Pompey

This article refers to the prominent military leader and politician of the late Roman republic, who also had descendants named Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.

Early life and political debut

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was born on September 29, 106 BC, as the son or heir of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, an extremely wealthy man from the Italian region of Picenum. Though patrician by birth, their branch of the Pompeius family was traditionally provincial, making them the inevitable subject of prejudice from the Roman elite. His family had only achieved a first consulship some 35 years earlier. He was thus of respectable but somewhat provincial background, a slight taint that clung to him throughout his long competition with the most powerful patricians in Rome. His father, Pompey Strabo, was an important general and the first senator of the family, being elected consul in 89 BC. Pompey grew up with his father in the military camps, involved in army and political affairs. Strabo had fought first with Marius, then with Sulla in the civil wars of 88-87 BC. At age 17, Pompey was fully involved in his father's wars. He also acquired a protégé of his own with the young staff officer, Marcus Tullius Cicero. According to Plutarch, sympathetic to Pompey, he was a popular teenager, considered a look-alike of Alexander the Great.

Related Topics:
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo - Picenum - Patrician - Senator - Consul - 89 BC - Marius - Sulla - Marcus Tullius Cicero - Plutarch - Look-alike - Alexander the Great

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Strabo died in the conflicts between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, leaving young Pompey in control of his affairs and fortune. Despite his youth, Pompey sided with Sulla after his return from the First Mithridatic War in 83 BC. In Rome, Sulla was expecting trouble with the Cinna administration and found the 23-year-old, and his father's three veteran legions, useful. This political alliance boosted Pompey's career in Rome. Sulla, now the dictator in absolute control of the city, forced the divorce of his pregnant stepdaughter Aemilia Scaura from her husband to marry his young ally. Pompey was only too happy to divorce Antistia, a provincial matrona, and take the patrician Aemilia.

Related Topics:
Gaius Marius - Lucius Cornelius Sulla - First Mithridatic War - 83 BC - Cinna - Legions - Dictator - Aemilia Scaura

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The young Pompey was placed high within Sulla's ranks, even so far as among his private council. In the course of Sulla's campaigns across Italy, Pompey would encounter two individuals that would shape both his and Rome's futures: Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar. Pompey would meet Crassus from within the army. Crassus, like Pompey, had been left a small fortune and military force by his father, and sided with Sulla. The two would develop a rivalry that would last for years to come. Pompey first met Caesar when Sulla brought Caesar before him and demanded he divorce his wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna. When Caesar refused, Sulla pardoned him. When Pompey commented on his action, Sulla responded saying that he wanted to leave a few enemies alive for later adventures. Pompey viewed Caesar not so much as an enemy, but as a much-respected obstacle. Some reports of the event suggest that Pompey was inspired by Caesar's refusal to divorce his wife, reminding him of the same scenario that Pompey had faced only two years prior.

Related Topics:
Marcus Licinius Crassus - Gaius Julius Caesar - Cinna

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