Spartacus and other Slave Rebellions in Rome

After their final victory over Carthage in the Third Punic War in 146 BC. C., the Roman Republic enjoyed a period of relative peace, having established itself as the dominant power in the Mediterranean. However, when there are no enemies outside, enemies within will arise. This is the story of the Servile Wars, a series of three

slave

rebellions

that shook the Republic in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. C. and which culminated in the famous gladiator revolt and the last resistance led by Spartacus. This video is brought to you by The Ridge Wallet. We have been using Ridge wallets for almost a year.

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But don't take our word for it: Ridge has 30,000 5-star reviews! Each wallet comes with a lifetime warranty and the team at The Ridge are so confident you'll like it that they'll let you try it for 45 days. If you don't like it, just send it back for a full refund! Support our channel and get 10% off today, WITH FREE SHIPPING AND RETURNS WORLDWIDE, by going to ridge.com/KINGSANDGENERALS and using the code “KINGSANDGENERALS.” Although Spartacus's revolt in 73 BC. C. is the best known today, it was by no means the first. That honor belongs to the one that occurred in Sicily 60 years earlier, in 135 BC.

The Romans conquered most of the island at the end of the First Punic War in 241 BC. Previous conquests on the Italian peninsula had led to annexation, and the local inhabitants of the area, the socii, were granted a substantial degree of autonomy. Although they contributed troops to the Republic, they were not required to pay tribute and were treated more as allies of Rome, which held hegemonic power. Meanwhile Sicily became the first Roman province and so it was a different case; Not only was it a mix of numerous different cultures, but it was also a place of great wealth thanks to its fertile lands and ideal location.

As a result, the Romans imposed a new system of provincial government on the island, assigning a governor and collecting tribute. Although the province was under Roman rule, the Carthaginians still had substantial interest and influence there, and it would not be until after the Second Punic War in 201 BC. C. that these last Carthaginian vestiges were expelled from the island. After the war, supporters of the Carthaginian cause had their lands confiscated, causing the Republic to claim large tracts of land. This fertile but cheap land attracted many investors, who bought enormous areas and began to establish vast properties, precursors of latifundia.

Slavery was widespread, not only in Sicily, but throughout the Mediterranean, and a large number of these

slave

s were purchased in Sicily to work on the estates' farms. However, conditions were bad; Many landowners did not provide enough food or clothing for slaves, who, as a result, were often forced to resort to banditry and looting to survive. Although this was a constant concern for Rome's senators, the lands of Sicily were often in the hands of powerful equites who had judicial powers. Therefore, every time charges were brought against the landowners, they were simply dismissed. With the Senate effectively powerless, it was only a matter of time before such a disenfranchised group unified and rebelled, something that finally happened in 135 BC.

Eunus was a Syrian slave, one of many who had been brought to the island and now lived in the city of Enna. But, instead of being a worker, he was something of an artist. He performed magic tricks, breathed fire, and claimed to have visions and divine messages that prophesied that he would become king. Antigenes, Eunus' teacher, often paraded Eunus at dinner parties, making him perform his tricks and laughing at his pretensions to royalty. However, Enna's slaves were treated particularly poorly, and when they plotted to rebel in 135 BC. C., they turned to Eunus as their leader, inspired by his proclamations of divine favor.

The revolt began when 400 of these slaves rose up in Enna, killed their masters, along with their masters' wives and children, and gathered

other

slaves in the city to their cause. The revolt was brutal; Irregular courts were established and the accused were tortured and executed, and Eunus ordered that all wealthy male citizens of Enna be hunted down and killed, except those who could forge weapons. The slaves themselves chained these and forced them to work producing weapons for the rebels. Eunus proclaimed himself king and took the name Antiochus, in honor of the famous Seleucid king. He was soon able to gather and arm a force of 6,000 slaves, some with adequate weaponry,

other

s with more basic weapons; slings, axes and rudimentary spears.

Having been forced into a life of banditry by their masters, most had at least some fighting experience and some had even been soldiers who had been enslaved as prisoners of war or bodyguards. With this force gathered, he began to ravage the countryside and gather even more men to his cause, until his army numbered about 10,000. The Romans attempted to quell the revolt, however, they had not fully realized the seriousness of the situation and the small forces they sent to deal with the rebels were quickly overwhelmed by sheer numerical strength. Shortly after, another group of slaves in Sicily rebelled, this time led by an infamous slave and bandit named Cleon.

