| Transcript |
| 0:00 | · | this video is brought to you by |
| 0:01 | · | squarespace check out squarespace at |
| 0:02 | · | squarespace.com forward slash |
| 0:04 | · | biographics you'll get 10 |
| 0:05 | · | off your first purchase more on them in |
| 0:07 | · | a bit |
| 0:13 | · | they say the greed is the downfall of |
| 0:15 | · | man it certainly was the downfall of one |
| 0:17 | · | particular man despite having all the |
| 0:19 | · | power and all the money in the world |
| 0:21 | · | it was still not enough for marcus |
| 0:24 | · | licinia's crassus he could have spent |
| 0:26 | · | the rest of his life as one of rome's |
| 0:27 | · | most influential citizens getting rich |
| 0:30 | · | and fat off the countless properties and |
| 0:32 | · | businesses that he owns |
| 0:33 | · | but instead he marched to his doom out |
| 0:35 | · | of greed and hubris and caused not only |
| 0:37 | · | his own demise but embroiled rome in a |
| 0:39 | · | conflict that would last |
| 0:41 | · | over 250 years |
| 0:48 | · | marcus cecinius crassus was born circa |
| 0:51 | · | 115 bc into an old and respected roman |
| 0:54 | · | family named licinia he was the second |
| 0:56 | · | of three sons of publius lascinius |
| 0:58 | · | crassus and |
| 0:59 | · | vennalea his father was a very |
| 1:01 | · | successful man he served as a senator |
| 1:03 | · | then consul then censor then even |
| 1:05 | · | had a roman triumph in his honor which |
| 1:07 | · | was a public ceremony intended to |
| 1:09 | · | celebrate a big |
| 1:10 | · | military victory despite all of this |
| 1:12 | · | they lived modestly |
| 1:13 | · | plutarch who gives the most detailed |
| 1:15 | · | account of crassus's life in |
| 1:16 | · | the parallel lives said that the future |
| 1:19 | · | general grew up in a small house and |
| 1:20 | · | that both his brothers got married while |
| 1:22 | · | their parents were still alive and |
| 1:24 | · | they all lived under the same roof and |
| 1:26 | · | ate at the same table |
| 1:27 | · | one of crassus's brothers died in the |
| 1:30 | · | early 80s bc and left behind a childless |
| 1:32 | · | widow |
| 1:33 | · | named tatula although unusual for that |
| 1:35 | · | time crassus decided to marry her |
| 1:37 | · | and they had two boys together marcus |
| 1:40 | · | publius his older brother also died a |
| 1:42 | · | few years later which meant that he |
| 1:43 | · | received the full inheritance from his |
| 1:45 | · | parents |
| 1:46 | · | which was substantial despite their |
| 1:48 | · | meager living conditions |
| 1:49 | · | so just how substantial well of course |
| 1:51 | · | it's hard to provide an |
| 1:52 | · | accurate measurement of his wealth but |
| 1:54 | · | plutarch said that when kratos started |
| 1:57 | · | out |
| 1:57 | · | he had around 300 talents which is great |
| 2:00 | · | i mean but |
| 2:01 | · | how much is her talent in today's money |
| 2:03 | · | that's actually surprisingly difficult |
| 2:04 | · | to answer since the value of the talent |
| 2:06 | · | was tied to the value of silver |
| 2:08 | · | and has varied wildly over the course of |
| 2:10 | · | the centuries that it was in use |
| 2:12 | · | originally the talent was simply a unit |
| 2:14 | · | of weight first introduced in ancient |
| 2:16 | · | mesopotamia and used by everyone |
| 2:18 | · | the akkadians the sumerians the |
| 2:19 | · | babylonians the phoenicians the |
| 2:21 | · | egyptians the hebrews the talent that |
| 2:23 | · | plutarch is referring to |
| 2:24 | · | is the attic or greek talent it was |
| 2:27 | · | still a unit of way which measured |
| 2:28 | · | around 26 kilograms but it became |
| 2:30 | · | far more commonly used as a unit of |
| 2:32 | · | currency which represented the weight |
| 2:34 | · | of a talent in pure silver so then how |
| 2:37 | · | much was an |
| 2:38 | · | attic talent worth fortunately others |
| 2:40 | · | have already made some calculations so |
| 2:42 | · | we don't have to the english translation |
| 2:44 | · | of plutarch's book dated to 1916 |
| 2:46 | · | estimated that one talent was worth |
| 2:48 | · | around one thousand two hundred dollars |
| 2:50 | · | or around twenty nine thousand dollars |
| 2:51 | · | in today's money another estimate was |
