Crassus defeats Spartacus, but in his march towards Rome, Pompey encounters the remnants of Spartacus' army; he captures five thousand of them and claims the credit for finishing the revolt, which infuriates Crassus.

Back in Rome, Pompey is wildly popular.

On December 31, 71 BCE, he is given a triumph for his victories in Hispania—like his first, it is granted extralegally.

To his admirers, he is the most brilliant general of the age, evidently favored by the gods and a possible champion of the people's rights.

He had successfully faced down Sulla and his Senate; he or his influence might restore the traditional plebian rights and privileges lost under Sulla's dictatorship.

Pompey is therefore allowed to bypass another ancient Roman tradition; at only thirty-five years of age and while not even a senator, he is elected consul by an overwhelming majority vote.