Pompey's Corruption In Rome

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, more commonly known as Pompey the Great, was many things. He was part of the first triumvirate with Caesar and Crassus which ended with Crassus and Pompey’s death. He got rid of the mediterranean pirates in three months without major bloodshed. Delivering 20,000 captives to Rome, sparing most of them giving them jobs in farming. He also acquired the nickname Pompey the Great in Sulla’s second civil war as his general. In 77 B.C.E he was sent to be pro consul to assist with the struggle against Sertorius in Spain. Pompey the Great was part of the first triumvirate, he got rid of the Mediterranean pirates, and had many military

First one of Rome’s most major flaws was the weak political leadership. Weak political leadership was the main reason for the fall of Rome because in Doc. A compiled by various sources showed how many emperors there were from 235-285 CE. Which leads to weak political power because there were constantly new emperors every year or two. Most of them died by assassination. Another reason was the emperors spent all their money on parties and festivals. Also, they bribed their soldiers to stay loyal but when they didn't have enough money they had to

The economy of Rome was suffering. Rome had a great deal of money but they didn’t know what to use it for. Too much money was being used to provide protection and keep unity in the empire. Cities began to crumble that became poor and some cities even began to lose control. The senate became dishonest and then they started giving away their spots in office. Some people murdered or assassinated the emperors (Doc. A), and that’s when city revolts fired up and citizens of Rome started rebelling against government. The civilizations economic rottened.

Two powerful men remained, racing to get through the gate first. Many people feared a civil war would erupt. With fear of civil war, the Senate demanded both men to disable their armies. Pompey decided to listen in the hopes that he was in the Senate’s good graces, and he knew that Caesar was not. He gave up his army knowing that if Caesar did not, that Caesar would be declared an enemy of the Empire.

Isaac Newton’s famous quote “What goes up must come down” was originally referring to gravity; however, it is a great representation of the Roman Empire. During the years 50 BCE to 200 CE, the Roman Empire had the greatest power in the Mediterranean world. The Roman Empire had wealth, territory, in a great international status. Eventually, the empire lost its greatness, causing it to crumble.

The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by many things, but one of the main things was corruption. Document E states, that many poor people, in Rome, were charged for crimes that the wealthy people escaped. No one wants to live in an unjust empire with a corrupted government. Document E also says the taxes were, “very severe.” People started to attack each other and very few people were OK with the Roman Government.

The political corruption happening in the Roman Empire was a main contributing part to its downfall. According to the authors in document 1, very little

During the Fifth century, Germanic tribes from the north invaded the Western Roman Empire and sacked Rome (González pp. 260 & 270). This created political and social disorder. The Empire was then divided into separate independent kingdoms (González p. 269). As a result, the church tended to fill the void for order created by the political instability (González p. 260). However, as various kingdoms became established, local church leaders began to be appointed by kings rather than the churches (González p. 273). And, since the church had acquired much land, bishops became lords rather than pastors (González p. 273). The political instability cre-ated by a lack of a strong central government led to an increasingly feudal society (González p.318).

The justice system was so warped that it no longer judged on right or wrong, rather on power or poverty. Classicism, which had always been somewhat present in other aspects of society, infiltrated the justice system, where the only thing that mattered was how much gold was in one’s pocket. Roman citizens were faced with a decision to make: continue living in a corrupt society where the rich lorded over everyone, or betray Rome in favor of a fairer society. Political corruption became pervasive as Rome lacked a consistent system that elected new emperors, so hidden conspirators began to destroy their political system since there was no steady basis to electing legitimate leaders. In Document 1, Roman Emperors, 235-285, there is a chart shows the inconsistency of Roman political system and the violence that began to infect it due to a lack of agreement between the members of the political system. Clearly, the people of the Roman Empire were distressed because their leaders did not represent Rome as a people, but represented only

Once in power, Crassus and Pompey extended Caesar's time as governor of Gaul, and then chose for themselves long-term governorships, (Crassus in Syria and Pompey in Spain). However, at the end of 55BC, Pompey did not leave for Spain, instead remaining as the only Triumvir in Rome, while Caesar and Crassus took the heads of powerful armies.

While it is clear that Pompey the Great was a successful general, how he came to be so is a more complicated matter. To analyse Pompey's career this essay will first examine his background, highlighting the advantages and difficulties that arose from being from a fairly new noble family. Additionally key events in Pompey's career will be explored chronologically, focusing on his most important military successes as well as his political career. This will attempt to determine how much his success relied on his personal characteristics or because of his he was able achieve his successes due to his personal attributes or because of his political relations with noblemen such as Sulla, Caesar and Cicero.

The Civil War, consisting in large part of Caesar’s own account of the conflict between himself and Pompey, explores the origins of the war, the manner in which it was carried out, and most importantly the role of pivotal figures on both sides of the struggle. Prior to his records ending and supplementation by military officers, Caesar makes a case for his involvement in and perhaps triggering of the war, one which would transform the social and political landscape of the Roman empire as battles and campaigns were waged from Spain to Italy, Africa to Asia Minor. Caesar walks a fine line between historian, strategist and orator as he attempts to record historical events, martial decisions, and persuade an audience respectively. Despite his efforts to remain impartial, as evidenced by his admission that “the Pompeians were winning” at Dyrrachium, Caesar consistently presents himself as a charismatic and skilled general and leader, jeopardizing the integrity of the text as objective material and allowing it to be a propagandist account of sorts. Ultimately, Caesar uses anecdotal evidence, the presentation of his personal thoughts, and juxtaposition with his opposition to paint his side of the war in a positive and just light.

Continuing on his success, Caesar was unstoppable, but even though he was an ally of Pompey, Pompey envied Caesar and did not really support him that much through his success. Jealousy struck him. Crassus, on the other hand, had not grown fond of Pompey. They reconciled once again at a conference in Luca in 56 BC. This peace expanded Caesar’s reign for another five years, because he gave Crassus a five-year rule in Syria and Pompey in Spain for five years. Syria marks the location where Crassus was killed in battle. (Julius Caesar Biography, April

Though Pompey sought power by manipulating the political system to his own advantage, the fact that the Senate was already weak and hence gave him this power.This shows that although Pompey’s actions were detrimental to the fall of the Republic, he was not the sole contributor. Pompey was both underage and had held none of the required offices, yet the Senate passed decrees exempting him from these traditional prerequisites, thus allowing for him to be joint consul with Crassus in 70 BC. According to Cicero, “absolute power” was what he had sought, and thus this ambition had nothing to do with “the happiness and honour of the community.” This reveals a callously ruthless dimension to Pompey, in that he would undertake any measure to achieve his own goals. However, it should also be noted that Cicero’s interest areas are sometimes narrow and deliberately, or accidentally selective. By reaching the top without any previously held positions of consequence, Pompey the Great had manipulated the political system to his own advantage. Thus, by doing so he undermined the Senate, reiterating its insignificance and weakness.

     Another problem plaguing the late Roman Republic was the constant revolt of the provinces because of corruption and mismanagement. Under the early Republic, the appointed provincial governors served short terms. Many of these politically appointed governors were either inexperienced or incompetent, so corruption and mismanagement were common practices.(1) The greed of these governors was so intolerable that the population of one province forced the imperial tax collectors to drink molten gold. Augustus reformed the provincial administrative system by creating an imperial civil service