He had been a fighter since his youth in Asia Minor and, upon hearing of Eunus's success, he seized the opportunity. Initially, the Romans expected these two factions to fight and thus destroy each other, but instead Cleon sided with Eunus, contributing 5,000 more men to his cause and acting as his general. Together they were able to capture the city of Acragas, whose defenses had been left in poor condition. The slaves were careful to target the rich, mostly leaving the lower classes alone, and due to the huge economic disparity in Sicily, many of the lower classes even joined Eunus, further increasing their numbers.

After a month, a Roman praetor, Lucius Hypsaeus, was sent with 8,000 Sicilian militia to quell the revolt. Although the fact that a praetor was sent shows that the Romans were now taking the revolt more seriously, they were still not doing enough. At that time, Eunus and Cleon had 20,000 men under his command. The 8,000 militiamen proved no match for their more numerous and determined rivals and were quickly defeated. After this, the revolt spread even further across the island, with the slaves taking numerous cities and rallying even greater numbers to their cause. Three other praetors with similarly sized forces were also sent against the rebels, each of whom was defeated in turn.

Its success inspired revolts in other parts of the Republic, with small revolts emerging in both Rome itself and Greece, although both were quickly crushed before they could develop. However, in 133 BC. C., the revolt in Sicily was still strong and the number of slaves now increased to 60,000, they controlled most of the key cities of the islands and even minted their own coins. But Rome decided to act by force and sent an army led by the consul Lucius Piso. Under him, the Romans made their first significant advances: they recaptured Morgantina, killed 8,000 slaves in battle, and crucified those taken as prisoners.

This would act as a turning point in the fortunes of the Romans. The following year, another consul, Publius Rupilius, was also sent to the island. Rupilius began a ruthless campaign to finally quell the rebellion. He first laid siege to the city of Tau

rome

nium, forcing the rebels inside to resort to cannibalism. Finally, a slave named Sarapion betrayed the rebels, opening the gates to the Romans. The Romans assaulted the city and the slaves, hungry and unable to fight, put up little resistance. Rupilius ordered all the slaves to be arrested, tortured, and then thrown off a cliff. After this, he marched towards the rebels' de facto capital, Enna, where Cleon was stationed, and once again besieged the city.

Realizing that he would soon face the same fate as those of Tau

rome

nium, Cleon decided to leave, preferring to die in battle than starve behind the city walls. He fought bravely, but was still killed and Rupilius showed his body to those still defending the city walls. The rebels' morale broke at the sight and once again they were betrayed and the Romans took over the city. Eunus had not been present during the siege, but upon learning of the death of his general and the fall of Enna, he fled with 1,000 men to the mountains. At that moment, the slaves knew they were defeated.

Rupilius' ruthless tactics had worked to break the rebels' morale, and the few who remained with Eunus knew that Rupilius would soon be the next to march towards them. Rather than face Rupilius' brutal punishments, the slaves decided to behead each other rather than be captured alive. When Rupilius reached the mountains, he found Eunus with some close friends hiding in a cave. The slave leader was dragged away and imprisoned. Although the Romans planned to torture and execute Eunus as they had other slaves, he died of illness in prison before they could do so. The following year, 131, Rupilius stayed in Sicily with a select group of soldiers to put down the remnants of the revolt, but with the death of Cleon and Eunus, the First Servile War was over.

In total, the war had cost the Romans up to 20,000 people in battle, as well as an unknown number of civilians. Although the revolt had little tangible effect on the Republic, it became an inspiration to later slaves who sought to overthrow their masters. In the year 104 BC. C., just thirty years after the First Servile War, Sicily would once again be plunged into the chaos of a slave uprising. The Roman Republic had spent the last few years in long and difficult wars: the Jugurtine War of 112-106 BC. C. and the current Cimbrian War, which began in 113 BC. C.

After the conclusion of the Jugurtine War, its victor and one of Rome's best generals, Gaius Marius, received command of the Cimbrian War. The war had already cost Rome and its allies almost 60,000 men, forcing Marius to carry out a massive recruiting campaign to bolster his numbers. As a result, he had asked Nicomedes III of Bithynia for soldiers, however, Nicomedes responded by saying that he could not do it, as most of the Bithynians fit for military service had been taken as slaves by the Romans for being unable to pay. . your taxes. The Senate responded by issuing a decree that no citizen of an allied state could be held as a slave in a Roman province.

