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{{short description|Roman general and statesman (115–53 BC)}}
{{about|the triumvir||Marcus Licinius Crassus (disambiguation)|and|Crassus (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Crassus|Croesus}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Marcus Licinius Crassus
| image              = Bust of a Roman, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.jpg
| image_upright      =
| alt                = White male bust
| caption            = [[Roman sculpture|Bust]] found in the Licinian Tombs in Rome, traditionally identified as Crassus.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Review of: The Licinian Tomb. Fact or Fiction? Meddelelser fra Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek 5 |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2004/2004.06.47/ |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |issn=1055-7660}}</ref><ref>F. Johansen (1994). ''[https://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=2339 Catalogue Roman Portraits. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.]'' p. 162, cat. no. 69. "The portrait survives in three other replicas. The one in the Louvre, [[:File:Head of Marcus Licinius Crassus, middle of 1st century BC, from Italy, Moi, Auguste, Empereur de Rome exhibition, Grand Palais, Paris - 14649017884.jpg|МА 1220]] portrays the same man about twenty years later... The identification of M. Licinius Crassus cannot be proven."</ref><ref>[https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010252339 Statue (Ma 1220)]. "Tête de Marcus Licinius Crassus". ''[[Louvre]]''.</ref>
| birth_date         = 115 BC{{sfn|Marshall|1976|p=5}}
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = June 53 BC (aged 61–62)
| death_place        = Near Carrhae <br />(modern-day [[Harran]], [[Şanlıurfa Province|Şanlıurfa]], [[Turkey]])
| death_cause        = [[Killed in action]]
| nationality        = [[Roman people|Roman]]
| occupation         = Military commander and politician
| organization       = [[First Triumvirate]]
| known_for          = 
| office             = [[Roman consul|Consul]] (70 and 55 BC)
| spouse             = [[Tertulla (wife of Crassus)|Tertulla]]<ref name=Tertulla>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=William|author-link1=William Smith (lexicographer)|title= Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology|url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1939.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051220143415/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1939.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 December 2005|volume=2|year= 1870}}, p. 831</ref>
| children           = [[Marcus Licinius Crassus (quaestor 54 BC)|Marcus]] & [[Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)|Publius Licinius Crassus]]
| parents            = [[Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 97 BC)|Publius Licinius Crassus]] & Venuleia
| family             = [[Licinia gens|gens Licinia]]
| module             = {{Infobox officeholder|embed=yes
| allegiance          = [[Roman Republic|Rome]]<br />[[Sulla]]
| serviceyears        = 86–53 BC
| battles             = {{tree list}}
*[[Sulla's civil war]]
**[[Battle of the Colline Gate]]
*[[Third Servile War]]
**[[Battle of Cantenna]]
**[[Battle of the Silarius River]]
*[[Roman–Parthian Wars]]
**[[Battle of Carrhae]]{{KIA}}
{{tree list/end}}
}}
}}

'''Marcus Licinius Crassus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|æ|s|ə|s}}; 115–53&nbsp;BC) was a [[ancient Rome|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".<ref name="TrivLibCrassus">[[Wallechinsky, David]] & [[Irving Wallace|Wallace, Irving]]. "[http://www.trivia-library.com/b/richest-people-in-history-marcus-licinus-crassus.htm Richest People in History Ancient Roman Crassus]". Trivia-Library. ''[[The People's Almanac]]''. 1975–1981. Web. 23 December 2009.</ref><ref name=Bernstein>"Often named as the richest man ever, a more accurate conversion of sesterce would put his modern figure between $200&nbsp;million and $20&nbsp;billion." [[Peter L. Bernstein]], [http://www.businessinsider.com/richest-people-of-all-time-2011-1#bonus-some-people-who-didnt-make-the-list-21 The 20 Richest People Of All Time]</ref>

Crassus began his public career as a military commander under [[Sulla|Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] during his [[Sulla's civil war|civil war]]. Following Sulla's assumption of the [[Roman dictator|dictatorship]], Crassus amassed an enormous fortune through property speculation. Crassus rose to political prominence following his victory over the [[Third Servile War|slave revolt]] led by [[Spartacus]], sharing the [[Roman consul|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 to the ambitions, egos, and jealousies of the three men. 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&nbsp;BC, after which Crassus and Pompey again served jointly as consuls. Following his second consulship, Crassus was appointed as the [[Roman governor|governor]] of [[Roman Syria]], which he used as the launchpad for a military campaign against the [[Parthian Empire]]. Crassus' campaign was a disastrous failure, ending in his defeat at the [[Battle of Carrhae]] and death in its aftermath.

