Historical Figure
Pompey
106 BC–48 BC
Roman general and statesman (106–48 BC)
Talk to Pompey
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. As a young man, he was a partisan and protégé of the dictator Sulla, after whose death he achieved much military and political success himself.
Timeline
The story of Pompey, told in moments.
Born Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in Picenum, central Italy. Son of a powerful but unpopular general. At 17 he raises three legions from his father's veterans and tenants. He's never held political office. He doesn't need one.
Born Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in Picenum, eastern Italy. His father was a wealthy senator with a bad reputation. Pompey inherited his father's army at 23 and immediately used it to back the dictator Sulla.
Defeats the Marian forces in Sicily and Africa for the dictator Sulla. He's 25. Sulla, impressed and slightly unnerved, grants him a triumph and the surname Magnus (the Great). Pompey hasn't been asked for the title. He's claimed it.
Given extraordinary command to clear the Mediterranean of pirates. He did it in three months. The operation covered the entire sea. Grain prices in Rome dropped immediately. He was 39.
Given extraordinary command to clear the Mediterranean of pirates. He's assigned 500 ships and 120,000 troops. He sweeps the sea in 40 days. Grain prices in Rome drop overnight. The Senate has never given anyone this much power.
Formed the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Crassus. Three men dividing the Roman world between them. Pompey married Caesar's daughter Julia to seal the deal. When she died in childbirth, the alliance began to crack.
Murdered on a small boat off the Egyptian coast. Ptolemy's advisors stabbed him as he stepped ashore, hoping to gain Caesar's favor. Caesar wept when presented with Pompey's severed head. They'd been allies, then family, then enemies.
Arrives in Egypt seeking refuge and is murdered as he steps from his boat. Ptolemy XIII's advisors stab him on the beach at Pelusium. He's 58. When Caesar arrives days later and is presented with Pompey's head, he reportedly weeps.
Show full timeline (12 entries)
Celebrates his third triumph in Rome for victories over Mithridates and the reorganization of the East. The procession lasts two days. Banners list 15 conquered nations. He's annexed Syria and doubled Rome's annual revenue.
Forms the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus. Three men divide Roman power among themselves. Pompey marries Caesar's daughter Julia to seal the deal. When she dies in childbirth four years later, the alliance begins to crack.
Lost the Battle of Pharsalus to Caesar despite having double the troops. His army broke and ran. Pompey fled to Egypt hoping for refuge from the boy-king Ptolemy XIII.
Crushed by Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece despite outnumbering him nearly two to one. His infantry breaks. His cavalry flees. He watches from a hilltop, then rides to the coast without a word.
In Their Own Words (3)
More people worship the rising than the setting sun.
Spoken by a young Pompey to the Dictator Sulla to get Sulla to award him a triumph
To sail is necessary, to live is not.
The needs of the state (to supply their starving people with grain brought by ship) outweigh the needs of the individual, such as a sailor who would prefer not to risk death by leaving port in a violent storm to pick up a grain shipment.
Stop quoting laws, we carry weapons!
“Οὐ παύσεσθε,” εἶπεν, “ἡμῖν ὑπεζωσμένοις ξίφη νόμους ἀναγινώσκοντες;” Plutarch, Lives. Pompey 10.3.2. To the Mamertines in Messana, complaining about Pompey's legal jurisdiction after their city was retaken during the civil warfare. Lit.: "'Will you not give up,' he said, 'reading laws to us men girt with swords?'"
Artifacts (15)
![[Coin: Bronze, Soloi (Pompeiopolis), Cilicia, Pompey the Great]](https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b103076380/f1/full/full/0/native.jpg)
[Coin: Bronze, Soloi (Pompeiopolis), Cilicia, Pompey the Great]
Pompey (0106-0048 B.C.) Currency issuing authority
More from the Classical
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Pompey's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.