| 2:53 | · | provided in 1885 by william watson |
| 2:55 | · | goodwin who taught greek studies at |
| 2:57 | · | harvard and he calculated that |
| 2:59 | · | one talent was around a thousand dollars |
| 3:01 | · | or twenty seven thousand five hundred |
| 3:03 | · | dollars in modern currency so both |
| 3:05 | · | estimates were in the same ballpark |
| 3:06 | · | now going back to plutarch he said that |
| 3:08 | · | crassus started out with 300 talent |
| 3:10 | · | which would be around 8.6 million |
| 3:12 | · | dollars today and by the time he left |
| 3:14 | · | for the parthian expedition where he |
| 3:15 | · | died |
| 3:16 | · | crassus was worth around 7 100 talents |
| 3:19 | · | which would be over 200 million dollars |
| 3:21 | · | today |
| 3:21 | · | of course this is just a rough estimate |
| 3:23 | · | as some have placed his wealth in the |
| 3:24 | · | billions and whether or not he |
| 3:26 | · | truly was the richest man in rome is |
| 3:28 | · | again something that is difficult for us |
| 3:30 | · | to establish with any certainty |
| 3:32 | · | [Music] |
| 3:38 | · | crassus's rise through the ranks of rome |
| 3:40 | · | came during a time of turmoil for the |
| 3:41 | · | republic one that perhaps foreshadowed |
| 3:43 | · | its eventual collapse just a few decades |
| 3:45 | · | later |
| 3:46 | · | the main cause for this turmoil was a |
| 3:47 | · | rivalry between two men |
| 3:49 | · | sulla and gaius marius who were both |
| 3:52 | · | highly decorated military commanders but |
| 3:54 | · | fierce opponents in 88 bc sulla who was |
| 3:57 | · | a consul at the time was getting ready |
| 3:58 | · | to take his army in march easter to |
| 4:00 | · | fight the kingdom of |
| 4:01 | · | pontus in modern-day turkey led by king |
| 4:03 | · | mithradartes vi |
| 4:05 | · | however gaius marius also wanted that |
| 4:07 | · | position and he used his influence and |
| 4:09 | · | intrigues to relieve sulla of his duty |
| 4:12 | · | but he did not anticipate his opponent's |
| 4:14 | · | next move |
| 4:14 | · | instead of relinquishing command sulla |
| 4:16 | · | took his troops and marched on rome the |
| 4:18 | · | same as |
| 4:19 | · | julius caesar would do 40 years later |
| 4:21 | · | this became known as sulla's first civil |
| 4:23 | · | war and the general garnered the |
| 4:24 | · | distinction of being the first man to |
| 4:26 | · | seize power of the roman republic |
| 4:27 | · | through force gaius marius and his |
| 4:29 | · | cohorts however managed to flee the city |
| 4:31 | · | and retreat to africa where they |
| 4:32 | · | regrouped |
| 4:33 | · | back in rome sula consolidated his power |
| 4:35 | · | enacted new policies placed his |
| 4:37 | · | supporters in high-ranking offices then |
| 4:39 | · | traveled to pontus to fight the king |
| 4:40 | · | mithradartes as |
| 4:42 | · | originally intended this provided gaius |
| 4:44 | · | marius with the time he needed to raise |
| 4:45 | · | an army so |
| 4:46 | · | the following year he entered rome and |
| 4:48 | · | successfully ousted solar supporters |
| 4:50 | · | erasing all the changes enacted by his |
| 4:52 | · | enemy the conquest |
| 4:53 | · | was a lot bloodier as it was followed by |
| 4:56 | · | the marian purges where |
| 4:57 | · | marius and his allies assassinated a lot |
| 4:59 | · | of solar supporters this included |
| 5:01 | · | lucius licinius crassus older brother of |
| 5:04 | · | marcus crassus and presumably also his |
| 5:06 | · | father who died around the same time |
| 5:08 | · | although were unsure of the exact |
| 5:10 | · | circumstances it's possible that |
| 5:11 | · | publius sliciness crassus committed |
| 5:13 | · | suicide knowing that a |
| 5:14 | · | far worse fate was awaiting him with the |
| 5:17 | · | senate at his mercy marius organized |
| 5:19 | · | elections for consulships but |
| 5:21 | · | only two people were allowed to take |
| 5:22 | · | part himself and his second in command |
| 5:24 | · | lucius cornelius sinner unsurprisingly |
| 5:27 | · | they became the new consuls once he |
| 5:29 | · | fulfilled all of his goals gaius marius |
| 5:30 | · | died just a few days later |
| 5:32 | · | and sinner took over eager to avoid the |
| 5:34 | · | same fate as his father and brother |
| 5:36 | · | crassus fled rome and traveled to espana |