Crassus' death permanently unraveled the alliance between Caesar and Pompey, since his political influence and wealth had been a counterbalance to the two great leaders. Within four years of Crassus' death, Caesar [[crossing the Rubicon|crossed the Rubicon]] and began a [[Caesar's Civil War|civil war]] against Pompey and the ''[[optimates]]''.<ref name="Plutarch-2">Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 2.3–4</ref>

==Family and background==
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a member of the ''[[Licinia gens|gens Licinia]]'', an old and highly respected [[Plebeians|plebeian]] family in Rome. He was the second of three sons born to the eminent senator and ''[[Roman triumph#The vir triumphalis|vir triumphalis]]'' [[Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 97 BC)|Publius Licinius Crassus]] (consul 95&nbsp;BC, censor 89&nbsp;BC). This line was not descended from the wealthy Crassi Divites, although often assumed to be. The eldest brother, Publius (born {{Circa|116 BC}}), died shortly before the [[Social War (91–87 BC)|Italic War]], and Crassus' father and younger brother were either slain or took their own lives in Rome, in winter 87–86&nbsp;BC, when being hunted down by the supporters of [[Gaius Marius]], following their victory in the ''[[Bellum Octavianum]]''.<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 4.1; also Cic. ''Scaur''. fragment at Ascon.27G=23C, with Asconius' comment on the passage</ref><ref>Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', p. 394</ref> Crassus had the unusual distinction of marrying his wife [[Tertulla (wife of Crassus)|Tertulla]] after she had been widowed by his brother.

There were three main branches of the house of the Licinii Crassi in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC,<ref>deducible from their common ''gentilicium'' and ''cognomen'', while Cic. ''Scaur''. fragment at Ascon.27G=23C explicitly states that the homonymous consulars who both took their own lives, P. Crassus Dives Mucianus (consul in 131&nbsp;BC) and P. Crassus (consul in 97&nbsp;BC), belonged to the same ''[[stirps|stirpes]]''</ref> and many mistakes in identifications and lines have arisen owing to the uniformity of Roman nomenclature, erroneous modern suppositions, and the unevenness of information across the generations. In addition, the ''Dives'' [[cognomen]] of the Crassi Divites means rich or wealthy, and since Marcus Crassus, the subject here, was renowned for his enormous wealth, this has contributed to hasty assumptions that his family belonged to the Divites. But no ancient source accords him or his father the Dives cognomen; [[Plutarch]] says his great wealth was acquired rather than inherited, and that he was raised in modest circumstances.<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 1.1; 2.2</ref>

Crassus' grandfather of the same name, Marcus Licinius Crassus<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McPherson|first=Catherine|year=2010|title=Fact and Fiction: Crassus, Augustus and the Spolia Opima|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/classics/files/classics/2009-10-04.pdf|journal=Hirundo|volume=8|pages=23}}</ref> (praetor c.&nbsp;126&nbsp;BC), was facetiously given the Greek nickname Agelastus (the unlaughing or grim) by his contemporary [[Gaius Lucilius]], the inventor of Roman satire, who asserted that he smiled once in his whole life. This grandfather was son of [[Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC)|Publius Licinius Crassus]]. The latter's brother, Gaius Licinius Crassus (consul 168&nbsp;BC), produced the third line of Licinii Crassi of the period, the most famous of whom was [[Lucius Licinius Crassus]], the greatest Roman orator before [[Cicero]] and the latter's childhood hero and model. Marcus Crassus was also a talented orator and one of the most energetic and active advocates of his time.

==Youth and the First Civil War==
After the Marian purges and the subsequent sudden death of [[Gaius Marius]], the surviving consul [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna]] (father-in-law of [[Julius Caesar]]) imposed [[proscription]]s on those surviving Roman senators and equestrians who had supported [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] in his 88&nbsp;BC march on Rome and overthrow of the traditional Roman political arrangements.

Cinna's proscription forced Crassus to flee to [[Hispania]].<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 4.1</ref> He stayed in Spain from 87 to 84&nbsp;BC. Here, he recruited 2,500 men (an understrength legion) from his father's clients settled in the area. Crassus used his army to extort money from the local cities to pay for his campaigns, even being accused of sacking Malaca.<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 6.1</ref> After Cinna's death in 84&nbsp;BC, Crassus went to the [[Roman province of Africa]] and joined [[Metellus Pius]], one of Sulla's closest allies, but did not stay there for long because of disagreements with Metellus. He sailed his army to Greece and joined [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]], "with whom he stood in a position of special honor."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 6.2</ref> During [[Sulla's civil war]], Crassus and [[Pompey]] fought a battle in the plain of Spoletium ([[Spoleto]]), killed about 3,000 of the men of [[Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC)|Papirius Carbo]], the leader of the Marian forces, and besieged [[Gaius Carrinas (praetor 82 BC)|Carrinas]], a Marian commander.<ref>Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', 1.90.1</ref>

