born 0441; 115
died 53 BC
Roman financier and politician.
He sided with Lucius Cornelius Sulla against Gaius Marius in the civil war of 8382 BC and came into conflict with Pompey the Great . In 7271 he put down the slave rebellion led by Spartacus . He made loans to indebted senators, including Julius Caesar . In 70 Crassus and Pompey were elected co-consuls. Ten years later Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate (see triumvirate). As governor of Syria (54) Crassus invaded Parthia ; his death at the Battle of Carrhae led to civil war between Caesar and Pompey.