| 5:39 | · | to meet some of his father's friends he |
| 5:40 | · | spent the next few years there living in |
| 5:42 | · | a cave near the sea making arrangements |
| 5:44 | · | building an army |
| 5:45 | · | knowing that another battle between the |
| 5:47 | · | two sides was inevitable however cena |
| 5:49 | · | would not take part |
| 5:50 | · | in 84 bc he thought he would launch a |
| 5:52 | · | surprise attack on his enemies by |
| 5:53 | · | crossing the adriatic sea into dalmatia |
| 5:56 | · | although the circumstances are a bit |
| 5:58 | · | murky sinner angered his own soldiers |
| 6:00 | · | somehow and he was killed in a mutiny |
| 6:01 | · | the leadership of his faction was passed |
| 6:03 | · | on to others such as gaius marius the |
| 6:05 | · | younger and |
| 6:06 | · | a consul named cabo it was in 83 bc that |
| 6:09 | · | sulla launched his second offensive on |
| 6:11 | · | rome predictably |
| 6:12 | · | named sulla's second civil war he was |
| 6:14 | · | joined by crassus but |
| 6:15 | · | also by pompeii who was an up-and-coming |
| 6:17 | · | general at the time |
| 6:18 | · | the decisive moment in the war came at |
| 6:20 | · | the battle of colleen gate in november |
| 6:22 | · | of 82 bc |
| 6:24 | · | where marcus cress has played a pivotal |
| 6:25 | · | role he was in charge of the right wing |
| 6:27 | · | and while sulla's troops were getting |
| 6:29 | · | pushed back into the center |
| 6:30 | · | crassus was victorious on his side and |
| 6:32 | · | completely routed their enemies |
| 6:34 | · | once sulla was in charge of rome again |
| 6:36 | · | he declared himself dictator and spent |
| 6:37 | · | the next couple of years hunting down |
| 6:39 | · | the remaining members |
| 6:40 | · | of the marian faction at the same time |
| 6:42 | · | he was also very generous when it came |
| 6:44 | · | to rewarding his supporters and |
| 6:45 | · | marcus crassus was at the top of the |
| 6:47 | · | list |
| 6:54 | · | this was the beginning of crassus path |
| 6:56 | · | to exorbitant wealth |
| 6:58 | · | he lost everything when he fled rome |
| 7:00 | · | because his enemies enacted |
| 7:01 | · | prescriptions and confiscated all of his |
| 7:03 | · | family's property but |
| 7:04 | · | now the same thing was happening to the |
| 7:07 | · | marian supporters |
| 7:08 | · | sulla took everything they owned which |
| 7:10 | · | was now being sold off for peanuts and |
| 7:11 | · | krasus was the main buyer letting his |
| 7:14 | · | greed completely take over or as |
| 7:15 | · | plutarch put it the many virtues of |
| 7:17 | · | crassus were obscured by his soul vice |
| 7:19 | · | of avarice and it is likely that |
| 7:21 | · | the one vice which became stronger than |
| 7:24 | · | all the others in him |
| 7:25 | · | weakened the rest the astorian makes |
| 7:27 | · | mention of one case in |
| 7:28 | · | brotherum where crassus prescribed a |
| 7:30 | · | wealthy man without sula's permission |
| 7:32 | · | just so that he could buy his estate at |
| 7:34 | · | auction |
| 7:34 | · | another even more scandalous episode |
| 7:36 | · | occurred when crassus was accused of |
| 7:38 | · | corrupting a vestal virgin named lycinia |
| 7:40 | · | when in fact he |
| 7:41 | · | kept visiting her because he wanted to |
| 7:43 | · | buy her villa but this was |
| 7:44 | · | not enough for crassus once there was no |
| 7:47 | · | more confiscated property to purchase he |
| 7:48 | · | moved |
| 7:49 | · | on to derelict and destroyed buildings |
| 7:50 | · | that had been damaged after years of |
| 7:52 | · | fighting |
| 7:53 | · | he also bought hundreds of slaves who |
| 7:54 | · | were skilled laborers particularly |
| 7:56 | · | builders and architects so he purchased |
| 7:58 | · | ruined buildings for next to nothing |
| 7:59 | · | repaired or rebuilt them using slave |
| 8:01 | · | labor and then sold them off for a large |
| 8:02 | · | profit |
| 8:03 | · | next up crassus realized that many |
| 8:05 | · | houses were damaged by fires in rome |
| 8:07 | · | almost every day so he established his |
| 8:08 | · | own private fire department |
| 8:10 | · | of course they did not perform this |
| 8:12 | · | service out of the goodness of their |
| 8:13 | · | hearts |
| 8:13 | · | no if a person's house caught on fire |
