Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus

Podcast transcript

Gnaeus Pompeius was some of the vital personalities through the late Roman Republic.

He was thought-about a army wunderkind who, at an early age, was given nice duties and by no means did not ship victory.

Nevertheless, historical past remembers him not as the best Roman of his period however moderately as a aspect participant within the occasions which introduced down the republic and, in the long run, a loser on the battlefield.

Be taught extra concerning the rise and fall of Pompey Magnus on this episode of The whole lot All over the place Every day.

If issues had gone even barely otherwise, the title Pompey may be as well-known immediately as that of Julius Caesar.

There have been a number of episodes of this podcast the place the title Pompey has come up, and that’s type of how historical past views him. He was a major participant within the occasions which led to the autumn of the Roman Republic, however he was not the lead participant.

Nevertheless, there was a time when in the event you have been to be transported again to Rome and requested individuals on the road who the best Roman was, most of them would have mentioned Pompey.

Gnaeus Pompeius, referred to from right here on out merely as Pompey, was born within the yr 106 BC, he was born right into a profitable household, however not an illustrious household.

His father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was the primary of his household to change into a senator, finally rising to the rank of consul in 89 BC.

Pompey’s public profession started serving beneath his father through the Social Battle, which came about between 91 to 87 BC. The Social Battle was a rebel by numerous Italian allies in opposition to Rome.

Throughout a short civil struggle throughout this era, Pompey’s father died, and Pompey took over his father’s money owed and property.

One of many figures to return out of the Social Battle was Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who has additionally been talked about in a number of episodes.

After the struggle, he was despatched off to struggle King Mithrades of Pontus within the first First Mithridatic Battle, which induced monumental controversy. When Sulla got here again in 83 BC, it sparked the most important civil struggle that Rome had ever seen.

Sulla landed his forces in Brundusium within the south of Italy. Pompey, who had raised his personal military, determined to again Sulla and marched south to hyperlink up with him.

Pompey distinguished himself through the civil struggle, incomes the respect of Sulla, who, in no small half, managed to win and get declared dictator resulting from Pompey.

The forces of Sulla’s opponent, Marius, fled to Sicily and North Africa the place Pompey adopted.

In Sicily in 82 BC, he captured one of many leaders of the Marian forces, Gnaeus Papirius Carbo, and had him executed. This earned him the nickname adulescentulus carnifex or the younger butcher.

In North Africa, he defeated the Marian commander Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and deposed the king of Numidia.

Round this time, after this string of successes, his troops started to name him Pompeus Magnus, or Pompey the Nice, the time period beforehand used to explain Alexander the Nice.

He quickly formally adopted Mangus as his cognomen.

Upon his return to Rome, he demanded the best honor that might be bestowed upon a Roman, a triumph, and he refused to disband his military till he obtained it. The resistance to granting him a triumph was that he was solely 24 years outdated, extremely younger for such an honor

Pompey was simply getting began.

In 76 BC, he entered Hispania to place down a rebel by a Roman Common named Quintus Sertorius. His report in Hispania wasn’t good, he did undergo one main defeat, however in the long run, he received and managed to revive Roman rule to the area whereas on the identical time constructing his energy base.

Whereas he was ending up in Hispania, the Third Servile Battle broke out. This was the slave revolt that was led by Spartacus, which I lined in a earlier episode.

The Romans have been led by Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome however a person that had no army accomplishments. In 71 BC, Pompey managed to return to Italy on the very finish of the marketing campaign and was given a lot of the credit score for ending the struggle, which angered Crassus to no finish.

His victories in Hispania resulted in him incomes a second triumph, which now put him in very uncommon firm.

At this level, Pompey had change into one of many senior males in Rome, and there was discuss of electing him consul. Nevertheless, the minimal age to run for consul was 42, and Pompey was solely 36.

The Senate handed a particular decision waiving the requirement for Pompey, and he was elected to Consul in 70BC alongside Crassus.

The 2 males disagreed on all the pieces, and as one consul might veto the opposite, nearly nothing was accomplished that yr.

After his consulship in 67 BC, Pompey was referred to as upon to resolve an issue that Rome had suffered for years: pirates. Pirates had been energetic everywhere in the Mediterranean, and so they have been hindering delivery and commerce.

Pompey managed to resolve the issue in solely 40 days. Most of the pirates gave up with out a struggle resulting from Pompey’s fame and the truth that he provided clemency to pirates who gave up with out a struggle.

It was after this that he achieved what was arguably his best accomplishment.

Each since Sulla had been despatched to Pontus to struggle King Mithrades, Rome had issues with him, one thing which I lined in a earlier episode.

Who did the Senate flip to to complete the job and defeat King Mithrades? Pompey, after all.

In 66 BC, he’s given management of the Roman armies in Asia Minor, and he goes on to lastly, decisively defeat King Mithrades.

Nevertheless, he went a lot additional than that. He added Pontus and the close by area of Bithynia as Roman provinces. When the Seleucid Empire collapsed, he annexed Syria as nicely in 64 BC. Within the course of, he additionally made Judea right into a consumer kingdom of Rome.

These areas have been very rich and introduced some huge cash to Roman coffers. Additionally they made Pompey fairly rich as nicely and grew his base of shoppers past what he had established in Hispania and in Italy.

When he returned to Rome in 61 BC, he was given his third triumph, which was thought-about to be the best triumph in historical past, lasting a full two days, starting on his forty fifth birthday.

At this level, Pompey is driving excessive. He has extra army glory than anybody else within the Republic. He has a community of shoppers across the Mediterranean. He’s a former consul, he has change into extremely rich, and he’s unquestionably the preferred Roman with the lots.

