Marcus Licinius Crassus

member of the First Triumvirate

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Marcus Licinius Crassus was a wealthy Roman politician and military leader who was one of the three powerful figures in the First Triumvirate, an unofficial political alliance that dominated Rome in the 1st century BCE. He matters historically because he was central to the political events that shaped the late Roman Republic, working alongside Pompey and Julius Caesar to consolidate power.

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Marcus Licinius Crassus (/ˈkræsəs/; 115–53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He was often called "the richest man in Rome". Crassus began his public career as a military commander under Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his civil war. Following Sulla's assumption of the dictatorship, Crassus amassed an enormous fortune through property speculation. Crassus rose to political prominence following his victory over the slave revolt led by Spartacus, sharing the consulship with his rival Pompey the Great.

A political and financial patron of Julius Caesar, Crassus joined Caesar and Pompey in the unofficial political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. Together, the three men dominated the Roman political system, but the alliance did not last long due their respective ambitions, egos, and jealousies. While Caesar and Crassus were lifelong allies, Crassus and Pompey disliked each other and Pompey grew increasingly envious of Caesar's spectacular successes in the Gallic Wars. The alliance was restabilized at the Luca Conference in 56 BC, after which Crassus and Pompey again served jointly as consuls.