| 8:15 | · | the brigade would rush over there but |
| 8:17 | · | then they would just sit back and relax |
| 8:19 | · | ready to watch the fire |
| 8:20 | · | burn the whole thing down that was when |
| 8:22 | · | crassus showed up |
| 8:23 | · | ready to make an offer to buy the |
| 8:25 | · | property while it still had some little |
| 8:27 | · | value if the person accepted then the |
| 8:28 | · | brigade put out the fire |
| 8:30 | · | if they didn't then the house burned |
| 8:31 | · | down to ashes and crassus made a new |
| 8:33 | · | offer this time |
| 8:34 | · | much lower than the previous one one way |
| 8:36 | · | or another |
| 8:37 | · | he almost always came out on top in |
| 8:39 | · | addition to his ever-growing real estate |
| 8:41 | · | empire crass has also derived his |
| 8:43 | · | massive wealth from |
| 8:44 | · | other sources such as slaves silver |
| 8:46 | · | mines and the land used for agriculture |
| 8:48 | · | despite |
| 8:49 | · | all his actions plutarch did not |
| 8:50 | · | consider crass as an unpleasant man |
| 8:52 | · | quite the country in fact the historian |
| 8:54 | · | said the wealthy roman won |
| 8:55 | · | everyone over with universal kindness |
| 8:57 | · | dignity of person |
| 8:58 | · | persuasiveness of speech and winning |
| 9:00 | · | grace a feature despite his |
| 9:02 | · | obsession with making money crassus was |
| 9:04 | · | never loathed to spend it and he was |
| 9:06 | · | generous with strangers and kept his |
| 9:07 | · | house open to all |
| 9:08 | · | he was an esteemed and careful man and |
| 9:11 | · | one who was ready with his help |
| 9:12 | · | he pleased people also by the kindly and |
| 9:15 | · | unaffected manner |
| 9:16 | · | with which he clasped their hands and |
| 9:18 | · | dressed them for he never met a roman so |
| 9:20 | · | obscure and so lowly that he did not |
| 9:22 | · | return his greeting |
| 9:24 | · | and call him by name but wealth alone |
| 9:26 | · | was not enough for a roman of note he |
| 9:28 | · | also needed |
| 9:29 | · | status and influence so to gain these |
| 9:31 | · | crassus had two choices politics |
| 9:34 | · | or the military he chose the former |
| 9:35 | · | because he was better suited for it and |
| 9:37 | · | it would have been undoubtedly aided by |
| 9:39 | · | his wealth and his lineage meanwhile |
| 9:42 | · | being a successful military commander |
| 9:43 | · | would have meant being away from rome |
| 9:44 | · | for long periods of time which would |
| 9:46 | · | have adversely affected his businesses |
| 9:48 | · | unsurprisingly krasus turned out to be a |
| 9:50 | · | naval politician and a skilled orator as |
| 9:52 | · | he pursued the |
| 9:53 | · | cursus honorum aka the tradition of |
| 9:56 | · | sequence of public officers held by |
| 9:58 | · | senators as they steadily climbed the |
| 9:59 | · | political ladder he was described as |
| 10:01 | · | making |
| 10:02 | · | very many changes in his political views |
| 10:04 | · | and was neither a steadfast friend nor |
| 10:06 | · | an implacable enemy |
| 10:07 | · | but readily abandoned both his favors |
| 10:10 | · | and his resentments at the dictates of |
| 10:12 | · | his interest |
| 10:13 | · | so that frequently within a short space |
| 10:15 | · | of time the same men and the same |
| 10:17 | · | measures found in him boasts an |
| 10:18 | · | advocate and an opponent throughout his |
| 10:21 | · | life it did seem to bother crassus that |
| 10:23 | · | he never achieved the same kind of |
| 10:24 | · | military glory as some of his colleagues |
| 10:26 | · | he had a particular chip on his shoulder |
| 10:28 | · | about pompeii who |
| 10:29 | · | went away to fight and amassed victories |
| 10:31 | · | while crassus was building his real |
| 10:33 | · | estate empire despite his young age he |
| 10:35 | · | was |
| 10:35 | · | already being called pompei the great |
| 10:37 | · | and plutarch related one incident when |
| 10:39 | · | somebody announced the arrival |
| 10:41 | · | of pompeii the great and crassus fell to |
| 10:43 | · | the floor laughing |
| 10:44 | · | asking how great is he but in 73 bc |
| 10:48 | · | marcus crassus was granted the |
| 10:49 | · | opportunity to gain some prestige for |
| 10:51 | · | himself as |