Pompey, nevertheless, was not essentially in style with lots of the Senators.

The Senate refused to ratify the treaties he signed whereas within the East, and so they refused to distribute land to his veterans and to different landless Romans.

It was at this level he was approached by a really bold Senator six years his junior named Gaius Julius Caesar.

Caesar prompt that he, Pompey, and his nemesis Crassus get collectively and run issues. Collectively, they might get all of their pet tasks handed, which didn’t essentially battle with one another. Pompey had recognition, Crassus had the cash, and Caesar was the balancing drive between them.

In the present day we all know it because the First Trimvurate.

To seal the deal, Pompey married the daughter of Julius Caesar, Julia.

Caesar was elected consul in 59 BC and managed to ram all their tasks by way of the senate.

After his time period as consul was full, Caesar left Rome to change into the proconsul within the provinces of Transalpine Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Illyricum.

Caesar was up in Gaul, principally turning into the Julius Caesar that everybody is aware of. He engaged in a sequence of conquests that have been completely unapproved by the Senate however which have been very fashionable with the individuals.

Again in Rome, Pompey targeted on home issues, not army ones. In 57 BC, he was put accountable for the Roman grain provide, which gave him imperium powers usually granted to a proconsul.

In 55 BC, the three renewed their settlement, and Pompey, alongside Crassus, was elected to his second time period as consul.

As a part of the deal, Caesar’s time period as proconsul of Gaul was prolonged one other 5 years, Crassus was given management of Syria, and Pompey was given management of Hispania, nevertheless, he by no means really left Rome and ruled it by proxy.

It was round this time that Pompey constructed the Theater of Pompey in Rome, which was the primary everlasting theater ever inbuilt Rome.

Issues quickly fell aside. Pompey’s spouse and Caesar’s daughter Julia died in childbirth in 54 BC, and Crassus died whereas making an attempt to attain his army glory in Parthia in 53 BC.

With Crassus lifeless and the bond between Pompey and Caesar that Julia supplied gone, tensions between them started to rise.

Pompey noticed Caesar’s conquests in Gaul as taking away from his standing in Rome.

Pompey was elected as seek the advice of for a 3rd time in 52 BC, and in a extremely uncommon transfer, supported by a lot of the senate, he was elected consul by himself.

He helped usher by way of a sequence of legal guidelines that might make Caesar retroactively chargeable for legal guidelines that he broke. As long as Caesar had Imperium, he was immune from being tried. Nevertheless, his imperium was going to run out along with his time period as proconsul in 49 BC.

Caesar’s plan was to run for consul once more, which might prolong his immunity, nevertheless, to try this, he needed to seem in individual in Rome to declare his candidacy. The second he crossed the pomerium, the normal boundary of Rome, he would lose the imperium that he had in Gaul.

Pompey and the Senate thought they’d Caesar in a authorized entice.

Caesar, nevertheless, did what nobody anticipated and marched to Rome along with his military. This was the crossing of the Rubicon and saying, “The die is solid.”

Pompey was given command of a consular military, however he wasn’t actually in management. He was not consul by this time, and all the pieces needed to be permitted by the Senate.

Furthermore, Caesar had veteran troops, and Pompey needed to increase a military from scratch.

The Senate wasn’t ready for a army confrontation, so when Caesar headed in the direction of Rome, Pompey realizing he was outnumbered, suggested the Senate to fall again, first to Brundesium within the south after which all the best way to Macedonia.

Pompey claimed that they might regroup and lift legions within the east, the place he nonetheless had numerous shoppers from the time he spent there, and he did.

He managed the Roman navy, and the military he assembled was twice the dimensions of the one which Caesar commanded. Pompey managed to destroy a fleet that Caesar was constructed to move his troops throughout the Adriatic.

Caesar and his forces did handle to cross the Adriatic. After 4 years of cat and mouse, with Pompey and a lot of the senators in exile, issues got here to a head in 48 BC on the Battle of Pharsalus.

It had been years since Pompey led troops in battle, and Caesar had been main his legions in fight nearly continuous for over a decade. On paper, Pompey’s forces outnumbered Caesar’s 38,000 to 22,000, and furthermore, Pompey had 7,000 cavalry in opposition to Caesar’s 1,000.

When push got here to shove, Caesar decisively defeated Pompey on the battlefield, leaving lots of the leaders of the anti-Cesarian faction both lifeless or in flight.

As for Pompey, he fled to Egypt dressed as a civilian. Most of the shoppers he had established within the east have been now lifeless or captured. He went to the one place the place he thought he can be welcome and discover assist, Egypt.

Nevertheless, when he got here ashore, he was killed and beheaded by a Roman mercenary who was serving within the Egyptian military, Lucius Septimius. He was killed as a result of the pharaoh on the time, Ptolemy XIII, thought he might curry favor with Caesar within the civil struggle along with his sister, Cleopatra VII.

His plan didn’t work.

Historical past principally remembers Pompey for what occurred on the finish of his life, not for what he did throughout it.

When he fought the largest battle of his profession, and certainly an important battle within the historical past of the Roman Republic, he misplaced. That loss resulted in him shedding his life in a most ignoble manner for a Roman of his stature.

It’s attention-grabbing to assume that if the Battle of Pharsalus had gone one other manner, if his calvary cost had been profitable, then Pompey would have gone down as the best Roman basic in historical past and because the savior of the republic.

As an alternative, he’s thought-about the person that misplaced the Roman Republic.

Source_link