The Power Triangle

Caesar could not take Rome alone, so in 60 BC he forged a secret deal known as the First Triumvirate — Latin for "rule of three men."

• Crassus — the richest man in Rome, hungry for military glory
• Pompey — Rome's greatest living general, wanting land for his veterans
• Caesar — the rising politician, wanting power and an army of his own

Each man had exactly what the other two lacked. Together they quietly controlled elections, courts, and laws, and the Senate could do nothing to stop them.