Did the First Triumvirate Destroy the Roman Republic?

The so-called "first triumvirate," composed of Pompey the Great, Marcus Crassus, and Julius Caesar, is sometimes given disproportionate blame for the collapse of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. These three tyrannical conspirators, the story goes, collaborated to fatally weaken the Republic for their own gain, with Caesar--according to this version of events--eventually striking the death-blow upon his election to Dictator for Life. But how much conspiring did these three powerful, ambitious, proud men really do? Were they consciously working as a team, or did their interests coincidentally align in some key instances? Is it even fair to call them a triumvirate? Did they call themselves that? We take on all of these questions and more in our defense of the first triumvirate, who, we will argue, perhaps don't deserve quite so much blame as they often get. *Related content:* Dinner with The Dictator--What It Was Like to Share a Meal with Caesar: https://youtu.be/Cvr9ltGC9l4 Why Caesar Had to Cross the Rubicon: https://youtu.be/ukxPaWaNUWk Caesar's Greatest Mistake--The Divisive Lupercalia of 44BC: https://youtu.be/YmB4DpFVWHo What WAS the Ides of March? A History of March 15th: https://youtu.be/S_IN9_N2LF0 Channel art direction and branding by Kate Hillstead: katehillstead.com Sculpture art by Daisydewdles: instagram.com/daisydewdles ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #history #rome #spqr #ancientrome #roma #roman #romanempire #romanrepublic #caesar #juliuscaesar #roman #ancienthistory #pompey #pompeythegreat #pompeymagnus #crassus #triumvirate #firsttriumvirate #romanhistory #hborome #romehbo #fallofrome #octavian #augustus #augustuscaesar #markantony #secondtriumvirate #gaiusjuliuscaesar #scythian #gaul #rubicon #crossingtherubicon #frenemies #bestfiends #romanpolitics #politics #diplomacy #gaiusjuliuscaesar #documentary #documentaries #historydocumentary