Gnaeus Pompey Magnus was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. Hailing from an Italian provincial background, after military triumphs he established a place for himself in the ranks of Roman nobility, and was given the cognomen of Magnus—the Great—by Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Pompey was a rival of Marcus Licinius Crassus and an ally to Gaius Julius Caesar. The three politicians dominated the Late Roman republic through a political alliance called the First Triumvirate. After the death of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar became rivals, disputing the leadership of the Roman state in what is now called Caesar's civil war. Pompey fought on the side of the Optimates, the conservative faction in the Roman Senate, until he was defeated by Caesar. He then sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated.

Governing, Conquesting, Triumvirating, Civil Warring...