During the decisive [[Battle of the Colline Gate]], Crassus commanded the right flank of Sulla's army. After almost a day of fighting, the battle was going poorly for Sulla; his own center was being pushed back and was on the verge of collapse when he got word from Crassus that he had comprehensively crushed the enemy before him. Crassus wanted to know whether Sulla needed assistance, or whether his men could retire. Sulla told him to advance on the enemy's center, and used the news of Crassus' success to stiffen the resolve of his own troops. By the following morning, the battle was over, and the Sullan army emerged victorious, making Sulla the master of Rome. Sulla's victory, and Crassus' contribution to it, put Crassus in a key position. Sulla was as loyal to his allies as he was cruel towards his enemies, and Crassus had been a very loyal ally.

==Rise to power and wealth==
[[File:Bust of an unknown citizen in the realist republican tradition (Louvre MR 510).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Marcus Licinius Crassus<ref>{{Citation |title=Tête de Marcus Licinius Crassus |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010252339 |access-date=2024-05-11}}</ref>]]
Marcus Licinius Crassus' next concern was to rebuild the fortunes of his family, which had been confiscated during the Marian-Cinnan [[proscription]]s. Sulla's proscriptions, in which the property of his victims was cheaply auctioned off, found one of the greatest acquirers of this type of property in Crassus: indeed, Sulla was especially supportive of this, because he wished to spread the blame as much as possible among those unscrupulous enough to do so.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 2 (trans. Long, George, 1892). "when Sulla took the city, and sold the property of those whom he put to death, considering it and calling it spoil, and wishing to attach the infamy of the deed to as many of the most powerful men as he could, Crassus was never tired of receiving or buying." accessed from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14140/14140-h/14140-h.htm#LIFE_OF_CRASSUS on 2023-10-31</ref> Sulla's proscriptions ensured that his survivors would recoup their lost fortunes from the fortunes of wealthy adherents to [[Gaius Marius]] or [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna]]. Proscriptions meant that their political enemies lost their fortunes and their lives; that their female relatives (notably, widows and widowed daughters) were forbidden to marry, remarry or remain married; and that, in some cases, their families' hopes of rebuilding their fortunes and political significance were destroyed. Crassus is said to have made part of his money from proscriptions, notably the proscription of one man whose name was not initially on the list of those proscribed but was added by Crassus, who coveted the man's fortune.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 6.6–7 (trans. Perrin, 1916). "It is said that, in Bruttium, he actually proscribed a man without Sulla's orders, merely to get his property; and that, for this reason, Sulla, who disapproved of his conduct, never employed him again on public business."</ref> 
Crassus' wealth is estimated by Pliny at approximately 200 million sesterces. Plutarch, in his ''Life of Crassus'', says the wealth of Crassus increased from less than 300 [[Talent (measurement)|talents]] at first, to 7,100 talents.<ref>{{cite book|last=Plutarch|translator-last=Perrin|translator-first=Bernadotte|title=Parallel Lives, "Life of Crassus", 2.2|series=Loeb Classical Library|volume=III|date=1916|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html|isbn=9780674990722}}</ref> This represented 229 tonnes of silver, worth about US$167.4&nbsp;million at August 2023 silver prices, accounted right before his Parthian expedition, most of which Plutarch declares Crassus got "by fire and war, making the public calamities his greatest source of revenue."<ref name="Plutarch 1916">{{cite book|last=Plutarch|translator-last=Perrin|translator-first=Bernadotte|title=Parallel Lives, "Life of Crassus", 2.3|series=Loeb Classical Library|volume=III|date=1916|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html|isbn=9780674990722}}</ref>

Some of Crassus' wealth was acquired conventionally, through slave trafficking, production from silver mines, and speculative real estate purchases. Crassus bought property that was confiscated in [[proscription]]s and by notoriously purchasing burnt and collapsed buildings. Plutarch wrote that, observing how frequent such occurrences were, he bought slaves "who were architects and builders." When he had over 500 slaves, he bought houses that had burnt and the adjacent ones "because their owners would let go at a trifling price." He bought "the largest part of Rome" in this way,<ref name="Plutarch-2"/> buying them on the cheap and rebuilding them with slave labor.

