Marcus Licinius Crassus: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Wealthiest Man

Marcus Licinius Crassus: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Wealthiest Man

Marcus Licinius Crassus (c115–53 BC), Roman general and politician. Thought to have been the wealthiest man in Roman history, Crassus is said to have been put to death by the Parthians by pouring molten gold down his throat. Illustration for Plutarch's Lives (Jacob Tonson, 1703)

Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 BCE) was perhaps the richest man in Roman history and in his eventful life he experienced both great successes and severe disappointments. His vast wealth and sharp political skills brought him two consulships and the kind of influence enjoyed only by a true heavyweight of Roman politics. A mentor to Julius Caesar in his early career, Crassus would rise to the very top of state affairs but his long search for a military triumph to match his great rival Pompey would, ultimately, bring about his downfall

Early Success

Crassus was the son of Publius Licinius Crassus, who was consul in 97 BCE and a commander in Iberia, even gaining a triumph for his victories in Lusitania in 93 BCE. In 87 BCE, on the losing side against the forces of Gaius Marius and Cornelius Cinna, he committed suicide and the young Crassus fled to Spain. Following Cinna's death, Crassus sided with Sulla against Marius, and, as one of his most able commanders, helped him gain control of Italy. Following victory, Crassus now also seized the opportunity to vastly increase his personal wealth from the confiscation of the assets of declared enemies of the state (proscription) which included property, riches and a huge number of slaves

In private life, Crassus was married to Tertulla, and he had two sons, one of whom shared his name and the other - Publius Licinius Crassus - fought with him in Parthia. Marcus Licinius Crassus the younger enjoyed some military success, notably achieving the highest Roman military honour of killing an enemy king

Crassus senior was embroiled in a scandal when he was accused of getting too familiar with a Vestal virgin, one Licinia. Crassus was acquitted, though, on the grounds that really he had only been interested in getting a lower property price for one of his development schemes and, as Plutarch put it, his reputation for respectability was saved by his reputation for avarice. He was not known as a mean man, rather, he was known as generous to his friends and his popularity with the people not only came from his offers of free parties and grain but also his polite manner and lack of snobbery. Crassus was also a good orator, no doubt a skill he honed via his many court cases and helped by his love of philosophy. Plutarch mentions that even Cicero would think twice before engaging in legal argument with Crassus

Crassus received Syria as his province, which promised to be an inexhaustible source of wealth. It might have been, had he not also sought military glory and crossed the Euphrates in an attempt to conquer Parthia. Crassus attacked Parthia not only because of its great source of riches, but because of a desire to match the military victories of Pompey and Caesar. The king of Armenia, Artavazdes II, offered Crassus the aid of nearly 40,000 troops (10,000 cataphracts and 30,000 infantrymen) on the condition that Crassus invade through Armenia so that the king could not only maintain the upkeep of his own troops but also provide a safer route for his men and Crassus. Crassus refused, and chose the more direct route by crossing the Euphrates, as he had done in his successful campaign in the previous year. Crassus received directions from the Osroene chieftain Ariamnes, who had previously assisted Pompey in his eastern campaigns. Ariamnes was in the pay of the Parthians and urged Crassus to attack at once, falsely stating that the Parthians were weak and disorganized. He then led Crassus' army into desolate desert, far from any water. In 53 BC, at the battle of Carrhae (modern Harran, in Turkey), Crassus' legions were defeated by a numerically inferior Parthian force. Crassus' legions were primarily heavy infantry, but were not prepared for the type of swift, cavalry-and-arrow attack in which Parthian troops were particularly adept. The Parthian horse archers devastated the unprepared Romans with hit-and-run techniques and feigned retreats with the ability to shoot as well backwards as they could forwards. Crassus refused his quaestor Gaius Cassius Longinus' plans to reconstitute the Roman battle line, and remained in the testudo formation to protect his flanks until the Parthians eventually ran out of arrows. However, the Parthians had stationed camels carrying arrows to allow their archers to continually reload and relentlessly barrage the Romans until dusk. Despite taking severe casualties, the Romans successfully retreated to Carrhae, forced to leave many wounded behind to be later slaughtered by the Parthians

Subsequently, Crassus' men, being near mutiny, demanded he parley with the Parthians, who had offered to meet with him. Crassus, despondent at the death of his son Publius in the battle, finally agreed to meet the Parthian general Surena; however, when Crassus mounted a horse to ride to the Parthian camp for a peace negotiation, his junior officer Octavius suspected a Parthian trap and grabbed Crassus' horse by the bridle, instigating a sudden fight with the Parthians that left the Roman party dead, including Crassus. A story later emerged to the effect that, after Crassus' death, the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth in symbolic mockery of his thirst for wealth

The account given in Plutarch's biography of Crassus also mentions that, during the feasting and revelry in the wedding ceremony of Artavazdes' sister to the Parthian king Orodes II's son and heir Pacorus in the Armenian capital of Artashat, Crassus' head was brought to Orodes II. Both kings were enjoying a performance of Euripides' Greek tragedy The Bacchae when a certain actor of the royal court, named Jason of Tralles, took the head and sang the following verses (also from the Bacchae):

We bring from the mountain A tendril fresh-cut to the palace A wonderful prey

Also according to Plutarch, a final mockery was made ridiculing the memory of Crassus, by dressing up a Roman prisoner, Caius Paccianus, who resembled him in appearance, in women's clothing, calling him "Crassus" and "imperator," and leading him in a spectacular show of a final, mock "triumphal procession," putting to ridiculous use the traditional symbols of Roman triumph and authority.

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