Marcus Licinius Crassus

This article is about the triumvir. For other uses, see Marcus Licinius Crassus (disambiguation) and Crassus (disambiguation).
"Crassus" redirects here. Not to be confused with Croesus.

Marcus Licinius Crassus
White male bust
Bust found in the Licinian Tombs in Rome, traditionally identified as Crassus.[1][2][3]
Born115 BC[4]
DiedJune 53 BC (aged 61–62)
Near Carrhae
(modern-day Harran, Şanlıurfa, Turkey)
Cause of deathKilled in action
NationalityRoman
Occupation(s)Military commander and politician
OrganizationFirst Triumvirate
OfficeConsul (70 and 55 BC)
SpouseTertulla[5]
ChildrenMarcus & Publius Licinius Crassus
ParentPublius Licinius Crassus & Venuleia
Familygens Licinia
Military service
AllegianceRome
Sulla
Years of service86–53 BC
Battles/wars

Marcus Licinius Crassus (/ˈkræsəs/; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome".[6][7]

Crassus began his public career as a military commander under Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his civil war. Following Sulla's assumption of the dictatorship, Crassus amassed an enormous fortune through property speculation. Crassus rose to political prominence following his victory over the slave revolt led by Spartacus, sharing the consulship with his rival Pompey the Great.

A political and financial patron of Julius Caesar, Crassus joined Caesar and Pompey in the unofficial political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. Together, the three men dominated the Roman political system, but the alliance did not last long, due to the ambitions, egos, and jealousies of the three men. While Caesar and Crassus were lifelong allies, Crassus and Pompey disliked each other and Pompey grew increasingly envious of Caesar's spectacular successes in the Gallic Wars. The alliance was restabilized at the Luca Conference in 56 BC, after which Crassus and Pompey again served jointly as consuls. Following his second consulship, Crassus was appointed as the governor of Roman Syria. Crassus used Syria as the launchpad for a military campaign against the Parthian Empire, Rome's long-time eastern enemy. Crassus' campaign was a disastrous failure, ending in his defeat at the Battle of Carrhae and death in its aftermath.

Crassus' death permanently unraveled the alliance between Caesar and Pompey, since his political influence and wealth had been a counterbalance to the two greater militarists. Within four years of Crassus' death, Caesar crossed the Rubicon and began a civil war against Pompey and the optimates.[8]

  1. ^ "Review of: The Licinian Tomb. Fact or Fiction? Meddelelser fra Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek 5". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  2. ^ F. Johansen (1994). Catalogue Roman Portraits. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. p. 162, cat. no. 69. "The portrait survives in three other replicas. The one in the Louvre, МА 1220 portrays the same man about twenty years later... The identification of M. Licinius Crassus cannot be proven."
  3. ^ Statue (Ma 1220). "Tête de Marcus Licinius Crassus". Louvre.
  4. ^ Marshall 1976, p. 5.
  5. ^ Smith, William (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2., p. 831
  6. ^ Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, Irving. "Richest People in History Ancient Roman Crassus". Trivia-Library. The People's Almanac. 1975–1981. Web. 23 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Often named as the richest man ever, a more accurate conversion of sesterce would put his modern figure between $200 million and $20 billion." Peter L. Bernstein, The 20 Richest People Of All Time
  8. ^ Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Crassus, 2.3–4