Gnei Pompey the Great or Gnei Pompey Magnus (Born September 29, 106 BC - died September 29, 48 BC (58 years old)) - Roman commander, statesman, consul of the Roman Republic.
Belonging to a noble family to a large extent determines the future of a person, but the attitude of people to a particular person is determined by the personal qualities of the person himself. This is especially significant in the example of two representatives of the plebeian clan of Pompeii - father and son. "Our beloved son of a hostile father" - these were the words the Romans expressed their feelings for Gnaeus Pompey, who received the nickname the Great. The Roman people adored their son with the same passion with which they hated their father.
The father of Pompey the Great - Gnei Pompey Strabo - was a famous commander. He was in the service of Sulla, Sertorius, Cinna and other representatives of the “Marians” party, but did not make a political career himself. 89 BC - he was elected consul, but two years later Strabo did not want to become the head of the oligarchic army, since the optimists refused him a new consulate.
During his lifetime, many feared the power of his weapons - he was a wonderful warrior. He was also distinguished by physical strength, courage, energy and endurance. At the same time, one should notice his indecision, somewhere shyness, lack of education. His biggest vice was incredible self-interest, which was the reason for the hatred of the Romans. He died from a lightning strike, and during the funeral ritual his body was thrown from the burial bed and desecrated.
The son was in character the exact opposite of his father. Plutarch, who has a description of the life and deeds of Pompey the Great, wrote that Pompey "had a very attractive appearance, which disposed in his favor before he could speak." In appearance, he was compared with Alexander the Great - "soft hair thrown back and lively shiny eyes gave him a resemblance to the images of the Macedonian king", but Plutarch himself speaks of some tension in such a comparison.
Young Pompey began his military activities at the age of seventeen under the command of his father and with him was persecuted, especially aggravated after his death, when Pompey had a chance to defend himself against the charge against his father of embezzling public funds (withholding the spoils taken during the conquest of Asculus). But with the help of Lucius Philip and Quintus Hortense, Pompey won the case. During the trial, he showed firmness and quick wit, maturity (beyond his years) judgments, which attracted the sympathy of fellow citizens to his side.
The praetor Publius Antistius, who was a judge at the trial, was so fascinated by Pompey that he offered him his daughter as his wife and soon became his father-in-law. At this time, Pompey entered the service of Cinna, but since the hatred of his father had not yet been forgotten, he was forced to retire to his estate. He left in secret, which gave rise to rumors that Cinna had given the order to kill Pompey. After some time, Cinna himself was killed, and his place was taken by Carbon - a tyrant, even more cruel than Cinna.
83 BC - when Sulla landed in Italy, Pompey went over to his side and formed three legions in the Picenian district, where his lands were and where his family was popular among the local population. With this army, Pompey marched towards Sulla, defeating the allied army of Carrina, Clelius and Brutus along the way and occupying several cities. Sulla received Pompey with honors, awarding him the title of emperor. Going to Metellus in northern Italy, Pompey took the Seine of Gallic by storm and, together with Crassus, went to Umbria, having won a victory at Spoletia.
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When the Marians were finally defeated, and Sulla was proclaimed dictator, Pompey was showered with awards. Sulla divorced him from his wife Antistia and married his stepdaughter Emilia, separated for this from her first husband.
82 BC - Pompey was sent with a large army and 120 ships to Sicily against Perperna, who immediately left the island. At this time, Carbon was captured and executed. Pompey finally destroyed the supporters of Mary in Sicily, and then, having crossed over to Africa, went against Domitius Ahenobarbus and finished with him in 40 days.
After the end of the campaign, Sulla sent a letter to Pompey, in which he demanded to disband the troops and wait for his successor. But the warriors, among whom Pompey enjoyed incredible popularity, refused to obey orders from Rome. In order not to irritate the troops, Sulla had to resign himself, and he even sent a greeting to Pompey, calling him the Great. 79 BC - Pompey was the first in the history of Rome, without being in the rank of senator, to receive a triumph. After the death of Sulla, Pompey did not join any party or group, but remained a simple soldier carrying out the will of Rome.
