Pompey the Great was assassinated by a general under the orders of King Ptolemy on this day in 48 B.C., in a betrayal that reflected the rising power of dictator-to-be Julius Caesar. Pompey had been one of the great military figures of the Roman Republic’s long history, having led its military to victories in many wars. He used that reputation to become a political leader as one of the nation’s two consuls, the highest elected office of the republic, alongside a man named Crassus. But by trying to hold on to power for many years after that, he made what would be a fatal mistake: partnering with Caesar.
The republic was on the edge of collapse by 60 B.C. due to political infighting and the threat of another civil war. Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar were all on one side of a political divide between two factions of the Senate, the country’s legislature, and agreed to form a secret (and illegal) agreement to rule jointly, titled the “First Triumvirate.” They used Caesar’s political popularity, Crassus’ immense wealth, and Pompey’s military loyalists to get their way, securing each of them more stints as consuls and military governorships over whole regions of the country. All the while, they used the mechanisms of state to enrich themselves and reward their followers.
The relationship was always fractious, but kept together by the arrangement’s mutual benefits and, in Pompey’s case, his marriage to Caesar’s daughter, Julia. But when Crassus was killed in battle and Julia died during childbirth, there was little to hold them together. Their enemies in the Senate managed to flip Pompey and put him in sole charge of the republic while his counterpart was out in the field waging war. They demanded Caesar give up his military command and return to Rome so he could be put on trial. He refused, opting instead to start a civil war.
He met Pompey on the field of battle, defeating him despite being outnumbered two-to-one. Pompey fled to Egypt, seeking protection from Ptolemy, whose father he’d supported politically for many years. He felt Ptolemy owed him one — but Egypt was in its own civil war, and Ptolemy wanted to stay on Caesar’s good side. He had his soldiers (including one of Pompey’s former officials) welcome the great general onto a boat, where they stabbed him in the back (literally), clearing a major obstacle as Caesar worked to consolidate power over the rest of the Roman Republic.