The first ever Roman fire brigade was created by Crassus. Fires were almost a daily occurrence in Rome, and Crassus took advantage of the fact that Rome had no fire department, by creating his own brigade—500 men strong—which rushed to burning buildings at the first cry of alarm. Upon arriving at the scene, however, the firefighters did nothing while Crassus offered to buy the burning building from the distressed property owner, at a miserable price. If the owner agreed to sell the property, his men would put out the fire; if the owner refused, then they would simply let the structure burn to the ground. After buying many properties this way, he rebuilt them, and often leased the properties to their original owners or new tenants.<ref name="The Great Fire of Rome:Life and Death in the Ancient City ">{{cite book|last = Walsh|first = Joseph|title = The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City}}</ref><ref name="Plutarch-2"/><ref>Marshall, B. A., ''Crassus: A Political Biography'' (Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam, 1976)</ref><ref name="TrivLibCrassus"/>

Crassus befriended [[Licinia (1st-century BC vestal)|Licinia]], a [[Vestal Virgin]], whose valuable property he coveted. Plutarch says "And yet, when he was further on in years, he was accused of criminal intimacy with Licinia, one of the vestal virgins, and Licinia was formally prosecuted by a certain Plotius. Now, Licinia was the owner of a pleasant villa in the suburbs, which Crassus wished to get at a low price, and it was for this reason that he was forever hovering about the woman and paying his court to her, until he fell under the abominable suspicion. And, in a way, it was his avarice that absolved him from the charge of corrupting the vestal, and he was acquitted by the judges. But he did not let Licinia go until he had acquired her property."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 1</ref>
[[File:05 02 IN 0733 Pompejus Magnus front 0.png|thumb|Bust of [[Pompey the Great]] at the [[Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek]], Denmark]]

Despite his great wealth, Crassus is said to have avoided excess and luxury at home. Family meals were simple, and entertaining was generous but not ostentatious; Crassus chose his companions during leisure hours on the basis of personal friendship as well as political utility.<ref>Plutarch, ''Crassus'' 3.1–2; for a perspective on the triumvir's positive characteristics, see T.J. Cadoux, "Marcus Crassus: A Revaluation," ''Greece & Rome'' 3 (1956) 153–161.</ref> Although the Crassi, as [[nobiles|noble plebeians]],<!--THIS IS THE RIGHT LINK; please read the article--> would have displayed ancestral images in their atrium,<ref>On the ''ius imaginum'', or right of ''nobiles'' to display ancestral images, see the article "Nobiles" in [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith's]] ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]'', Bill Thayer's edition at [[LacusCurtius]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Nobiles.html online]; also [[P.A. Brunt]], "''Nobilitas'' and ''novitas''," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 72 (1982), pp. 12–13, and R.T. Ridley, "The Genesis of a Turning-Point: Gelzer's ''Nobilität''," ''Historia'' 35 (1986), pp. 499–502. The term ''ius imaginum'' is a modern coinage, and the notion that this display was constituted by a legal right was reexamined and refined by Harriet I. Flowers, ''Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), especially pp. 53–59 [https://books.google.com/books?id=h2jiiNPcFoAC&dq=%22No+investigation+of+Roman+imagines+could+be+complete%22&pg=PA53 online.]</ref> they did not lay claim to a fictionalized [[genealogy]] that presumed divine or legendary ancestors, a practice not uncommon among the Roman nobility.<ref>[[T.P. Wiseman]], "Legendary Genealogies in Late-Republican Rome," ''Greece & Rome'' 21 (1974), p. 162, in reference to Publius's [[Roman consul|consular]] grandfather.</ref> 

After rebuilding his fortune, Crassus' next concern was his political career. As a wealthy man in Rome, an adherent of Sulla, and a man who hailed from a line of consuls and praetors, Crassus' political future was apparently assured. His problem was that, despite his military successes, he was eclipsed by his contemporary [[Pompey the Great]]. Crassus' rivalry with Pompey and his envy of Pompey's triumph would influence his subsequent career.<ref name="Plutarch 1916"/>

==Crassus and Spartacus==
Crassus was elected praetor in 73&nbsp;BC and pursued the ''[[cursus honorum]]''.

During the [[Third Servile War]], or Spartacus' revolt (73–71&nbsp;BC), Crassus offered to equip, train, and lead new troops at his own expense, after several legions had been defeated and their commanders killed in battle. Crassus was sent into battle against Spartacus by the Senate. At first, he had trouble both in anticipating Spartacus' moves and in inspiring his army to strengthen their morale. When a segment of his army fled from battle, abandoning their weapons, Crassus revived the ancient practice of [[Decimation (Roman Army)|decimation]] – i.e. executing one out of every ten men, with the victims selected by drawing lots. [[Plutarch]] reports that "many things horrible and dreadful to see" occurred during the infliction of punishment, which was witnessed by the rest of Crassus' army.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 10.2–3</ref> Nevertheless, according to [[Appian]], the troops' fighting spirit improved dramatically thereafter, since Crassus had demonstrated that "he was more dangerous to them than the enemy."<ref name="Appian-I.18-19">Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', I.18–19. Loeb Classics Edition, 1913</ref>

