Following the re-election of Pompey and Crassus to the Consulship in 55BC, which was backed by Caesar in exchange for the extension of his Proconsulship in Gaul for a further five years, Pompey claimed both provinces of Hispania. Governing ‘in absentia’, a move supported by Caesar, this gave him both economic and military power within the two provinces, as well as considerable political power in Rome. Crassus, the third member of the Triumvirate, received Syria for his part in bringing about this political coup.