| 10:51 | · | he was tasked with putting down a |
| 10:53 | · | rebellion started by an escaped slave |
| 10:55 | · | named spartacus... |
| 10:56 | · | [ad text redacted] |
| 12:25 | · | a lot of you are probably already |
| 12:26 | · | familiar with spartacus if you're not |
| 12:29 | · | or if you simply want to learn about his |
| 12:30 | · | rebellion in more detail we actually |
| 12:32 | · | already did a biographics video all |
| 12:34 | · | about spartacus which you should check |
| 12:36 | · | out |
| 12:36 | · | after you watch this video if you |
| 12:38 | · | haven't seen it already here is the |
| 12:39 | · | cliffnotes version though spartacus and |
| 12:41 | · | a bunch of other slaves escaped from a |
| 12:42 | · | gladiator school in kapua in 73 bc and |
| 12:45 | · | started raiding the italian countryside |
| 12:47 | · | such revolts were not |
| 12:48 | · | unheard of in fact the war of spartacus |
| 12:51 | · | is also known as the third serval war |
| 12:53 | · | part of a series of conflicts caused by |
| 12:55 | · | slave uprisings that is why the roman |
| 12:57 | · | senate did not really |
| 12:58 | · | show much concern at first only sending |
| 13:01 | · | militia and local patrols after |
| 13:02 | · | spartacus and |
| 13:04 | · | assuming that they would be enough to |
| 13:05 | · | put down the rebellion none of them |
| 13:07 | · | could get the job done however they were |
| 13:08 | · | defeated by the slaves whose numbers |
| 13:10 | · | kept growing as |
| 13:11 | · | more and more people joined their cause |
| 13:13 | · | eventually even properly trained roman |
| 13:15 | · | legions led by consoles were bested |
| 13:17 | · | by the rebels and well the senate |
| 13:19 | · | started a panic |
| 13:20 | · | that is when they gave the task of |
| 13:22 | · | defeating spartacus to marcus crassus |
| 13:24 | · | also |
| 13:25 | · | making him a prey tour and giving him |
| 13:27 | · | command of eight legions |
| 13:29 | · | this was something that crassus needed |
| 13:30 | · | in order to advance his career and to |
| 13:32 | · | achieve it he showed a degree of |
| 13:34 | · | ruthlessness he never really displayed |
| 13:36 | · | before this was exemplified after an |
| 13:38 | · | incident with his legate |
| 13:39 | · | marmius who was given command of two |
| 13:41 | · | legions and told to follow spartacus and |
| 13:43 | · | his army without engaging them in combat |
| 13:45 | · | mummius however |
| 13:47 | · | thought that he had the upper hand so he |
| 13:48 | · | attacked the rebels and |
| 13:50 | · | lost to punish him crassus revived the |
| 13:52 | · | practice of decimation he took the 500 |
| 13:55 | · | soldiers who were the first to retreat |
| 13:56 | · | divided them into groups of 10 and made |
| 13:58 | · | them draw lots |
| 13:59 | · | with one man being executed from each |
| 14:01 | · | group despite the rocky start crassus |
| 14:04 | · | soon had the advantage |
| 14:05 | · | he had trapped spartacus and his army in |
| 14:07 | · | bratium and |
| 14:08 | · | had ditches and walls erected to prevent |
| 14:10 | · | the enemy from running away |
| 14:11 | · | his plan was to wither his opponents |
| 14:13 | · | down through attrition and leave them |
| 14:15 | · | vulnerable for one final attack however |
| 14:17 | · | he soon received terrible news the |
| 14:18 | · | senate was sending him reinforcements |
| 14:20 | · | now this might sound like |
| 14:21 | · | good news but it wasn't because pompey |
| 14:24 | · | was the one leading those reinforcements |
| 14:25 | · | crassus knew that the only reason they |
| 14:27 | · | chose him in the first place was because |
| 14:29 | · | pompei was busy putting down a revolt in |
| 14:31 | · | espana but he had been successful and |
| 14:33 | · | now he was heading this way and krasus |
| 14:35 | · | realized that if the gladiator rebellion |
| 14:37 | · | ended when pompe arrived |
| 14:38 | · | he would be the one receiving all the |
| 14:40 | · | glory unfortunately for crassus that is |
| 14:42 | · | exactly what happened |
| 14:43 | · | he met spartacus in one decisive action |
| 14:45 | · | known as the battle of solaris river |
| 14:47 | · | despite sustaining significant losses |
| 14:49 | · | the roman was triumphant spartacus was |
