60 BC

First Triumvirate

Caesar brokers the compact later called the First Triumvirate

The alliance that reshaped Roman politics left no treaty, no ceremony and no official title — and a letter of Cicero's suggests it may not have existed yet in 60 BCE.

What the sources actually describe

The compact conventionally dated to 60 BCE has no founding document. Plutarch says only that at Rome, Julius Caesar reconciled the rival politicians Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus and secured their support; Suetonius reduces the bargain to a rule, that none of the three would permit a public action that displeased any member.

That is a coordinated political alliance, not a new magistracy or a legally constituted three-man government — unlike the Second Triumvirate, which was a formal office.

"First Triumvirate" is a later historical label, not the alliance's Roman name.

Why 60 BCE is only approximate

No ancient source gives a day or a venue. Plutarch, Appian and Cassius Dio disagree over whether the reconciliation came before or after Caesar's consular election.

A contemporary letter from Cicero, dated to mid- or late December 60 BCE, still speaks of Caesar's intention to reconcile Pompey and Crassus. Prominent modern scholars therefore place the completed three-way compact after the election and possibly around the opening of 59 BCE.

There was no datable public ceremony at which three men became joint rulers; formation was a private political process.

Nothing changed until Caesar's consulship

No law changed through the compact itself. What existed afterwards was a private bloc capable of coordinating influence, holding no office and enacting nothing automatically.

Its effects became visible through Caesar's legislation as consul in 59 BCE, which addressed land distribution, Pompey's eastern settlement and a one-third remission for the Asian tax-farming companies.

The renewal at Luca came in 56 BCE, with Pompey and Crassus passing follow-up measures as consuls in 55; those belong to later phases, not to the formation.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited Date disputed

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~-0060.

What the sources leave uncertain

No ancient source supplies an exact day or venue for the compact.
Plutarch, Appian, and Cassius Dio disagree over whether reconciliation preceded or followed Caesar's consular election.
A contemporary letter from Cicero dated to mid- or late December 60 BCE still speaks of Caesar's intention to reconcile Pompey and Crassus. This has led prominent modern scholars to place the completed three-way compact after the election and possibly after December, around the opening of 59 BCE.
The conventional year 60 BCE is therefore retained only approximately.