Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus fought for Sulla in the civil war, then turned property speculation into staggering wealth while Rome rebuilt. His victory over Spartacus in 71 BC bought him the consulship alongside Pompey, a rival he never trusted. He bankrolled Caesar and the three formed the First Triumvirate in 60 BC, an informal pact that controlled Rome but frayed under mutual envy - Pompey resented Caesar's Gallic triumphs, Crassus wanted a war of his own. After a second consulship in 55 BC, he took Syria and launched an invasion of Parthia. The campaign collapsed at Carrhae in 53 BC; Crassus died in the rout. Without his money and influence to hold the balance, Caesar and Pompey turned on each other within four years, and the Republic burned.