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Pompey

Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) 106-40 BC. Magnus means "the great." One of the great statesman and generals of the late Roman Republic.

Pompey's star first began to glow in the heavens when he swept the Mediterranean of pirates. Earlier, these same pirates had kidnapped a young Roman noble named Julius Caesar. Later, Pompey marched his armies into Syria and won a stunning victory. Finally, Pompey marched on Jerusalem. He took the city easily. Some say that he entered it on the Sabbath and therefore encountered little resistance. Only a handful of militants opposed his entry. These militants eventually holed up inside the temple area and held out for over 3 months. Roman occupation of Jerusalem ushered in a new era for the Jews of Judea. For the next 135 years they suffered and bled under the ever-poised claws of the Roman eagle.