Strictly's Annabel Croft and partner Johannes Radebe left SPEECHLESS as they're awarded their first TEN for 'fiery and dramatic' Pasodoble Pentru cei care nu se gândesc zilnic la Imperiul Roman, merită amintit faptul că Crassus, acest tycoon cum îl numește autorul, a făcut parte din "Primul Triumvirat", acționând ca o contrapondere pentru ceilalți doi colegi ai săi: mai faimoșii Iuliu Caesar și Pompei cel Mare. A fost considerat, de asemenea, cel mai bogat om din Roma și a rămas celebru pentru felul tragic în care s-a sfârșit viața sa, undeva în deșerturile Parției, ca recuzită într-o piesă de teatru. The uniqueness of Stothard’s account of the tumultuous final decades of the Roman Republic is in a new east-west narrative in which we see the inner workings of Rome as well as the vibrancy—however brief in the narrative—of Parthia. . . . Stothard’s little biography of Crassus offers glimpses into other great civilizations and peoples during the first century B.C.”—Paul Krause, Merion West Sir Rod Stewart flashes the middle finger at the Celtic v Motherwell football match after he is booed byThe Green Brigade Tycoons, and their long history, are not just rich. The word comes from the Japanese and in the 1850s was used to show ignorant, newly arriving Americans the source of real power in Japan – the Shogun – as opposed to that of the emperor who was merely a figurehead. Thus the first tycoons in the English language were powerful Americans whose power was not immediately obvious – the dealers, the financiers, the owners of politicians as much as the politicians and generals themselves.

For all the violence, money, and intrigue that surrounded him, Crassus was generous to the common people and unostentatious in his daily life. According to his biographer Plutarch, he lived simply. While other senators had multiple villas throughout Italy, for Crassus one house was enough. He opened both his house and his loans to all. He entertained non-elites at his home, and meals there were modest and cheerful affairs. When Cicero, Caesar, or Pompey were unwilling to act as an advocate for someone in court, Crassus would step in and meticulously prepare the case. Plutarch also tells us that he always returned a greeting in public, no matter how poor or insignificant the person. The uniqueness of Stothard’s account of the tumultuous final decades of the Roman Republic is in a new east-west narrative in which we see the inner workings of Rome as well as the vibrancy—however brief in the narrative—of Parthia. Most readers will not find new details about how the last years of the Roman Republic unfolded; but many readers may discover new things about how Parthia was (and about how Parthians were perceived by Romans). Though brief, Stothard’s little biography of Crassus offers glimpses into other great civilizations and peoples during the first century B.C.On the couch: FIVE surprising ways you can use a psychology degree - from clinical and occupational to forensic psychology I'm A Celebrity's Jamie Lynn Spears speaks out on her relationship with sister Britney, as she admits: 'Family's fight. Listen, we just do it better than most' He forged a surprise alliance with a rival, Pompey, and a former protégé, Caesar, that shook Roman politics in the early 50s BC. Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar were “the three-headed monster” of Rome. They used that power to gain further military commands—a source of prestige and power that was older, more durable, and riskier than Crassus’s financial innovations. As Caesar’s power and fame grew through year after year of conquest in Gaul, Crassus’s ambition to be more than just Rome’s tycoon led him to plan his own campaign—a war against the Parthian kingdom, approximately situated in modern day Iraq and Iran. The war, carefully planned, led to disaster, as Crassus and his officers proved ignorant and unprepared for Parthian military tactics. Bruce Willis holds on tightly to his daughter Scout's hand as he spends Thanksgiving with his family amid his dementia battle

The years that followed Sulla’s victory over the Marians and his establishment as dictator were the making of Crassus as a political force. In the chaotic and bloody purge that ensued, “proscription” lists of Sulla’s opponents were drawn up, condemning them to death and rendering their property forfeit to the state. Crassus bought enormous quantities of this property for low prices at public auctions. Wealth in ancient Rome came primarily from land ownership because agriculture dominated the economy. As Cicero put it: “Of all the occupations by which gain is secured… none is more becoming to a free man.” Crassus understood this, and set about becoming Rome’s largest landowner. A millennia and half after the life of Crassus, Petrarch remarked that history was but the praise of Rome. While praise of Rome has fallen on hard times as of late, Rome still sells well and is open for business even at the places that also want to extinguish the light and flame of the eternal city perched on those seven Italian hills. There has been no shortage of recent histories of Rome, the end of the republic, and the birth of the empire under Augustus. What has proliferated in the past two decades of these never-ending Roman histories and biographies is the story told from new perspectives. This we can, and should, be thankful for. Everyone has heard of Caesar; many are aware of Pompey and his conquests. But few of us now know much about Crassus. This slim, riveting biography from Peter Stothard, a renowned writer about the classics and a former editor of The Times, should put the record straight The first tycoon of ancient Rome was also its most famous loser.” So begins Crassus: The First Tycoon, Peter Stothard’s new biography of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the Roman who defeated Spartacus, bankrolled a young Julius Caesar’s career, and lost seven legions and his life in Syria in 53 BC, four years before Caesar crossed the Rubicon. His disastrous defeat in Syria made him a failure, but according to Stothard he was “no ordinary failure, just as he had been no ordinary success—a man whose life as businessman and politician posed both immediate and lasting questions about the intertwining of money, ambition, and power.”After he was killed, humiliations rained down on him. His open mouth, shrivelled by desert air, was stuffed with molten gold as a symbol of his lifetime of greed, and his head was used as a prop in a production of Euripides’s Bacchae for the watching King of Parthia. I'm A Celebrity SPOILER: Tony Bellew gags while downing murky brown drink during gruesome challenge Christina Aguilera sparks a fan frenzy as she arrives at her Melbourne afterparty following rained-out performance at Always Live festival Crassus until now has not been the subject of a popular biography. For the many fans of this period of Roman history, Stothard offers a fascinating story, both well told and well worth the telling.”—Anthony Spawforth, Literary Review

One shortcoming is that I would have liked to know more about why Crassus became so rich. The focus is really on the power politics of the times and much less on the day to day life of this 'first financier'. It would have been interesting to learn more about this. Still, it continues to surprise me how much we know of this period. Crassus too could claim credit for the defeat of Spartacus’s slave uprising. More infamous than this victory was its aftermath. Crassus devised an efficient and terrifying punishment for the prisoners from the campaign against Spartacus. Crassus’s soldiers marched the 6000 prisoners along the Appian Way from Capua to Rome. Every thirty yards the march paused, and the last man in line was crucified. But most of it came through property. Think of the hardest, meanest estate agent you have ever come across and then double it: Crassus would make them look like a saint.

The First Tycoon

This biography is part of a series by Yale University Press called Ancient Lives that has already covered Cleopatra and Demetrius. I will certainly try those out, but hope they are less dense as my knowledge of those periods is virtually non-existent.