| 14:51 | · | killed in the battle as were tens of |
| 14:53 | · | thousands of his soldiers |
| 14:54 | · | thousands more were taken prisoner and |
| 14:56 | · | later crucified along the appian way on |
| 14:58 | · | crassus's orders but around 5000 also |
| 15:01 | · | still managed to plead the battle they |
| 15:02 | · | ran |
| 15:02 | · | into pompei's army and were cut down |
| 15:04 | · | without hesitation but this allowed |
| 15:06 | · | pompeii |
| 15:06 | · | to write to the senate saying that |
| 15:08 | · | krasus had conquered the slaves but that |
| 15:10 | · | he himself had extipated the war for his |
| 15:12 | · | efforts not just against spartacus but |
| 15:14 | · | also in hispania pompei was awarded a |
| 15:16 | · | major triumph upon his return to rome |
| 15:18 | · | grasses meanwhile did not object as he |
| 15:20 | · | knew it'd make him seem petty and |
| 15:21 | · | ignoble |
| 15:22 | · | instead what he did was ask pompe for |
| 15:24 | · | help despite his young |
| 15:26 | · | age and experience when it came to |
| 15:27 | · | public office pompeii had been |
| 15:29 | · | asked to stand for consoleship which was |
| 15:31 | · | the highest position |
| 15:32 | · | of the cursus honorum typically two |
| 15:34 | · | consuls were elected to serve a one-year |
| 15:36 | · | term so |
| 15:36 | · | crassus asked pompe to endorse him as |
| 15:39 | · | the other candidate which pompey did |
| 15:40 | · | because he thought it would be useful to |
| 15:42 | · | have kratos a favor |
| 15:44 | · | so the two became consoles together in |
| 15:46 | · | 17 bc although plutarch specified that |
| 15:48 | · | their terms ended without anything of |
| 15:50 | · | significance happening because each one |
| 15:52 | · | tried to undo the measures of the other |
| 15:59 | · | although the relationship between |
| 16:01 | · | crassus and pompeii was never openly |
| 16:03 | · | hostile |
| 16:03 | · | it was contentious since the two of them |
| 16:05 | · | usually had the same ambitions but a |
| 16:07 | · | third element was introduced into the |
| 16:09 | · | equation |
| 16:10 | · | which changed the dynamic and that |
| 16:11 | · | element was julius caesar |
| 16:13 | · | caesar was another prominent citizen of |
| 16:15 | · | rome who was climbing the ranks and saw |
| 16:17 | · | the potential for a powerful alliance if |
| 16:18 | · | crassus and pompey |
| 16:20 | · | were able to put aside their differences |
| 16:21 | · | at first caesar was actually the junior |
| 16:24 | · | in the partnership |
| 16:25 | · | pompeii was rome's most celebrated |
| 16:26 | · | military commander while crassus was the |
| 16:28 | · | city's most influential landowner |
| 16:30 | · | and both were more powerful than him |
| 16:32 | · | caesar didn't want to risk making an |
| 16:33 | · | enemy out of one of them by fully |
| 16:35 | · | supporting the other so instead he |
| 16:37 | · | persuaded them that it would be in all |
| 16:38 | · | their best interests if they worked |
| 16:40 | · | together |
| 16:40 | · | against other prominent statesmen such |
| 16:42 | · | as carto and cicero who |
| 16:45 | · | opposed them all that is how the first |
| 16:47 | · | trumper was born around 60 bc |
| 16:49 | · | in the words of livy it was a conspiracy |
| 16:51 | · | against the state |
| 16:52 | · | by its three leading citizens they did |
| 16:54 | · | not share an agenda but |
| 16:56 | · | they sought to help each other out so |
| 16:58 | · | that they could bypass the senate in |
| 16:59 | · | order to accomplish their goals plutarch |
| 17:01 | · | said that rome was divided into three |
| 17:03 | · | powerful parties that of pompei that of |
| 17:05 | · | caesar |
| 17:06 | · | and that of crassus it was the |
| 17:08 | · | thoughtful and conservative part of the |
| 17:10 | · | city which attached itself to pompeii |
| 17:12 | · | the violent and volatile part which |
| 17:14 | · | supported the hopes of caesar while |
| 17:15 | · | crassus took a middle ground |
| 17:17 | · | and drew from both caesar was the one |
| 17:19 | · | who most benefited from this triumvirate |
| 17:21 | · | with the support of his allies he was |
| 17:22 | · | elected consul and was granted an army |
| 17:24 | · | and then went off to fight the gauls |
