Pompey the Great: Rome’s Most Illustrious General, Part II

Today’s video is brought to you by Crossout; more on them in a bit. Welcome back to our biographic series on Pompey the Great, one of the most significant figures in the history of ancient Rome. His career was so prolific that we just had to give it the super-sized treatment. This is part two of a two-parter, so make sure you check out the first part if you haven’t seen it yet, because otherwise, this one’s not going to make a lot of sense.

The last time we saw our intrepid hero, he had just won the Sertorian War. This alone was worthy of another military triumph back in Rome, but Pompey was not the kind of guy to just sit back and take it easy when there was fighting to be had. During the years that Pompey had been away in Hispania, a slave rebellion had erupted in Italy in 73 BC, started by a few dozen escaped gladiators from a training school in Capua, led by a man named Spartacus. At first, this was of no particular concern; after all, slave uprisings happened all the time and were usually crushed quickly and mercilessly. This one, however, was different. Before long, the gladiators were joined by tens of thousands of other warriors as they led raids all over Italy.

The Senate’s solution was to send a praetor named Glaber after them with a force of poorly trained, poorly equipped militia, thinking that it would do the trick. In fact, it did not. Glaber’s militia was annihilated by Spartacus’s forces, and then another praetor sent on a second expedition suffered the exact same fate. If anything, they were helping the gladiators’ cause because his men equipped themselves with the weapons and armor of the dead Romans, while word spread of the mighty Spartacus and made even more people join him.

The following year, Rome sent two consular legions after the slaves—no more militia this time around. These were proper Roman soldiers, and yet the same thing happened. By 71 BC, the Senate realized they were in a spot of bother. By dismissing the revolt in its early stages, they allowed it to grow to dangerous levels. Some estimated that Spartacus’s army may have exceeded a hundred thousand men, and they could be thinking about marching on Rome itself. This was the time when Pompey would have come in handy, but he was still in Hispania at this point. Therefore, the Senate turned to their second-best option, Marcus Crassus.

Pompey and Crassus had fought together under Sulla and enjoyed a frenemy relationship. They often had to compete for the same goals, but overall they both benefited more from having the other one around than getting rid of them. Crassus accepted the task of ridding Rome of Spartacus and his slave army, and this time there were no half-measures. Crassus went after his target with eight legions of Roman soldiers plus tens of thousands of auxiliaries. Crassus gained the upper hand in the conflict and at one point had trapped Spartacus and his army in Bruttium, launching a war of attrition hoping to starve them out.

Things were going well until Crassus received terrible news: he was getting reinforcements. But hold on a minute, wouldn’t that be good news? Well, no, not really, because the reinforcements consisted of Pompey and his army. He had finished his work in Hispania just in time to take part in the tail end of the gladiator war and collect his share of the credit. Unsurprisingly, Crassus wanted the glory for himself, but on the other side, Spartacus wasn’t thrilled with the idea either since it meant fighting two armies instead of one.

Therefore, the two camps met in combat once and for all at the Battle of the Silarus River. Crassus was triumphant, and Spartacus presumably was killed in battle since his body was never recovered. Yet it was Pompey who had the last laugh. A few thousand slaves managed to slip past Crassus’s forces and walked right into Pompey’s army, which was just arriving to join in the fray. After he diligently slaughtered every last one of them, Pompey sent word to the Senate saying that Crassus had conquered the gladiators in pitched battle but that he himself had ended the war entirely. This was technically correct, which is the best kind of correct, but he was clearly exaggerating his role in the matter while minimizing that of Crassus.

The latter had no choice but to just grin and bear it. He knew that Pompey was more popular than him, and he didn’t want to come off as bitter and complaining. Therefore, when they arrived in Rome, Crassus just sat back and watched the city throw another triumph in Pompey’s honor, although truth be told, it was mainly for his actions in the Sertorian War and not the slave rebellion. Once it was over, Crassus approached Pompey with a smile on his face and an extended handshake and made clear his true intentions: he wanted Pompey’s support for the position of consul, and Pompey was happy to give it to him. In fact, both men were put forward as candidates for the consulship the following year.

Technically, Pompey should not have been eligible, both due to his young age and because he had never held any of the lesser offices, but the entire course of senatorial norms went out the window when it came to Pompey. Ultimately, a special decree was passed, and in 70 BC, both men were elected consuls. The most significant thing that Pompey did during his time as consul was to bring back the plebeian tribune, or the tribune of the people. Historically, this was the first office in Rome open to commoners, and it was also their greatest check on the power of the upper classes since the tribune could veto the decisions of the Senate and even the consuls. Sulla had done away with the position, but both Pompey and Crassus agreed to restore it to the tremendous pleasure of the Roman people. Apparently, it was the only act during their one-year term on which the two powerful consuls cooperated.

