Limestone frieze depicting soldiers embarked on a galley, ready to board an enemy ship. Now in the Narbo Via museum, Narbonne, France.
Under the terms of the lex Gabinia, Pompey was allocated huge resources of men, ships, and money. He was also granted imperi um maius, the power to override the authority of all other Roman magistrates, for up to 50 miles inland, much to the dismay of his political rivals, who felt that this amounted to almost monarchical status. Like all members of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, Pompey lusted after military glory, which was the principal route to political success. His campaign lasted less than a year and was portrayed as a resounding success by his political ally Marcus Tullius Cicero in a speech to the Roman people in 66 BC, arguing that only Pompey could win Rome's long-running war with Mithridates VI, king of Pontus (Cicero, On the Command of Gnaeus Pompeius). This spectacular defeat of the 'pirates' did indeed pave the way for Pompey to take command against Mithridates, who was eventually defeated in 63 BC. But there is another way of viewing at Pompey's 'Pirate War'. If we look behind the image of a heroic Roman leader freeing the seas of evil 'pirates' for the good of all, we can see how the opponents of Rome have been demonized and how aggressive Roman imperialism has been justi fied as the suppression of piracy.
Ancient piracy and the raid mentality
Piracy can be defined as 'armed robbery involving the
