Crassus was a man with very expensive tastes!

Explanation: The Roman politician Marcus Licinius Crassus was one of the richest men in the Roman Republic, and led a (highly controversial, even at the time) expedition against Parthian-ruled Persia in the hope of enlarging his fortune even more by plundering Persia.

He made numerous strategic mistakes and ended up smashed against a Parthian cavalry force. When negotiating for surrender, he was taken prisoner and, apocryphally, executed by being force-fed molten gold to ‘sate’ his infamous greed.

While it’s unlikely that the Parthians wasted perfectly good gold like that, it is a great story to pass around the campfire as the Roman prisoners march by in chains!

Explanation: The Roman politician Marcus Licinius Crassus was one of the richest men in the Roman Republic, and led a (highly controversial, even at the time) expedition against Parthian-ruled Persia in the hope of enlarging his fortune even more by plundering Persia.

He made numerous strategic mistakes and ended up smashed against a Parthian cavalry force. When negotiating for surrender, he was taken prisoner and, apocryphally, executed by being force-fed molten gold to ‘sate’ his infamous greed.

While it’s unlikely that the Parthians wasted perfectly good gold like that, it is a great story to pass around the campfire as the Roman prisoners march by in chains!