3. Pompey and Caesar were allies, before they fell out
Pompey’s settlement of the Eastern Mediterranean’s affairs was his greatest achievement. With few modifications, it lasted for over 500 years. He returned to Italy in 62 BC with a reputation as Rome’s greatest warrior and general. Pompey sought land upon which to settle his veterans, and legislation to ratify his settlement of the east. However, he was thwarted by political chaos in Rome. Pompey finally accomplished his goals after forming a Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus to divide Rome’s power amongst themselves, sealing the deal by marrying Caesar’s daughter.
After Crassus died in 53 BC, followed by Pompey’s wife and Caesar’s daughter soon thereafter, the remaining Triumvirs drifted apart, and finally went to war in 49 BC. Caesar invaded Italy that year, forcing Pompey and the conservative optimates to flee to Greece, where they raised an army. Caesar followed, and Rome’s two greatest generals finally met at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. Caesar proved greater, and Pompey’s army was crushed. Fleeing, he sailed to Egypt, where he was inveigled to come ashore, only to get assassinated and have his head chopped off as soon as his feet touched Egyptian soil.
