Pompey

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"Civil war in Egypt and a mercenary trireme comes to my aid? In the midst of war with Caesar, I find it odd. Who in Hades are you?"

―Pompey to Aya, 48 BCE.^[src]^-[m]

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106 – 48 BCE), also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He was also Gaius Julius Caesar's son-in-law, having married his daughter Julia.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Pompey was a close ally of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes during his exile from Egypt after being deposed in favor of his daughter Berenice IV. As a gift of the alliance, Pompey commissioned the shield "Remission",^[1] and in 55 BCE, sent General Aulus Gabinius to lead an army to help the pharaoh restore his throne.^[2] These Roman soldiers would later become the Gabiniani who settled down in Alexandria to protect the pharaohs.^[3]

During Caesar's civil war, Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece as part of his wider Macedonian campaign,^[4] causing him to flee. In 48 BCE in the Aegean Sea, Pompey was assisted by Aya and Phoxidas, who had been sent by Cleopatra to initiate an alliance. Pompey accepted the offer and declared that his fleet wwould make way for Egypt immediately.^[5]

Shortly after his arrival in Egypt, Pompey was ambushed by Lucius Septimius and the Gabiniani sent by Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra's brother. Pompey was slain and beheaded by Septimius, despite him having served the Roman general in 67 BCE in the Mediterranean Sea. The decapacitated corpse of Pompey was later found by Bayek and Aya, followed by Cleopatra and Apollodorus, who arrived too late to assist the general.^[6]

Meanwhile, Pompey's head was brought back to Alexandria by Septimius. Ptolemy XIII hoped to use the head as means to gain favor from Caesar, who had pursued Pompey to Egypt. The plan ultimately failed, as Caesar instead sided with Cleopatra against Ptolemy.^[7]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Historically, Pompey died in Pelusium, a city located at the eastern extremes of the Nile Delta. In Assassin's Creed: Origins however, he died in the Herakleion Nome. Also, it was said that Caesar planned to pardon Pompey for his actions once he captured or surrendered to him, as a means of an alliance.