Marcus Licinius Crassus

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Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives (Latin: M·LICINIVS·P·F·P·N·CRASSVS In English: "Marcus Licinius Crassus, son of Publius, grandson of Publius") (c. 115 BC – 53 BC) was a Roman general and politician who 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.

Biography

Marcus Licinius Crassus was a powerful figure in Roman politics on account of his great wealth; he was nicknamed Dives, meaning "richest". 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 for a modest sum, and then employ his army of 500 clients to put the fire out before much damage had been done.

The proscription of Cinna forced Crassus to flee to Spain. After Cinna's death he passed into Africa, and then to Italy, where he ingratiated himself with Sulla.

Sent into battle against Spartacus, he gained a decisive victory, and was honored with an ovation. The six thousand captured slaves who had rebelled under Spartacus were crucified along the Via Appia by his orders. 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 Spains 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. 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 manouvre. He was taken prisoner by the Parthian general Surena. Noting that Crassus was the richest man in Rome yet had attacked Parthia for no other reason than to loot it of its wealth, Surena executed him by forcing him to swallow molten gold.

His head was 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 The Bacchae of Euripides: it was used as a prop, standing in for Pentheus' head in the final scene.

Chronology

• c.115 BC - Crassus Born
• 97 BC - Father is Consul of Rome
• 87 BC - Crassus flees to Spain 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 at the Battle of Carrhae

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