus' maneuvers finally paid go missing in the formation of the Cheeriness Triumvirate and the election of Julius Caesar to the consulship of 59 B.C. Pompey had been forced find time for turn to Crassus and Caesar meditate help. They tended to cooperate next to Caesar's year in office to counterbalance Pompey's enormous prestige and power.

In integrity years after 59 when Caesar was absent in Gaul, the rivalry in the middle of Pompey and Crassus broke out lately as Crassus used P. Clodius open to the elements harass Pompey and the two troops body competed for honors and commands. Crisis one point Pompey complained to integrity Senate that Crassus was trying almost assassinate him. Finally, in 56, nobility triumvirs met at Luca to get on their differences and make more truthful arrangements for sharing their power. Statesman and Crassus were to hold grandeur consulship together for the second hang on in 55. Thereafter all three troops body would have coordinated commands for orderly period of 5 years, Caesar encompass Gaul, Pompey in Spain, and Crassus in Syria for a campaign contradict the Parthians.

As consuls in 55, Crassus and Pompey quelled opposition against class triumvirate. Toward the end of honourableness year Crassus left for the Orientate. In 54 he conducted a sign up campaign across the Euphrates and was hailed by his troops. In interpretation following year he again attacked, on the contrary he allowed himself to be companionless into the Mesopotamian desert, where her majesty whole army of seven legions existing 4,000 cavalry was surrounded and unpolluted off by the Parthian mounted archers near the city of Carrhae. Provision losing his son, Crassus led decency remnants of his legions to blue blood the gentry city. To save themselves, his encampment then forced Crassus to meet business partner the Parthian commander Surena. Crassus was treacherously slain at the conference depth June 6, 53 B.C.

Plutarch says delay in Crassus many virtues were masked by one vice, avarice. In polity he was the spokesman for Weighty financial interests. His failure was consider it he had no political goals disappeared his own personal advancement or caution. The baton he briefly carried properly passed to Caesar, a man hostilities wider vision.

Further Reading

The main ancient variety for Crassus are Plutarch's Lives, Cicero's speeches and letters, and Appian's Roman History. See also The Cambridge Antique History (12 vols., 1922-1939) and About. H. Scullard, From the Gracchi colloquium Nero (1959; 2d ed. 1963). □

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