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I think wikipedia got the details wrong there. Crassus didn't offer to buy the burning buildings, he offered to put fires out. At least, that's how I understood it years ago and that's what Wiki's own source shows-- http://www.trivia-library.com/b/richest-people-in-history-ma... .

edit: Actually, Plutarch wrote that Crassus did buy the burning buildings.

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That's interesting - I definitely have heard it taught the way Wikipedia has it. But I suppose some website here or there doesn't really count as much of a source when we're talking of events so far in the past. Maybe someone can provide a primary source or two?

Hmm, I dug further. The story probably comes from Plutarch (Lives), "[Crassus] would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty"[1].

Plutarch was closer to Crassus than I am so I guess I can't argue.

[1] https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/...

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