Afterwards, when Spartacus retreated to the [[Bruttium]] peninsula in the southwest of Italy,<ref name="Shaw-Chronology">Shaw, Brent D. Spartacus and the Slave Wars. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. p. 178–79.</ref> Crassus tried to pen up the slave armies by building a ditch and a rampart across the peninsula of Rhegium in Bruttium, "from sea to sea." Despite this remarkable feat, Spartacus and part of his army still managed to break out. On the night of a heavy snowstorm, they sneaked through Crassus' lines and made a bridge of dirt and tree branches over the ditch, thus escaping.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 10.4–6</ref>

Some time later, when the Roman armies led by Pompey and Varro Lucullus were recalled to Italy in support of Crassus, Spartacus decided to fight rather than find himself and his followers trapped between three armies, two of them returning from overseas action. In this last battle, the [[Battle of the Silarius River|battle of the Silarius river]], Crassus gained a decisive victory, and captured six thousand slaves alive. During the fighting, Spartacus attempted to personally kill Crassus, slaughtering his way toward the general's position, but he succeeded only in killing two of the centurions guarding Crassus.<ref name="Plutarch-Crassus-XI">Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', Chapter XI. Translated by Aubrey Stewart & George Long. London: George Bell & Sons, 1892.</ref> Spartacus himself is believed to have been killed in the battle, although his body was never recovered. The six thousand captured slaves were [[Crucifixion|crucified]] along the [[Via Appia]] by Crassus' orders. At his command, their bodies were not taken down afterwards, but remained rotting along Rome's principal route to the south. This was intended as an object lesson to anyone especially slaves who might think of rebelling against Roman citizens and slave-owners.

Crassus effectively ended the Third Servile War in 71&nbsp;BC. In Plutarch's account, Crassus "had written to the Senate that they must summon Lucullus from Thrace and Pompey from Spain, but he was sorry now that he had done so, and was eager to bring the war to an end before those generals came. He knew that the success would be ascribed to the one who came up with assistance, and not to himself."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 11.2</ref> He decided to attack a splinter group of rebels, and after this, Spartacus withdrew to the mountains. Pompey had arrived from Hispania with his veterans and was sent to provide reinforcements. Crassus hurried to seek the final battle, which he won. Pompey arrived in time to deal with the disorganized and defeated fugitives, writing to the Senate that "indeed, Crassus had conquered the slaves, but that he himself had extirpated the war."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 11.7</ref> "Crassus, for all his self-approval, did not venture to ask for the major triumph, and it was thought ignoble and mean in him to celebrate even the minor triumph on foot, called the ovation,"<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 11.8</ref> nor did he wish to be honored for subduing slaves.

In Plutarch's account, Pompey was asked to stand for the consulship. Crassus wanted to become his colleague and asked Pompey for his assistance. As said in the ''Life of Crassus'', "Pompey received his request gladly (for he was desirous of having Crassus, in some way or other, always in debt to him for some favor), eagerly promoted his candidature, and finally said in a speech to the assembly that he should be no less grateful to them for the colleague than for the office which he desired."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 12.1</ref> However, in office, they did not remain friendly. They "differed on almost every measure, and by their contentiousness, rendered their consulship barren politically and without achievement."<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Crassus'', 12.2</ref> Crassus displayed his wealth by realizing public sacrifices to Hercules, entertaining the populace at 10,000 tables and distributing sufficient grain to last each family three months, an act that had the additional ends of performing a previously made religious vow of a tithe to the demigod [[Hercules]] and also to gain support among the members of the popular party.

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = César (13667960455).jpg
| image2            = Head of Marcus Licinius Crassus, middle of 1st century BC, from Italy, Moi, Auguste, Empereur de Rome exhibition, Grand Palais, Paris - 14649017884.jpg
| image3            = (Venice) Pompey the Great, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.jpg
| footer            = From left to right: [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], Crassus, and [[Pompey]]
}}

In Appian's account, when Crassus ended the rebellion, there was a contention over honors between him and Pompey. Neither men dismissed their armies, with both being candidates for the consulship. Crassus had been praetor as the law of Sulla required. Pompey had been neither praetor nor quaestor, and was only 34 years old, but he had promised the plebeian tribunes to restore much of their power, that had been taken away by Sulla's constitutional reforms. Even when they were both chosen consuls, they did not dismiss their armies stationed near the city. Pompey said that he was awaiting the return of Metellus for his Spanish triumph; Crassus said that Pompey ought to dismiss his army first. In the end, Crassus yielded first, offering Pompey his hand.<ref>Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', 1.121</ref>