Once Pompey’s consulship was over, he was ready to put down the pen and pick up the sword again. He was still in his prime, after all, so there was no reason for him to give up the military life that he loved so much. Surely Rome was always embroiled in one conflict or another, and now was no exception, as the Republic was fighting the Third Mithridatic War against Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus. Nowadays, Mithridates isn’t particularly well known, which is a bit unfair since he was one of Rome’s most formidable opponents during its Republic years. He had been a thorn in their side for decades and had waged his first war with Rome against Sulla. Back then, Sulla had the upper hand and could have probably eradicated the problem completely; however, he was rushing to get back to Rome to deal with that pesky civil war, so he hastily agreed to a treaty with Mithridates.

Then, in 83 BC, the second war started, but this one was relatively brief and proved inconclusive before each side retreated deep into its own territory. Again, that’s how we arrived at the third and final Mithridatic War, the longest of the bunch. It started in 74 BC when Mithridates invaded the neighboring kingdom of Bithynia. This was intended to become a Roman province, but if you’re good at remembering dates, you might recall that at that time, Pompey was in Hispania fighting the Sertorian War, so he couldn’t also go to Anatolia to fight the kingdom of Pontus. Therefore, the two consuls of that year, Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Marcus Aurelius Cotta, were sent to deal with the problem, and they did a pretty good job. They defeated Mithridates and pushed him back several times, but they couldn’t deal with the threat permanently.

By 69 BC, the war was still going hot, and Pompey was raring to go, but there was just one problem: there were no vacancies. Mithridates was one of the Republic’s greatest enemies, and taking him down would have been a major feather in the cap of a military commander. The guy could pull that off, well, he knew he was going to get a biographic video 2000 years later, and so did every other Roman general. Nobody was willing to give up their spot in the war for Pompey, but that was okay because he had another foe to fight: pirates.

Over the last couple of decades, pirates in the Mediterranean had become an ever-increasing problem for Rome. They were responsible for attacks on vital grain ships as well as taking prominent Romans prisoner and holding them for ransom. The most famous example was Julius Caesar, who was captured in 75 BC and held captive for over a month. Like Spartacus and his gladiators, the pirates started out as a minor nuisance. Because of this, Rome assumed it could deal with them at any time, so it left them unchecked until they became a serious threat. Plutarch estimated that at the height of their power, the pirates had over 1,000 ships and controlled 400 cities. Several Roman commanders tried to subdue the marauders and failed, and in 67 BC, one fleet of pirates got so bold that they sailed up the mouth of the Tiber and attacked the port of Ostia near Rome itself. Such an act was considered a great humiliation for the Republic that couldn’t even protect the waters near its capital.

Therefore, an extraordinary move was made. A new law was passed, the Lex Gabinia, which conferred great powers on a proconsul and gave him complete control over the port cities in the Mediterranean Sea. This was accompanied by significant financial resources and a large fleet in order to deal with the pirates, and the man who gained these remarkable privileges was none other than Pompey. Not everyone was thrilled with the decision, and many fought fervently to stop the law from passing. They were uncomfortable with the idea of one person having all of that authority, and to be fair, they had a point. Just in the last 20 years or so, there had been several men who rebelled against Rome’s status quo and tried to take power for themselves. Fortunately for the Senate, Pompey was not one such man. Sure, he wanted all the power, the money, and the glory that he could get, but he was content with doing it within the bounds established by the Roman Republic.

In terms of pure efficiency, this might have been Pompey’s finest hour. He had 200 ships at his disposal and as many soldiers as he needed. He divided the Mediterranean into 13 districts, and each one was assigned a number of ships led by a commander he trusted. Meanwhile, Pompey himself traveled with his 60 best ships to Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia, since that was the biggest pirate haven. Within 40 days, most of the seas were free of pirates. Pompey showed great mercy to those he captured, which prompted many others to surrender willingly since they knew the good times were over. Pompey then needed just a few more months to track down the ones who refused to submit peacefully. Overall, it was a great success for Pompey, and it was followed by even more good news because the Senate was starting to think that maybe he should deal with Mithridates after all.