77 BC he was sent against Lepidus to northern Italy, where he laid siege to Mutina. Lepidus could not resist Pompey and fled to Sardinia, where he died. But Pompey did not want to dissolve the army with which he fought against Lepidus, and began to expect powers to be sent to Spain against Sertorius and Herennius. However, since Pompey had never yet held any of the civilian offices, the Senate did not dare to make this appointment and yielded only to forced necessity.
Having received the governorship in eastern Spain, because in western Spain at that time there were troops of Metellus, Pompey in the summer of 77 BC. crossed the Alps and in the fall came to the left bank of the Ebro. Sertorius tried to prevent the connection of opponents and not to let Pompey pass beyond the Ebro, but his positions were broken, and in the battle of Valencia, Herennius was defeated, having lost more than 10,000 people.
75 BC - Metellus moved to eastern Spain to join Pompey. Both Sertorius and Pompey wanted the battle to take place before Metellus's troops arrived. It was unprofitable for Sertorius to combine the forces of the enemy, and Pompey did not want to share the glory of the victor with another commander. They met on the river Sukrona, the day was drawing to a close, and the battle began in the evening. The outcome of this battle on the first day was not determined, none of the generals managed to win a complete victory. Pompey was wounded during the battle and nearly captured. The next day, both generals again lined up their troops to continue the battle, but at this time the legions of Metellus approached Pompey, and Sertorius ordered his troops to disperse.
In 74-73 years. BC. the fight on the Ebro went on with varying success - there were no easy victories. It ended only the following year with the death of Sertorius, who was killed during a feast by his own generals. The last bands of Sertorians were disbanded by Pompey. Perperna, who fought on the side of Sertorius, was captured, and the Spanish cities began to open the gates to the troops of Pompey. The war in Spain did not bring new glory to Pompey, because he played a secondary role in it, not showing the same determination and speed. The reason for this was the careless attitude of the Senate towards him, which did not send money, ammunition and provisions to the army in time.
Returning to Italy, Pompey took part in the final stage of the struggle against the rebellious slaves under the leadership of Spartacus. By the time of his arrival, the main forces of the rebels had already defeated Crassus, but the glory of the winner of Spartacus went to Pompey. Then he united with the optimists, whom he promised, if he reached the consulate, to pass laws in a democratic spirit with the aim of repealing Sulla's constitution. Approaching Rome with the army, Pompey demanded consulate and triumph for himself, and the soldiers - the provision of land.
This gave him the opportunity to win the election. Under the new rules adopted at the suggestion of Pompey, the tribunes of the people were restored in their rights, the horsemen received the same right to participate in the courts as the senators, and the censors were returned to their former power.
The army was completely on the side of Pompey, the Roman citizens were also well-disposed towards him. All this forced the opponents to be silent. But Pompey himself did not dare to take an extreme step and, having achieved the nearest goal, dismissed the army, resigning from himself the powers of consul.
Until 67 BC Pompey lived as a private citizen, but that year the Senate passed two laws proposed by Pompey's supporter Gabinius: the first, on the recall of Lucullus from Asia, where the war with Mithridates was waged, and the second, on the appointment of a commander-in-chief to fight the pirates at sea. The latter law was proposed specifically for Pompey.
According to this law, the commander-in-chief in the upcoming war was given power over the entire Mediterranean Sea and its coastal strip along its entire circumference for three years, as well as the right to invite 15 senators in the rank of praetors and quaestors and the right to produce an unlimited recruitment of troops. The commander-in-chief had the right to dispose of the capital and provincial treasuries, receiving 144 million sesterces at a time.
Despite strong opposition from opponents of Pompey - Piso, Catullus and others, Pompey's election was enthusiastically received by the Romans. Pompey was even allowed to increase his armament and instead of 15 to have 24 praetors with him. In the spring of 67 BC. Pompey with a strong army (120,000 infantry and 5,000 horsemen) in 500 ships went to sea. For a more successful fight and the search for pirates, Pompey preliminarily divided the sea "territory" into 13 districts and assigned each separate district to a special legate.
