Pompey & Crassus
In 70 BC, both Crassus and Pompey stood for election as consuls despite neither of them being legally allowed to do so. Pompey was too young and Crassus was supposed to wait a year between his praetorship and a position of consulship. However, they were both elected. They quickly annulled the changes made by Sulla, restoring the powers of the tribune. The Senate did not prevent this as they knew that both men possessed loyal armies.
Lex Gabinia, Lex Manilia & the East
In 67 BC, Pompey was given ‘lex Gabinia’ which gave extraordinary proconsular powers to fight against pirates in the Mediterranean. Although he did not have the support of senators such as Cicero, he did have the support of Julius Caesar. Before Pompey was given this power, similar powers had been granted to Marcus Antonius (father of Marc Antony) in 74 BC, who had failed miserably, and to Quintus Metellus in 69 BC, who had had limited success. However, within just three moths, Pompey had completed the task of clearing the Mediterranean basin from pirates.
In 66 BC, Pompey was given 'lex Manilia' which gave him command to fight against Mithridates in the east after Lucullus had had to turn back. This time Pompey had the support of Cicero although other optimates members of the Senate did not give their support to him. Pompey would have power in the east until 62 BC. The Armenian king, Tigranes, quickly withdrew his support for Mithridates who fled towards the Black Sea where he attempted to unite the tribes in this are. However, he was unsuccessful in this and committed suicide in 63 BC.
Armenia became a vassal state to Rome after Pompey had displayed the troops there and he re-organised the structure of the east, combining Bithnyia and Pontus into one province and also expanding Cilicia. The neighbouring territories (Cappadocia, Galatia and Commagene) were all recognised as being under the protectorate of Rome. At this time, Pompey also added the area of Syria to Roman rule after it had been in turmoil for the sixty years since the collapse of the Seleucids. On top of this, Pompey also settled a dispute over the rule of Judaea, a Roman ally. He backed Hyrcanus and even besieged his brother, Aristobulus (the other claimant), at Jerusalem. After securing victory and establishing Hyrcanus on the throne, Pompey left and Judaea became a vassal state rather than an ally of Rome.
In 66 BC, Pompey was given 'lex Manilia' which gave him command to fight against Mithridates in the east after Lucullus had had to turn back. This time Pompey had the support of Cicero although other optimates members of the Senate did not give their support to him. Pompey would have power in the east until 62 BC. The Armenian king, Tigranes, quickly withdrew his support for Mithridates who fled towards the Black Sea where he attempted to unite the tribes in this are. However, he was unsuccessful in this and committed suicide in 63 BC.
Armenia became a vassal state to Rome after Pompey had displayed the troops there and he re-organised the structure of the east, combining Bithnyia and Pontus into one province and also expanding Cilicia. The neighbouring territories (Cappadocia, Galatia and Commagene) were all recognised as being under the protectorate of Rome. At this time, Pompey also added the area of Syria to Roman rule after it had been in turmoil for the sixty years since the collapse of the Seleucids. On top of this, Pompey also settled a dispute over the rule of Judaea, a Roman ally. He backed Hyrcanus and even besieged his brother, Aristobulus (the other claimant), at Jerusalem. After securing victory and establishing Hyrcanus on the throne, Pompey left and Judaea became a vassal state rather than an ally of Rome.
The Catiline Conspiracy
On the 18th October, 63 BC, Crassus took letters to Cicero warning of a plot led by Catilina against Rome. The following day, Cicero read the letters in the senate and two days later passed the Senatus Consultum Ultimum ('final resolution of the senate' which created a state of martial law. News arrived that slaves were revolting in Capua and Apulia, creating panic in Rome.
The conspirators approached the Allobreges, a tribe of Gauls, asking for their assistance in the revolt. However, they reported the proposal and other details of the conspiracy to their Roman patron who then went straight to Cicero. They were instructed to pretend to go along with the conspirators. Cicero arranged for troops to ambush the conspirators with the envoys (the false allies) at the Milvian Bridge. The conspirators who had been caught were executed without trial in December of the same year. For Cicero's action, he was honoured and hailed as the saviour of his country and given the title pater patriae ('Father of the Nation'). Julius Caesar was also implicated in the conspiracy.
The Senate then mobilised an army to face Catilina at Pistoria where he was killed in January of 62 BC. Every Catilinarian soldier fought to the death but their defeat ensured the ending of the conspiracy.
The conspirators approached the Allobreges, a tribe of Gauls, asking for their assistance in the revolt. However, they reported the proposal and other details of the conspiracy to their Roman patron who then went straight to Cicero. They were instructed to pretend to go along with the conspirators. Cicero arranged for troops to ambush the conspirators with the envoys (the false allies) at the Milvian Bridge. The conspirators who had been caught were executed without trial in December of the same year. For Cicero's action, he was honoured and hailed as the saviour of his country and given the title pater patriae ('Father of the Nation'). Julius Caesar was also implicated in the conspiracy.
The Senate then mobilised an army to face Catilina at Pistoria where he was killed in January of 62 BC. Every Catilinarian soldier fought to the death but their defeat ensured the ending of the conspiracy.