Power can be exercised in different ways. A traditional way of doing this is through a person who becomes the leader of a collective, for example, a president, a prime minister, a monarch or a pope. If power is exercised between two individuals we would speak of a shared power, which in the world of Roman civilization received the name of duunvirate. In the context of Roman history we also find another formula, the decenvirate (which comes from the decades, a group of ten Roman legislators who published the codification of citizen rights, the well-known Twelve Tables). This previous clarification allows us to delve into the concept at hand, triumvirate.
Etymologically this term is made up of three words (tri which means three, vir which means man and the suffix ato, which communicates effect or result). In this way, a triumvirate is the exercise of power (political or military) based on the participation of three individuals.
The first and second triumvirate in the history of Rome
In the 1st century BC. C produced the first triumvirate of Rome. It was made up of three leaders: Marco Licinius Crassus, Pompey the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar. The purpose of the agreement between the three was to give stability to the Republic. All three were senators and belonged to different factions.
When Gaius Julius Caesar died, it produced a momentary power vacuum and a new political alliance was formed to oppose the power of the senate, being made up of three soldiers: Marco Antonio, Gaius Julius Caesar Octaviano and Marco Emilio Lépido.
Other triumvirates throughout history
When Argentina was in the process of decolonization of the Spanish Crown, the May Revolution of 1810 took place, which led to a first provisional government of the new nation prior to full independence. As a consequence of this process of change, the first triumvirate was formed, made up of Juan José Paso, Feliciano Chiclana and Manuel Sarratea.
In the recent history of the Republic of Ecuador, specifically between 1976 and 1976, there was an agreement between three soldiers and each one was the head of a branch of the army (Admiral Alfredo Poveda, Major General Guillermo Durán and General of the Air Luis Leoro Franco).
When Lenin died there was a period of uncertainty in the Soviet Union and the decision was made to form a triumvirate with three leaders (Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin).
The term triumvirate has a terminological variant, the troika. In the context of the current European Union, the troika is made up of three representatives of the European Union. Finally, we must remember that in our language the term tripartite government is used, another way of expressing the classic idea of triumvirate.
Photos: iStock - ZU_09 / MariusDroppert