==First Triumvirate-Alliance with Pompey and Caesar==
In 65 BC, Crassus was elected [[Roman censor|censor]] with another conservative, [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus]], himself son of a consul. During that decade, Crassus was Julius Caesar's patron in all but name, financing Caesar's successful election to become ''[[pontifex maximus]]''. Caesar had formerly been the priest of Jupiter, or ''[[flamen dialis]]'', but had been deprived of office by Sulla. Crassus also supported Caesar's efforts to win command of military campaigns. Caesar's mediation between Crassus and Pompey led to the creation of the [[First Triumvirate]] in 60&nbsp;BC, consisting of Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar (who became consul in 59&nbsp;BC). This coalition would last until Crassus' death.
In 54&nbsp;BC, Crassus looted the [[Second Temple|Jewish Temple]] treasury.<ref>Josephus, ''The New Complete Works'', translated by William Whiston, [[Kregel Publications]], 1999, "Antiquites" Book 14:7, p.463</ref><ref>Michael Grant, ''The Jews in the Roman World'', Barnes & Noble, 1973, p.58</ref>
[[File:P. Crassus denarius.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Denarius]] minted by [[Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)|Publius Licinius Crassus]], son of the triumvir Marcus, as ''[[monetalis]]'' in 55&nbsp;BC; on the [[obverse]] is a laureate bust of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], perhaps in honor of his commanding officer [[Julius Caesar]]; on the reverse is an unidentified female figure, perhaps representing [[Gaul]]]]
In 55 BC, after the Triumvirate met at the [[Luca Conference]] in 56&nbsp;BC, Crassus was again consul with Pompey, and a law was passed assigning the provinces of the two Hispanias and [[Roman Syria|Syria]] to Pompey and Crassus, respectively, for five years.

==Syrian governorship and death==
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 [[Parthian Empire|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 [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Artavasdes II of Armenia|Artavasdes II]], offered Crassus the aid of nearly 40,000 troops (10,000 [[cataphract]]s 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.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html 19.1–3]</ref> 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.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 21.2</ref> Ariamnes was in the pay of the Parthians and urged Crassus to attack at once, falsely stating that the Parthians were weak and unorganized. He then led Crassus' army into the desert, far from any water. In 53{{nbs}}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, and not prepared for an attack by swift mounted archers, a tactic which Parthian troops had mastered. The Parthian horse archers devastated the unprepared Romans with hit-and-run tactics, feigning retreats as they shot to their rear.<ref>Richard Bulliet, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Columbia University</ref> 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 brought camels carrying arrows to continuously resupply their archers, letting them relentlessly barrage the Romans until dusk. Despite taking severe casualties, the Romans successfully retreated to Carrhae, forced to leave many wounded behind to be slaughtered by the Parthians.{{fact|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Le supplice de Crassus (Louvre, OA 1761).jpg|thumb|"The torture of Crassus", 1530s, Louvre]]
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 Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)|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 all the Romans dead, including Crassus.<ref>Bivar (1983), p. 55</ref> A story later emerged that, after Crassus' death, the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth to mock his thirst for wealth.<ref>Cassius Dio, 40.27</ref>

[[Plutarch]]'s biography of Crassus also mentions that, during the feasting and revelry in the wedding ceremony of Artavasdes' sister to the Parthian king [[Orodes II]]'s son and heir [[Pacorus I|Pacorus]] in the Armenian capital of [[Artashat (ancient city)|Artashat]], Crassus' head was brought to Orodes II.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Payaslian|first1=Simon|title=The history of Armenia: from the origins to the present|date=2007|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-1403974679|page=24|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7J-g7Wld1vEC}}</ref> Both kings were enjoying a performance of [[Euripides]]' tragedy ''[[The Bacchae]]'' when an actor of the royal court, named Jason of Tralles, took the head and sang these verses:

{{blockquote|We bring from the mountain<br>A tendril fresh-cut to the palace<br>A wonderful prey.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html 33.2–3]</ref>}} Crassus' head was thus used instead of a prop to represent [[Pentheus]] and carried by [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]].<ref>Bivar (1983), p. 56</ref>

Also according to Plutarch, Crassus was mocked by dressing up a Roman prisoner, Caius Paccianus, who resembled him, in women's clothing, calling him "Crassus" and "''imperator''", and leading him in a spectacular show of a final, satirical "triumphal procession", ridiculing the traditional symbols of Roman triumph and authority.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', p. 418: "That one of his captives who bore the greatest likeness to Crassus, Caius Paccianus, put on a woman's royal robe, and under instructions to answer to the name of Crassus and the title of ''imperator'' when so addressed, was conducted along on horseback."</ref>