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And now back to today’s video. It was in early 66 BC that a tribune named Manilius began suggesting that Rome turn over its eastern command to Pompey. As we said, the previous guy, Lucullus, was doing all right, but he suffered a major setback in 67 BC when he lost an important battle that turned the tide in Mithridates’ favor. Some were even accusing Lucullus of prolonging the war intentionally so that he could loot and plunder as much as possible. A new law was passed, the Lex Manilia, which made it official: Pompey was now in charge. Apparently, when he heard of his new appointment, Pompey reacted with mock histrionics, bemoaning the fact that he’s always the one who has to take on these massive challenges. He said, “Alas for my endless tasks! How much better it were to be an unknown man if I am never to cease from my military service and cannot lay aside this load of envy and spend my time in the country with my wife.” This was all for show, of course; any close friend of Pompey understood that this was basically his dream job.

Pompey wasted no time in raising an army and marching east towards Anatolia. He stopped at every kingdom and province along the way, not only to continue building his forces but also to undo everything Lucullus had done. He rewarded those that Lucullus had punished and punished those that he had favored. If nothing else, it was just to show everyone that Lucullus was now as weak as a newborn lamb and that Pompey was the new head honcho. There wasn’t much Lucullus could do about it, but he did insult Pompey by comparing him to a lazy carrion bird who feasted on the bodies that others had killed, referring here to the fact that he always joined wars towards the end after other men such as Crassus, Metellus, and Catulus had done the work. It’s an interesting idea, and it might be a valid criticism; it’s also what definitely happened in this case.

By the time Pompey made his appearance in 65 BC, the kingdom of Pontus was mainly under Roman control, and the fighting was always taking place in its neighboring allied kingdoms such as Armenia, Cappadocia, and Iberia. Pompey started his campaign by fighting Mithridates at the Battle of Lysias in Ionia. It was a decisive victory for Pompey, and he forced his opponent to fall back and retreat into the mountains. Mithridates was hoping that his allies would keep Pompey busy while he raised a new army, but he was wrong on both counts. His allies proved no match for the Roman might. A few more battles occurred in 65 BC, all won by Pompey, and victory at the Battle of Abas against the kingdom of Albania turned out to be the last open engagement of the campaign. Meanwhile, Mithridates was not successful in reinforcing his army. It seems that the local forces had been all but exhausted, and those who remained were fed up with years and years of war. Even the king’s own sons rebelled against their father. So, with no other prospects, Mithridates VI committed suicide in 63 BC. Half of the kingdom of Pontus was annexed by Rome, and together with Bithynia, it was turned into a new Roman province.

Pompey had won the Mithridatic War, but he wasn’t finished. Since he was already in the area and still had an army itching for a fight, why not put it to good use? He captured Syria, turning it into another Roman province. He also attacked Judea, annexing half of it and rendering the other half into a powerless vassal state. He then liberated hundreds of small towns, settlements, and strongholds and completely reorganized Rome’s eastern defensive frontier into a new system that stayed in place for hundreds of years. Pompey had no authority to do any of this, by the way. Officially, his reasoning was that the region was unstable and that this was a threat to Rome’s new eastern possessions, but many feared that he had completely given in to his insatiable lust for power and glory and that soon after, Rome would be next.

The entire Senate collectively breathed a sigh of relief in December 62 BC when they found out that Pompey had reached Brundisium in southern Italy and had disbanded his army. He paid his soldiers, sent them on their merry way, and went off on a sort of celebration tour throughout Italy. Suffice to say that he expected another triumph when he reached Rome. His actions against the pirates and against Mithridates were more than enough to warrant such festivities, but this was the biggest triumph in the history of Rome. Cassius Dio referred to it as the great event and said that Pompey had a trophy for every single war he won and then a giant one, “decked out in costly fashion and bearing an inscription stating that it was a trophy of the inhabited world.” Plutarch gave a more detailed account that truly highlighted the extent of Pompey’s conquests. He said his triumph had such magnitude that although it was distributed over two days, still the time would not suffice. Inscriptions borne in advance of a procession integrated the nations over which he triumphed: these were Pontus, Armenia, Cappadocia, Phrygia, Media, Colchis, Iberia, Albania, Syria, Cilicia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Palestine, Judea, Arabia, and all the power of the pirates. Among these people, no less than a thousand strongholds had been captured in cities, not much under 900 in number, beside 800 piratical ships, while 39 cities had been founded. To put it simply, Rome had never seen a champion the likes of Pompey the Great.

In spite of this, or more likely because of this, Pompey didn’t wield a lot of political influence. He wanted the Senate to ratify and recognize all the vassal states and kings that he installed in the east, but they were reluctant to do so. Many senators had been wary for years of all the power granted to Pompey, so they thought it best to cut him down to size a little bit. There wasn’t much Pompey could do about it; he was at home on the battlefield, not in the