| 17:26 | · | after a few years his military success |
| 17:28 | · | made caesar very popular and influential |
| 17:30 | · | and his two co-conspirators |
| 17:31 | · | started feeling like they were getting |
| 17:33 | · | the short end of the stick although they |
| 17:35 | · | faced heavy resistance from their |
| 17:36 | · | enemies in the senate in 56 bc |
| 17:38 | · | pompei and marcus crass has secured |
| 17:40 | · | another consulship for themselves |
| 17:42 | · | and afterwards were assigned |
| 17:43 | · | governorships of roman provinces pompeii |
| 17:46 | · | received two provinces in hispania while |
| 17:48 | · | crassus received syria |
| 17:49 | · | the exact circumstances behind this |
| 17:51 | · | political move are uncertain some |
| 17:52 | · | historians claimed that caesar helped |
| 17:54 | · | them become consuls again in an attempt |
| 17:56 | · | to |
| 17:57 | · | preserve their waning alliance while |
| 17:59 | · | others said that crassus and pompeii did |
| 18:01 | · | this |
| 18:01 | · | without caesar's approval specifically |
| 18:03 | · | to counter his growing influence |
| 18:11 | · | back then being made a governor of a |
| 18:12 | · | province meant that you had carte |
| 18:14 | · | blanche to do whatever you wanted |
| 18:16 | · | more or less that was receive bribes |
| 18:17 | · | take loans start new businesses etc it |
| 18:20 | · | was usually regarded as a reward from |
| 18:22 | · | the senate to make yourself as rich as |
| 18:23 | · | possible while you served as governor |
| 18:25 | · | this should have been an ideal position |
| 18:27 | · | for crassus but |
| 18:28 | · | he wanted more not satisfied with the |
| 18:30 | · | riches found in syria he thought about |
| 18:32 | · | expanding to the east into the parthian |
| 18:34 | · | empire the two nations had |
| 18:35 | · | a complicated and violent relationship |
| 18:37 | · | for most of the 500-year existence of |
| 18:39 | · | the parthian empire |
| 18:40 | · | founded in the mid 3rd century bc |
| 18:42 | · | parthia was an iranian civilization that |
| 18:44 | · | became a powerhouse in the middle east |
| 18:46 | · | when it defeated the seleucid empire |
| 18:47 | · | it took over all of their territory and |
| 18:49 | · | just kept expanding |
| 18:51 | · | the problem with expansion is that |
| 18:52 | · | eventually you run into other people who |
| 18:54 | · | would prefer to stop your expansion |
| 18:56 | · | that's what happened |
| 18:57 | · | to parthia it expanded westward until it |
| 18:59 | · | reached roman territory |
| 19:01 | · | even so for about 200 years the two |
| 19:03 | · | sides coexisted using the kingdom of |
| 19:05 | · | armenia as a useful buffer between their |
| 19:07 | · | lands |
| 19:07 | · | this changed in 54 bc however when the |
| 19:09 | · | first of a series of conflicts known as |
| 19:11 | · | the roman parthian wars began |
| 19:13 | · | after crassus decided to rekindle his |
| 19:15 | · | military career nobody knows what |
| 19:17 | · | brought this on crassus was over 60 |
| 19:19 | · | years old and |
| 19:20 | · | he had not taken part in a military |
| 19:21 | · | campaign for almost 20 years since he |
| 19:23 | · | fought spartagus was it merely his greed |
| 19:26 | · | that spurred him on |
| 19:27 | · | or was it also his desire not to be |
| 19:28 | · | outshined by pompei and caesar according |
| 19:31 | · | to plutarch in private crass has made |
| 19:33 | · | youthful boasts which |
| 19:34 | · | ill become his years saying that he will |
| 19:37 | · | go beyond |
| 19:38 | · | parthia into india and baktria and make |
| 19:40 | · | pompei's campaigns against mithridates |
| 19:42 | · | look like |
| 19:43 | · | child's play so it definitely seems like |
| 19:45 | · | he was motivated by more than just |
| 19:47 | · | money as a governor crassus had the |
| 19:48 | · | power to levy an army so |
| 19:50 | · | in 53 bc even without senate approval he |
| 19:53 | · | invaded mesopotamia at first things went |
| 19:55 | · | quite well for the roman commander most |
| 19:57 | · | cities offered tribute and allied |
| 19:58 | · | themselves with the romans willingly |
| 19:59 | · | particularly the greek cities that had |
| 20:01 | · | been founded by the macedonians during |
