He drove that energetic potentate
into the mountains where Mithridates took poison and
killed himself, well knowing what fate awaited him as a Roman
captive. Next he re-established the authority of Rome over
Syria, destroyed Jerusalem, roamed through western Asia,
trying to revive the myth of Alexander the Great, and at last
(in the year 62) returned to Rome with a dozen ship-loads of
defeated Kings and Princes and Generals, all of whom were
forced to march in the triumphal procession of this enormously
popular Roman who presented his city with the sum of forty
million dollars in plunder.
It was necessary that the government of Rome be placed
in the hands of a strong man. Only a few months before, the
town had almost fallen into the hands of a good-for-nothing
young aristocrat by the name of Catiline, who had gambled
away his money and hoped to reimburse himself for his losses by
a little plundering. Cicero, a public-spirited lawyer, had discovered
the plot, had warned the Senate, and had forced Catiline
to flee. But there were other young men with similar ambitions
and it was no time for idle talk.
Pompey organised a triumvirate which was to take charge
of affairs. He became the leader of this Vigilante Committee.
Gaius Julius Caesar, who had made a reputation for himself
as governor of Spain, was the second in command. The
third was an indifferent sort of person by the name of Crassus.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125