At the first stage, Pompey decided to clear the Sicilian and African waters from pirates. He was able to do this in 40 days. Then, with 60 of the best ships, Pompey went to the heart of the pirates - Cilicia, where he took Anticrates. The pirates' stations and castles were destroyed, about 400 ships were captured and up to 10,000 people were exterminated. Thus ended the war in the eastern Mediterranean basin, and in the summer of the same year, a peaceful life began in the Mediterranean, trade began to flourish again.
Immediately after the end of the war with the pirates, Pompey began to wait for the powers for the war with the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator. At the suggestion of one of the main supporters of Pompey, Gaius Manilia, the popular assembly accepted the proposal to appoint Pompey as governor of Bithynia and Cilicia and to charge him with the conduct of the war against Tigranes II of Armenia and Mithridates, while retaining his previous powers. This law was unanimously adopted by the entire Roman population. Never before has such tremendous power been concentrated in the hands of one person.
Before the outbreak of hostilities, Pompey was able to conclude an alliance with the Parthians. Making minor concessions to them, he made sure that the Parthians broke off the alliance with Mithridates and Tigranes. Having set out with an army of 50 thousand to Pontus, Pompey began to occupy the cities and tried to fight the main forces of Mithridates, but he retreated further and further east, not accepting battle. In terms of the number of troops Mithridates was inferior to the Romans - he had only 30,000 infantry and 2,000 horsemen, so Mithridates did not dare to fight.
All the same, Pompey overtook Mithridates at Nicopolis and defeated. With a small detachment, Mithridates was able to escape and reach Sinoria, a fortress where the royal treasures were kept. He decided to seek asylum from Tigranes, but after learning that Tigranes refused to help him and even announced a reward for Mithridates' head of 100 talents, he decided to flee to his son in the north of Pontus.
At the same time, Pompey occupied Armenia and dictated to Tigranes II the terms of peace, according to which Phenicia, Cappadocia, Syria, Cilicia, Sophena and Corduena were withdrawn to Rome. By 66 BC. almost all of Asia west of the Euphrates was in the hands of Rome.
65 BC Pompey's troops marched throughout the southern Caucasus, pacifying the uprisings of the Albanian and Iberian tribes. Then he returned to Pontus, where he took the cities that remained loyal to Mithridates. But the general was able to achieve complete victory only in 63 BC, when Mithridates died. All that remained for Pompey was to secure his conquests, primarily on the outskirts, and to organize the acquired areas. The provinces of Bithynia and Pontus, Cilicia (with Pamphylia and Isauria) and Syria (with Phenicia and Palestine) appeared in the Roman Republic.
61 BC during the triumphant entry of the commander into Rome, the children of the Parthian, Pontic and Armenian kings followed his chariot. Pompey received unprecedented honors and was granted the right to wear a laurel wreath and triumphal clothing. But this time, Pompey did not dare to seize power in the capital and disbanded his legions. All parties felt Pompey's weakness as a politician. None of them gave him their support. Pompey did not receive a consulate the following year, and the Senate did not fulfill the promise to allot land to the veterans.
At this time, Pompey was helped by Caesar, who, armed against the optimates, began to seek the help of Pompey, who was still quite popular among the Romans. With the help of Pompey and Crassus, Caesar was able in 60 BC. create the first triumvirate, and in 59 BC. became a consul.
With the help of Caesar, Pompey passed laws that confirmed the orders he had made in the east regarding the allotment of land to veterans in Campania. All this led to the fact that, thanks to the support of the Roman army, population and horsemen, who were facilitated by their ransom contracts, the Senate party suffered a serious defeat and power passed into the hands of the Triumvirs. To seal the alliance, Caesar married his only daughter to Pompey.
58 BC Caesar left for Gaul, and Pompey, at the head of the commission, began to allocate land to the veterans. In addition, he built a new theater in Rome, in which, after the consecration, gymnastic competitions were held and wild animals were hunted. At the end, Pompey showed the Roman citizens the battle with the elephants - an unprecedented spectacle that amazed the people. It added to Pompey both the love of the Romans and the envy of his opponents for him. Soon, riots broke out in Rome at the instigation of demagogues, of whom the most active was Caesar's supporter Clodius. Pompey himself was among the persecuted; Clodius attacked him several times and even laid siege to his house.
