The bonds between the triumvirs are fraying by 56 BCE.

Pompey had soon become restive toward his alarmingly successful ally Caesar, as ha Crassus toward his old enemy Pompey, from 58 BCE to 56 BCE having supported efforts to neutralize Pompey's power.

In April, Caesar, no longer the amenable silent partner of the trio, calls first Crassus, then Pompey, to a secret meeting in the northern Italian town of Luca (Lucca) in Etruria, just inside Caesar's province of Cisalpine Gaul, to rethink their joint strategy.

They agree that Pompey and Crassus will again stand for the consulship in 55 BCE.

Once elected, they will extend Caesar's command in Gaul by five years.

At the end of their joint consular year, Crassus will have the influential and lucrative governorship of Syria, and use this as a base to conquer Parthia.

Pompey will keep Hispania in absentia.