==Chronology==
{{No sources|section|date=September 2024}}
* 115 BC – Crassus is born in Rome, second of three sons of Publius Licinius Crassus (cos. 97&nbsp;BC, cens. 89&nbsp;BC);
*  97 BC – Father is [[Roman consul|consul]] of Rome;
*  87 BC – Crassus flees to [[Hispania]] from [[Gaius Marius|Marian]] forces;
*  84 BC – Joins [[Sulla]] against Marius;
*  82 BC – Commands the victorious right wing of Sulla's army at the [[Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC)|Colline Gate]], the decisive battle of the civil war, fought on Kalends of November;
*  78 BC – [[Sulla]] dies in the spring;
*  73 BC – Revolt of [[Spartacus]], probable year Crassus was [[praetor]] (it's possible for him to have done so between 75 and 73&nbsp;BC);
*  72 BC – Crassus is given special command of the war against [[Spartacus]] following the ignominious defeats of both consuls;
*  71 BC – Crassus destroys the remaining slave armies in the spring, and is elected consul in the summer;
*  70 BC – Consulship of Crassus and [[Pompey]];
*  65 BC – Crassus is [[Roman censor|censor]] with Quintus Lutatius Catulus;
*  63 BC – [[Second Catilinarian Conspiracy|Catiline conspiracy]];
*  59 BC – [[First Triumvirate]] formed, with [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] as consul;
*  56 BC – Conference at [[Lucca]];
*  55 BC – Second consulship of Crassus and [[Pompey]], with Crassus leaving for Syria in November;
*  54 BC – Campaign against the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]];
*  53 BC – Crassus dies in the [[Battle of Carrhae]].

==Artistic representations==
===Literature===
* Crassus is cited as an example of greed in [[Dante Alighieri]]'s Divine Comedy<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/adictionaryprop00toyngoog | title=A dictionary of proper names and notable matters in the works of Dante | date=8 March 1968 }}</ref>
* Crassus is a major character in [[Howard Fast]]'s 1951 novel ''[[Spartacus (Fast novel)|Spartacus]]''.
* Crassus is a major character in the 1956 [[Alfred Duggan]] novel ''Winter Quarters''. The novel follows two fictional Gallic nobles who join Julius Caesar's cavalry and then find their way into the service of Marcus' son, [[Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)|Publius Licinius Crassus]], in Gaul. The characters eventually become clients of Publius Crassus, and, by extension, his father Marcus. The second half of the novel is related by its Gallic narrator from within the ranks of Crassus' doomed army en route to do battle with Parthia. The book depicts an overconfident and militarily incompetent Crassus up to the moment of his death.
* Crassus is a major character in the 1992 novel ''[[Arms of Nemesis]]'' by [[Steven Saylor]]. He is portrayed as the cousin and patron of Lucius Licinius, the investigation of whose murder forms the basis of the novel. He also has minor appearances in ''[[Roman Blood]]'' and ''Catalina's Riddle''.
* In [[David Drake]]'s ''[[Ranks of Bronze]]'' (1986), the Lost Legion is the major participant, although Crassus himself has been killed before the book begins.
* Crassus is a major character in [[Conn Iggulden]]'s ''Emperor'' series.
* The story of the [[Battle of Carrhae]] is the centerpiece of [[Ben Kane]]'s novel ''The Forgotten Legion'' (2008). Crassus is depicted as a vain man with poor military judgment.
* Crassus is a major character in [[Robert Harris (novelist)|Robert Harris]]' novel ''[[Lustrum (novel)|Lustrum]]'' (published as ''Conspirata'' in the USA), the sequel to ''[[Imperium (Harris novel)|Imperium]]'', which both chronicle the career of [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]].
* Crassus is a major character in the novels ''[[Fortune's Favourites (novel)|Fortune's Favourites]]'' and ''[[Caesar's Women]]'' by [[Colleen McCullough]]. He is portrayed as a brave but mediocre general, a brilliant financier, and a true friend of Caesar.

===Ballet===
* Crassus (''Russian:'' Красс) has a principal role in [[Aram Khachaturian]]'s 1956 ballet ''[[Spartacus (ballet)|Spartacus]]''.

===Drama===
'''Film'''
* Crassus is a principal character in the 1960 film ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'', played by actor [[Laurence Olivier]].<ref name="imdb1">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054331/|title=Spartacus|date=17 November 1960|publisher=IMDb}}</ref> The film is based on [[Howard Fast]]'s 1951 [[Spartacus (Fast novel)|novel of the same name]].
* Crassus is the antagonist in the 1962 film ''[[The Slave (1962 film)|The Slave]]'', played by actor [[Claudio Gora]].
* A highly fictionalized version of Crassus called Marcus Crassius is an enemy figure in the film ''[[Amazons and Gladiators]]'' (2001), played by [[Patrick Bergin]]. They mention his defeating Spartacus and that Caesar exiles him due to his popularity to a poor province, where he's very cruel to the populace; he conquers the Amazons, under Queen Zenobia (who apparently rules a tribe of Amazons in the same province, Pannae). In this film, he is killed by a young girl whose family he killed.
* A character named Hamilton Crassus III portrayed by [[Jon Voight]] in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s 2024 sci-fi epic film [[Megalopolis (film)|Megalopolis]], is based on Marcus Licinius Crassus. The film is a modern take of the [[Catiline Conspiracy]] set in an imagined futuristic Modern America.