While Caesar performed his exploits in Gaul, Gnaeus Pompey continued to be inactive in the capital. He handed over the troops and administration of the provinces to his trusted legates, and he himself spent time with his wife, moving from one estate to another. This finally undermined his authority among Roman citizens. And when Pompey tried to regain his former power and offered to appoint himself proconsul for 5 years to streamline the grain issue, with the provision of troops and treasury, the Senate significantly curtailed his powers. Pompey received no troops, no treasury, no power over the governors.
The beginning of the enmity between Caesar and Pompey, who began to see the first as his rival, dates back to this time. But the time has not yet come for a break between the triumvirs. Fearing the rise of an aristocratic party led by Cato, the Triumvirs gathered in 56 BC. to Luka. Having reached the reconciliation of Pompey with Clodius, Caesar proposed to take the following measures: Pompey and Crassus remain in the post of consuls in 55 BC, then, after the expiration of his powers, Pompey must go for 5 years as governor to Spain, and Crassus - to Syria; Caesar remained the governor of Gaul for 5 years beyond the prescribed period.
However, Gnaeus Pompey did not go to Spain, but under the pretext of caring for the capital remained in Rome. Relations between the triumvirs intensified even more in 54 BC, when two optimates were carried out with the help of bribery to the consuls. In the same year, Pompey's wife Julius died during childbirth, and the family ties between Pompey and Caesar were thereby severed. And Crassus soon died in Syria.
Taking advantage of the riots that arose in the capital in 52 BC. due to the assassination of Clodius, Pompey ran for dictatorial power and was appointed sole consul. He was able to pass laws on bribery, on riots and on the right of governorship in the provinces only after the expiration of a 5-year term from the time of the addition of the magistracy.
Relations between Pompey and Caesar became more and more aggravated. 52 BC - Pompey married the daughter of Quintus Cecilius Metellus Cornelia - the widow of Publius (the son of Crassus) who died in the war with the Parthians, and thus he finally linked himself with the Senate party. Gnaeus Pompey, in search of support against the growing power of Caesar, sought to get closer to the Senate and even allowed that in 51 BC. two representatives of the Senate were elected consuls.
When in 50 BC. Caesar began to demand a consulate for himself, then he met sharp objections from Pompey, who referred to the law forbidding the connection of the magistracy with the industrial magistracy. Pompey invited Caesar to relinquish control of Gaul and disband his legions. In response, the optimate Curio, bribed by Caesar, proposed to Pompey to dissolve his troops and abandon the governorship in Spain. Pompey evaded a definite answer, and then Curio brought this issue to the consideration of the entire Senate and met with support. The Senate decision was also supported by the Romans. The Optimates and Pompey decided to take an extreme step and declared war on Caesar. Pompey received the authority to recruit troops.
Such extraordinary measures were in sharp contrast with the cautious behavior of Caesar, who at the beginning of 49 BC. sent a letter to Pompey with a proposal to keep the peace. But Caesar's letter was sharply rejected, Caesar was asked to dissolve his army by a certain date under the threat that otherwise he would be treated like an enemy of the fatherland. At the same time, Gnei Pompey was appointed commander-in-chief of all land and naval forces of the republic with unlimited military power and the right to freely dispose of the treasury. The challenge was accepted, and Caesar crossed the Rubicon.
Because Pompey finally went over to the side of the Senate, he became not so much the leader of the Optimates as their hired commander. All this slowed down his military preparations, while Caesar moved quickly towards Rome with 5,000 infantry and 300 horsemen. Having received news of the approach of Caesar's army, Pompey withdrew with an army to Luceria, and then to Brundisium, from where he crossed over to Dyrrachium. He now had 11 legions, 5,000 cavalry, and a fleet of 500 ships under his command. After the conquest of the patrimony of Pompey - Spain, Caesar's troops in the winter of 49/48 BC. began to cross over to Greece. Part of his army managed to cross, but the legate of Pompey Bibulus burned the ships, while Pompey himself drove Caesar's troops back to Dyrrachium.
