Triumvirate (trīŭm`vĭrĭt, –vĭrāt'), in ancient Rome, ruling board or commission of three men. Triumvirates were common in the Roman republic. The

First Triumvirate was the alliance of Julius Caesar Caesar, Julius (Caius Julius Caesar), 100? B.C.–44 B.C., Roman statesman and general.

Rise to Power

Although he was born into the Julian gens, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, Caesar was always a member of the democratic or popular
..... Click the link for more information. , Pompey Pompey (Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) (pŏm`pē), 106 B.C.–48 B.C., Roman general, the rival of Julius Caesar .
..... Click the link for more information. , and Marcus Licinius Crassus Lucius Licinius Crassus, d. 91 B.C., a noted orator and lawyer (much admired by Cicero). He was a strict follower of constitutional forms, and he and Scaevola as consuls in 95 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. formed in 60 B.C. This was not strictly a triumvirate, since the alliance had no official sanction. The three men were able to control Rome, and the alliance aided Caesar's rise to power by giving him the opportunity to pursue the Gallic Wars Gallic Wars (găl`ĭk), campaigns in Gaul led by Julius Caesar in his two terms as proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul, and
..... Click the link for more information. . The

Second Triumvirate was legally established as the tresviri rei publicae constituendae [triumvirate for reestablishing the public welfare] in 43 B.C. for five years; it was renewed in 37 B.C. The members were Octavian (Augustus Augustus (ôgŭs`təs, əgŭs`–), 63 B.C.–A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ), Marc Antony Antony or Marc Antony, Lat. Marcus Antonius, c.83 B.C.–30 B.C., Roman politican and soldier. He was of a distinguished family; his mother was a relative of Julius Caesar .
..... Click the link for more information. , and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, d. 152 B.C., was a consul in 187 and 175 B.C., a censor in 179 B.C., and pontifex maximus [high priest] from 180 B.C. He served with distinction in the war with Antiochus III of Syria.

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, d. 77 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. (d. 13 B.C.). This group was granted enormous power by the senate. Lepidus was deposed in 36 B.C., and Antony was defeated at Actium in 31 B.C., leaving Octavian at the head of the Roman Empire.

triumvirate

In ancient Rome, usually a board of three officials who assisted higher magistrates in judicial functions, oversaw festival banquets, or ran the mint. The First Triumvirate (60 BC) of Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Crassus was an informal group of three strong leaders with no sanctioned powers. The Second Triumvirate (43 BC), consisting of Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian (later Augustus)—formally tresviri rei publicae constituendae (“triumvirate for organizing the state”)—held absolute dictatorial power.

triumvirate

1. in ancient Rome

a. a board of three officials jointly responsible for some task

b. the political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, formed in 60 bc (First Triumvirate)

c. the coalition and joint rule of the Roman Empire by Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian, begun in 43 bc (Second Triumvirate)

2. any joint rule by three men

3. the office of a triumvir

triumvirate (redirected from triumviri)

Rise to Power

triumvirate

triumvirate
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