Changes

==Background==

Pompey’s family belonged to the senatorial class and they were particularly powerful in a region to the east of Rome, Picenum. The family had many clients in Picenum and they could raise a private army from their supporters. This area was the power base of Pompey and allowed him to play a key role in the Republic. Pompey’s father, was an ally of Marius in his war with Sulla and during the conflict he was able to extend his lands and number of clients. However, Pompey’s father suddenly died and Pompey inherited all his lands and a private army. He changed sides in the civil war and attached himself to Sulla and the aristocratic cause<ref> Holland, Tom. Rubicon (Vintage, London, 2003), p. 112</ref>. He later joined Sulla with three legions that he had recruited in Picenum and he helped Sulla to recover Rome. Pompey gained a reputation for brutality as this time. Sulla later ordered him to regain control of Sicily and the Province of Africa from forces loyal to Marius <ref> Goldsworthy, A., In the name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire (Weidenfield and Nicolson, New edition, 2004), p. 145</ref>. After Sulla’s retirement, Pompey became one of the most powerful men in the Republic. He used his army to obtain a command from the Senate in Spain. In Spain, he defeated the Marian supporter Sertorius. Pompey returned to Rome and he was increasingly worried by the failure of the senatorial class to provide competent government. When he became consul he repealed several measures of Sulla and limited the power of the senatorial class<ref> Goldsworthy, p. 117</ref>. At the time the situation in the east was deteriorating. Pirates had practically brought shipping to a halt and this threatened Rome’s food supply. King Mithridates IV of Pontus , in Anatolia (modern Turkey) although defeated by the Roman general Lucullus was still threatening Rome and her allies. In 67 BCE, the Senate voted that Pompey be given an extraordinary command in the east. He first acted against the pirates and attacked their main bases in Cilicia (in modern south-eastern Turkey). Pompey ended the threat from the pirates. He then turned his attention to Mithridatesnand defeated him and forced him to escape to the Crimea. Pompey annexed the territory of Mithridrates and created a new Roman province out of his kingdom. Later he conquered the Seleucid Kingdom of Syria and turned the Judean Kingdom into a client state. Pompey returned to Rome, for a Triumph and was acclaimed as Pompey the Great<ref> Plutarch. Life of Pompey, 56</ref>. He tried to secure land for his veterans but he was blocked by many senators, who disliked him intently. To secure his aims, he entered an agreement with Julius Caesar and Crassus. This arrangement the First Triumvirate brought some stability to Rome. Between them the trio managed to secure their own appointment to key positions within the Roman Republic. They had their own supporters appointed as governors and the three men effectively ruled the Empire. Pompey was able to secure command of legions in Spain and was able to reorganize the region. Later he could develop a new system to supply Rome with food and this saved the city from famine. Caesar was able to secure an army for the conquest of Gaul. The First Triumvirate ran into trouble with the defeat and death of Crassus in Parthia<ref> Life of Crassus, p. 119</ref>. The Triumvirate ended when Caesar refused to disband his armies after his conquest of Gaul and he marched on Rome. Pompey led the senatorial opposition to Caesar, despite his earlier poor relations with this group. He was forced to flee Italy. In 46 BCE. he was defeated by Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in the Balkans. In 48 BCE, he was assassinated in Egypt by a renegade Roman soldier<ref>Goldsworthy, p 213</ref>.