All this forced Caesar to retire to Thessaly, where Gnaeus Pompey followed him. If Pompey had acted according to his own plan, then, probably, he could have turned the campaign in his favor, but the optimates impatiently pushed him to take decisive steps, and at their insistence in August 48 BC. Pompey was forced to fight Caesar at Pharsalus. Despite the significant superiority of Pompey's troops over Caesar's legions, the battle was lost. Pompey immediately lost heart and, abandoning the remnants of his army, went east to look for help there.
Arriving in Lesbos, Pompey took his wife Cornelia and the youngest son Sextus on board his ship and sailed to Cyprus, where he was supplied with money. From there he went to Egypt, counting on the help of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Dionysus. But Pompey's hopes for Egyptian aid were in vain and brought him to a fatal end. Potin, Theodotus and Achilles, who ruled instead of the minor Egyptian king, were the main royal educators and advisers, in the hope of earning Caesar's gratitude, killed Pompey. He was killed the day after he turned 58. And Caesar received from the Egyptian courtiers the head and the ring of his main enemy. Pompey's body was buried by his soldiers, and Caesar burned the resulting head and buried the ashes with special honors.
Nature endowed Gnaeus Pompey the Great with remarkable military abilities, physical strength, endurance, courage, his popularity in Rome was explained, first of all, by the military glory that Pompey gained on the battlefields. In a peaceful life, he did not show any special talents and in many respects represented the type of an ordinary Roman - a shy, indecisive, not too cruel, poorly educated, good family man. His two sons - Gnaeus Pompey the Younger and Pompey Sextus - followed in their father's footsteps and became generals.
After the death of Gnaeus Pompey the Great, the eldest of the sons fought with Caesar, first in Africa and then in Spain, gathered around him a large army of republicans and natives, who retained good memories of his father. 45 BC - Gnaeus Pompey the Younger, at the head of 13 legions, opposed Caesar, but was utterly defeated in the battle at Munda and himself died during the battle.
Pompey Sextus accompanied his father to Egypt, where he witnessed his death. Then he served under the command of his older brother, and after his death he began a corsair war with the legates of Caesar.
After the death of Caesar, Pompey managed to stand at the head of the fleet, with the help of which he occupied a significant part of Spain and Sicily. The members of the second triumvirate declared him an enemy of the fatherland, and Pompey Sextus, taking advantage of the Sicilian harbors, began to seize ships transporting bread to Italy.
Then the triumvirs Octavian and Antony, worried about the unrest occurring because of the famine in Rome, decided to reconcile with Pompey, concluding with him in 40 BC. Brundisian Treaty. Under this treaty, Pompey Sextus pledged not to interfere with the sea trade and not to accept deserters and escaped slaves, and every year to send from Sicily, given under his rule, together with Corsica, Sardinia and Achaea, a certain amount of bread.
But soon Antony violated the Brundisian treaty, refusing to give Pompey to Achaia. In turn, Pompey again began to occupy some of the coastal cities of Italy, resumed pirate raids and again began to accept deserters on his ships. He again began to intercept grain transports and again led Rome to starvation.
Octavian, who opposed Pompey Sextus, was defeated without the help of Antony and Lepidus. However, having defeated Octavian's fleet, Pompey was unable to seize the opportunity and gave Octavian the opportunity to gather renewed strength. 37 BC - a new fleet was prepared under the command of Agrippa, and Antony, reconciled with Octavian, allocated 120 ships for him. Octavian was able to defeat Pompey's fleet and forced him to retreat to Tauromenia. But here Pompey again managed to defeat Octavian's fleet and again delay the shipment of food to Italy.
This forced the triumvirate to concentrate all the Roman legions in Sicily under the command of Agrippa, Octavian and Lepidus. Both fleets also approached here, to Cape Mil.
36 BC - there was a naval battle at Navloh. The victory was won by Octavian, and Pompey sailed east with his daughter and treasures in the surviving ships. In Miletus he was killed by one of Antony's legates.
The death of the youngest son of Gnaeus Pompey the Great untied Octavian's hands and hastened his triumphant entry into the capital.
Y. Lubchenkov