Pompey was a rival of Marcus Licinius Crassus and an ally to Gaius Julius Caesar. Together, the three politicians would dominate the Late Roman republic through a political alliance called the First Triumvirate. After the deaths of Julia and Crassus (54 BC), disputes between Pompey and Caesar over the leadership of the Roman Republic lead to civil war. Pompey was decisively beaten by Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, whereupon he fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated.