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Pompey believed that these territories could be effectively directly ruled by Rome. After the death of Mithridates in 63, he established a series of client kingdoms. He made his protégé Tigranes king in Armenia, who paid Pompey very well for the honor. The Roman General also turned the Bosphoran Kingdom in the Crimea into a client state, it would stay a client of Rome until the mid-4th century. Pompey also established a series of protectorates in the Caucuses, such as Colchis (modern Georgia) on the Black Sea. These client kingdoms and protectorates created a defensive frontier system that was to last for more than half a millennium. Pompey was the architect of the Roman East and this is regarded as his greatest achievement. However, he is widely blamed for a great diplomatic mistake. During his conquest of the Roman East he met with envoys of the Parthian Empire. This was a large empire based, in modern Iran and Iraq, that had a formidable army. The Parthian King offered Rome a peace treaty but Pompey rejected this with great arrogance. Many at the time believed that this led to many conflicts between Rome and the Parthian Empire, in subsequent decades and centuries <ref> Goldsworthy, p. 156</ref>.

Pompey was very important in the development of the Annona or the supply of free or subsidized grain for Roman citizens. The city’s hinterland was unable to grow enough food for the city and it is estimated that up to 90% of the city’s food had to be imported. Pompey played a crucial role in the development of the Annona. He was entrusted during his war with the Pirates to safeguard the seal lanes. He cleared the Eastern Mediterranean of pirates. He then turned his attention to the food supply of Rome. Pompey established a system whereby grain from Sicily, Egypt and North Africa was exported to Rome by sea. This grain was then distributed to the populace of Rome<ref> Garnsey, Peter. Famine and Food Supply in the Graeco-Roman World: Response to Rise and Crisis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998)p. 231</ref>. Pompey used this grain to secure support in the city and to establish social stability in the city. This food distribution system that was first developed by Pompey the Great was briefly abandoned but was resurrected during the reign of Augustus. It was to remain in place for several centuries and played a key role in Rome’s economy, society and even politics<ref> Garnsey, p 117</ref>.