| 20:03 | · | the time of alexander one exception was |
| 20:05 | · | a city called |
| 20:06 | · | zenodotian which arrested and killed |
| 20:08 | · | some of crassus's soldiers so in return |
| 20:10 | · | crassus plundered it |
| 20:11 | · | and enslaved all of its citizens the |
| 20:13 | · | roman general made his first mistake |
| 20:15 | · | when winter came because instead of |
| 20:17 | · | pressing the attack he retreated to |
| 20:18 | · | syria until spring |
| 20:20 | · | waiting for his son publius to arrive |
| 20:22 | · | with reinforcements by this point of |
| 20:24 | · | course the parthians received word of |
| 20:25 | · | his incursions and this gave them time |
| 20:27 | · | to prepare they even |
| 20:28 | · | sent an enboy to crassus from king |
| 20:30 | · | orodes ii |
| 20:31 | · | of parthia giving him one last chance to |
| 20:34 | · | stop his invasion |
| 20:34 | · | boastfully crassus replied that he would |
| 20:36 | · | give the king his response in solution |
| 20:39 | · | meaning that he planned to take the |
| 20:40 | · | parthian capital to this the envoy burst |
| 20:43 | · | out in laughter and |
| 20:44 | · | pointing at his palm said oh crassus |
| 20:46 | · | hair will grow there before |
| 20:48 | · | thou shalt see seleucia his second |
| 20:50 | · | mistake came when he refused the aid of |
| 20:51 | · | king artavastis ii of armenia who |
| 20:53 | · | offered crassus safe passage and |
| 20:55 | · | reinforcements if he invaded parthia |
| 20:57 | · | through his land |
| 20:58 | · | instead crassus accepted the help of |
| 21:00 | · | aryamnis leader of the kingdom of |
| 21:02 | · | osharone and |
| 21:03 | · | crossed the euphrates into mesopotamia |
| 21:05 | · | ariemnes had served pompei in the past |
| 21:07 | · | and proved himself a |
| 21:08 | · | friend of rome but on this occasion he |
| 21:10 | · | was working with the parthians and lead |
| 21:12 | · | crassus and his troops into the open |
| 21:14 | · | desert completely weakened tired and |
| 21:16 | · | demoralized the roman troops fought the |
| 21:17 | · | parthians at the battle of kharhai in 53 |
| 21:20 | · | bc located in modern day haran turkey |
| 21:22 | · | the parthians led by a general named |
| 21:24 | · | serena slaughtered the romans even |
| 21:26 | · | though they were severely outnumbered |
| 21:28 | · | crassus had clearly lost the battle his |
| 21:29 | · | son publius had |
| 21:30 | · | been killed and most of his remaining |
| 21:32 | · | men were getting ready to mutiny he |
| 21:34 | · | tried making a truce but this was a trap |
| 21:36 | · | and marcus crassus and his entire |
| 21:38 | · | retinue were killed when they met the |
| 21:39 | · | parthians according to plutarch crassus |
| 21:41 | · | killer was a man named pomax threes who |
| 21:43 | · | then |
| 21:44 | · | cut off his head and one hand and sent |
| 21:46 | · | them to the parthian king a much more |
| 21:48 | · | notorious death was told by cassius dio |
| 21:50 | · | said that crassus had molten gold pulled |
| 21:52 | · | down his throat to punish him |
| 21:54 | · | prison ending greed although he didn't |
| 21:56 | · | specify if the roman general was alive |
| 21:58 | · | or dead when this happened back home his |
| 21:59 | · | death had important consequences |
| 22:01 | · | for starters it was a humiliating defeat |
| 22:03 | · | for rome one that had to be answered for |
| 22:05 | · | so parthia became one of its fiercest |
| 22:07 | · | enemies for the next 250 years but |
| 22:09 | · | crassus's demise also meant the end of |
| 22:11 | · | the first triumvirate pompe and caesar |
| 22:13 | · | were already on hostile terms by this |
| 22:15 | · | point and |
| 22:15 | · | with crassus gone the two of them were |
| 22:17 | · | firmly placed on a collision course |
| 22:19 | · | which prompted the fall of the republic |
| 22:22 | · | and gave rise |
| 22:23 | · | to the roman empire |
| 22:26 | · | so i really hope you found that video |
| 22:28 | · | interesting if you did please do hit |
| 22:29 | · | that thumbs up button below don't forget |
| 22:30 | · | to subscribe also thank you to |
| 22:32 | · | squarespace for sponsoring it there's a |
| 22:33 | · | link to them below |
| 22:35 | · | and thank you for watching |
| 22:40 | · | [Music] |
| 22:45 | · | you |
