Marcus Licinius Crassus

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Marcus Licinius Crassus (Latin: M·LICINIVS·P·F·P·N·CRASSVS^[1]) (c. 115 BC – 53 BC) was a Roman general and politician who generalled Sulla's decisive victory at Colline gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and entered into a secret pact, known as the First Triumvirate, with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar. One of the richest men of the era, he was killed after a defeat at Carrhae.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Rise to power

Marcus Licinius Crassus was a powerful figure in Roman politics on account of his great wealth; he was nicknamed Dives, meaning "rich". He acquired this wealth through traffic in slaves, the working of silver mines, and judicious purchases of land and houses, especially those of proscribed citizens. Most notorious was his acquisition of burning houses: when he received word that a house was on fire, he would arrive and purchase the (apparently lost) property along with surrounding buildings for a modest sum, and then employ his army of 500 clients to put the fire out before much damage had been done (employing the Roman method of firefighting -- destroying the burning building to curtail the spread of the flames) The proscription of Cinna forced Crassus to flee to Hispania. After Cinna's death he passed into Africa, and then to Italy, where he ingratiated himself with Sulla. When Sulla was defeated by Julius Caeser, as opposed to him being execute for collaboration, his money made him a good friend in general Pompey, a successful leader who was sent along with Caeser to root pirates out of the mediterranian. Pompey was impressed with Caesar and the duo marked him as a man to bring under their banner.

Sent into battle against Spartacus [by the Senate], he gained a decisive victory, and was honored with an ovation. Pompey would steal his honor and victory with a letter to the Senate claiming credit for ending the war. This caused much strife between Pompey and Crassus, which would later be mended by Caesar. The six thousand captured slaves who had rebelled under Spartacus were crucified along the Via Appia by his orders. Also, under his orders, the bodies of the slaves were not taken down. This was an object lesson to anyone that might think of revolting against Rome in the future. Soon afterwards he was elected consul with Pompey, and (70 BC) displayed his wealth by entertaining the populace at 10,000 tables and distributing sufficient grain to last each family three months. In 65 he was censor, and in 60 he joined Pompey and Caesar in the coalition known as the First Triumvirate. In 55 he was again consul with Pompey, and a law was passed assigning the provinces of the two Hispanias and Syria to Pompey and Crassus respectively for five years.

Crassus received Syria as his province, which promised to be an inexhaustible source of wealth. It would have been had he not also sought military glory and crossed the Euphrates in an attempt to conquer Parthia. We are told that the King of Armenia offered Crassus the aid of some forty-thousand troops on the condition that Crassus invade through Armenia that the king could provide for his troops. His legions were defeated at Carrhae (modern Harran in Turkey) in 53 BC by a numerically inferior Parthian force consisting mainly of armoured heavy cavalry and horse archers, against which Crassus was unable to maneuver, instead being stuck in the testudo defense formation or shield turtle. He was taken prisoner by the Parthian general Surena. Crassus was reportedly the richest man in Rome, and attacked Parthia not only because of its great wealth, but because of a desire to match the military exploits of his two major rivals, Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar, and indeed arguably those of Alexander the Great.

Mocking the great Crassus, they poured molten liquid gold down his throat after his death, saying "This is a fitting drink for a man so thirsty for gold!". His head was then cut off and sent to Orodes II, the Parthian king. According to some sources, this trophy was revealed to the king in a particularly dramatic fashion during a performance of The Bacchae of Euripides: it was used as a prop, standing in for Pentheus' head in the final scene.^{[citation needed]}. It was not until the Parthian Campaign of Trajan that the area was brought under Roman control.

[edit] Chronology

• c.115 BC - Crassus Born
• 97 BC - Father is Consul of Rome
• 87 BC - Crassus flees to Hispania from Marian Forces
• 84 BC - Joins Sulla against Marians
• 78 BC - Sulla dies
• 74 BC - Revolt of Spartacus
• 73 BC - Crassus is praetor
• 71 BC - Crassus defeats Spartacus
• 70 BC - Consulship of Crassus and Pompey
• 65 BC - Crassus is Censor
• 63 BC - Catiline Conspiracy
• 59 BC - First Triumvirate formed. Caesar is Consul
• 56 BC - Conference at Luca
• 55 BC - Second consulship of Crassus and Pompey. In November, Crassus leaves for Syria
• 54 BC - Campaign against the Parthians
• 53 BC - Crassus dies immediately after the Battle of Carrhae

[edit] Fictional Depictions

• Marcus Licinius Crassus is a principal character in the 1960 film Spartacus, played by actor Laurence Olivier. The film is based on Howard Fast's 1951 novel of the same name.
• Marcus Licinius Crassus is a principal character in the 2004 TV film, Spartacus, played by actor Angus Macfadyen.
• Marcus Licinius Crassus is mentioned in the 2005-2007 television series Rome during the third episode of the first season, An Owl in a Thornbush.

[edit] Trivia

It has been claimed that some of the Roman prisoners of war at Carrhae were used by the Parthians to guard their Eastern border. These men were eventually captured by the Huns and then by the Chinese, in whose population they eventually integrated. DNA tests [1] are being carried out in the remote Chinese village of Liqian in the Gobi desert to confirm this theory. See Sino-Roman relations for more details.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ In English: "Marcus Licinius Crassus, son of Publius, grandson of Publius"

[edit] References

[edit] Primary sources

• Plutarch's Life of Crassus D G L

[edit] Secondary sources

• Hennessy, Dianne. (1990). Studies in Ancient Rome. Thomas Nelson Australia. ISBN 0-17-007413-7. 
• Holland, Tom. (2003). Rubicon. 
• Marcus Licinius Crassus

[edit] External Links

• Crassus entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith