Claim: Julius Caesar held office.

The First Triumvirate is a term historians use for an informal political alliance between three prominent men of the late Roman Republic : Julius Caesar , Pompey the Great , and Marcus Licinius Crassus .   Julius Caesar was a prominent popularis -LRB- singular of populares -RRB- politician . Pompey was considered the greatest military commander of his time . This gave him great prestige and popularity . Crassus was a property speculator , the largest landlord , and the richest man in Rome . Pompey and Crassus had extensive patronage networks . The three men formed an alliance with which they could gather sufficient popular support to counter the stranglehold the Roman Senate had over Roman politics . The senate had thwarted some bills these men had sponsored . With this alliance they aimed to overcome the senate 's resistance to these bills and to have them passed . The triumvirate lasted from 59 BC to Crassus ' death in the Battle of Carrhae , where he was defeated during his campaign against the Parthians in 53 BC , this then created friction between Caesar and Pompey as they had no buffer . The alliance had been kept secret until Pompey and Crassus publicly supported a land law proposed by Caesar in 58 BC . According to Goldsworthy , the alliance was , `` not at heart a union of those with the same political ideals and ambitions , '' but one where `` all -LSB- were -RSB- seeking personal advantage . ''