Why This Page Matters
The First Triumvirate is not a formal institution — the term is modern. It is a privata amicitia, a private understanding between three men who each need something the Senate will not give them. Caesar needs a consulship and a command. Pompey needs land for his veterans and ratification of his Eastern settlements. Crassus needs financial contracts for the publicani. Together they have enough power to bypass the Senate entirely. The question is whether this alliance causes the Republic's collapse or merely reveals that it has already happened.