'''Television'''
* Crassus is a principal character in the 2004 TV film ''[[Spartacus (2004 film)|Spartacus]]'', played by actor [[Angus Macfadyen]].
* Crassus appears in a [[Xena: Warrior Princess (season 3)|3rd season]] episode of ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'', where he is beheaded in the Colosseum.
* He is portrayed by [[Simon Merrells]] in ''[[Spartacus: War of the Damned]]'' as the main antagonist. Unlike in Alfred Duggan's novel, he is portrayed as a brilliant military tactician.
* Crassus was also mentioned in the fifth series of ''[[Horrible Histories (2009 TV series)|Horrible Histories]]'', with a song named "Minted" dedicated to his life parodying [[Dizzee Rascal|Dizzee Rascal's]] [[Bonkers (song)|Bonkers]] sung by [[Simon Farnaby]].
* Crassus appears in the second season of the [[Netflix]] original series ''[[Roman Empire (TV series)|Roman Empire]]''.

===Music===
* Crassus, along with Palene, is one of the two narrators in ''[[Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus]]''. He is played by [[Anthony Hopkins]].

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==

===Primary sources===
* {{cite book|last=Plutarch|author-link=Plutarch|others=trans. Bernadotte Perrin|edition=Loeb Classical Library|title=Parallel Lives|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html|chapter=Life of Crassus}}
* {{cite book|last=Plutarch|author-link=Plutarch|others=trans. John Dryden|title=Parallel Lives|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/crassus.html|chapter=Life of Crassus}}{{gutenberg|no=14140|author=[[Plutarch]]|name=Plutarch's Lives Volume III}}
* {{gutenberg|no=2812|author=[[Cicero]]|name=Letters of Marcus Tullius Cicero}}
* [[Cassius Dio]] Book 40, Stanza 26 [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html]

===Modern works===
* {{cite book |last=Bivar|first=A.D.H.|date=1983|chapter=The Political History of Iran Under the Arsacids|title=[[The Cambridge History of Iran]]|volume=3|issue=1 |pages=21–99|editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-20092-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Marshall |year=1976 |first=B.A. |title=Crassus: A Political Biography |publisher=Adolf M. Hakkert |place=Amsterdam |isbn=90-256-0692-X |url={{googlebooks|6dMZAQAAMAAJ|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{cite book|author=Hennessy, Dianne.|year=1990|title=Studies in Ancient Rome|publisher= Thomas Nelson Australia|isbn=0-17-007413-7}}
* {{cite book|author=Holland, Tom.|year=2003|title=Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic|publisher=Little, Brown}}
*{{cite book |last1=Schettino |first1=Maria Teresa |title=Marcus Licinius Crassus: pratique et conception du pouvoir |date=2023 |publisher=L’Erma di Bretschneider |location=Rome |isbn=9788891328366}}
* {{Cite book|last=Smith|first=William|author-link1=William Smith (lexicographer)|title= Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology|url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1939.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051220143415/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1939.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 December 2005|volume=2|year= 1870}}
* {{Cite web| publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |date=2009|title=Battle of Carrhae|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/trivia/carrhae.html |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=Encyclopædia Romana | last=Grout | first=James}}

==Further reading==
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/trivia/crassus.html Marcus Licinius Crassus]
* Sampson, Gareth C: ''The defeat of Rome: Crassus, Carrhae & the invasion of the east'' (Pen & Sword Books, 2008) {{ISBN|978-1-84415-676-4}}.
* Ward, Allen Mason: ''Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic'' (University of Missouri Press, 1977)
* Twyman, Briggs L: critical review of Marshall 1976 and Ward 1977, ''Classical Philology'' 74 (1979), 356–61
* Lang, David Marshall: ''Armenia: cradle of civilization'' (Allen & Unwin, 1970)
* {{cite journal |last1=Overtoom |first1=Nikolaus Leo |title=Reassessing the Role of Parthia and Rome in the Origins of the First Romano-Parthian War (56/5–50 BCE) |journal=Journal of Ancient History |date=2021 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=238–268 |doi=10.1515/jah-2021-0007|s2cid=237154963 }}
* Stothard, Peter: ''The First Tycoon'' (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2022) {{ISBN|978-0-300-25660-4}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Marcus Licinius Crassus}}
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/crassus.html Crassus] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Licinius Crassus, Marcus}}
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