This decision was made in the hopes that it would provide Marius with the manpower he would need to defeat the Cimbri, but it would also cost the Republic dearly. In the year 104 BC. C., Publius Licinius Nerva, propraetor of Sicily, wishing to quickly execute the decree of the Senate in his province, immediately freed about 800 slaves from allied nations. This decision not only alienated slaves from other nations, but also angered nobles who owned large numbers of slaves, worried about losing their workforce. Through bribes and political pressure, Nerva quickly gave in to the nobles, refusing to free any more slaves and sending those who appealed back to their masters.

As a result of this, 180 slaves outside Syracuse rebelled, killed their masters, took up arms, and fortified a place on top of a hill. Nerva quickly gathered a force of soldiers and marched towards the slaves. However, he did not have enough men to carry out a complete siege of his fortifications. Instead, he used loyal slaves to pretend to desert, enter the fortifications, and then betray the rebels, allowing the Romans to assault the fortifications. Some of the slaves died in the fighting, while others, fearing capture, took their own lives. Nerva disbanded his troops shortly after. However, a much larger rebellion had occurred almost simultaneously.

Eighty slaves had risen up and killed Publius Clonius, an equites, and, having been left to their fate, had managed to gather 800 slaves on Mount Caprianus, outside Heracleia, in just a week. Since Nerva was not aware of this uprising and, therefore,Therefore, he had taken no action against them, rumors spread that he was a coward, and when Nerva found out, the force outside Heraclea numbered almost 2,000. The Propraetor quickly headed for Heracleia, but upon learning the size of the enemy force, he ordered the commander of the Enna garrison, Marcus Titinius, to bring 600 of his men to confront the rebels.

Titinius responded quickly and marched towards Mount Caprianus, gathering his men for battle. The mountainous terrain, however, did not lend itself to the formation-focused style of battle that the Romans were accustomed to. Furthermore, in addition to their numerical superiority, many of the slaves were armed with slings, and the higher ground gave them a clear advantage. The battle was short, as the Romans were quickly defeated, many were killed and others abandoned their weapons and fled the battlefield along with Titinius. This was a great victory for the slaves; Not only were they able to collect hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor from the battlefield, but their triumph also inspired others to join their cause.

In just a few days their number increased to more than 6,000. As their numbers grew, the slaves decided to elect a king and, still inspired by Eunus, they chose a man named Salvius, who, like Eunus, was famous for his divinations and prophecies. As his predecessor had done, Salvius took the name of a Seleucid king, calling himself Trypho, in honor of Diodotus Trypho. He immediately sent his force to plunder the countryside, seeking to attack the large estates and gather more slaves under his banner. He was soon able to raise a force of 20,000 men and even 2,000 horses that had been captured from the farms.

He now felt confident enough to attack the cities of Sicily. He marched and besieged Morgantina. Nerva had not been sitting idly by. He had also been raising an army, mustering 10,000 allied Italian and Sicilian troops. This force gathered, he marched towards Morgantina to relieve the city. Salvius had not expected such a quick reaction and he had concentrated most of his forces on the siege, leaving only a handful of slaves to protect the camp. Nerva was able to quickly take over the camp, killing the guards and seizing the loot and women Salvius had left there, before heading to confront Salvius outside Morgantina.

Not wanting to be caught between Nerva's army and the city's defenders, Salvio abandoned the siege, preferring to defeat Nerva first. His army took up position on a small hill on the road from Nerva's location to the city and prepared for battle. Nerva's forces soon also arrived and formed up. However, Salvius was quick to take the initiative and charged down the hill with his cavalry flanking the Roman force. It was a disaster for Nerva; His army, bewildered by the momentum and ferocity of the charge, and with the slave cavalry closing in on his flank, put up little resistance.

When Salvius announced on the battlefield that any man who threw down his weapons would be saved, Nerva's army completely crumbled and many threw down their weapons and fled. Only 600 of the Italians and Sicilians had died in the battle, but more than 4,000 had been taken prisoner and others fled with Nerva. This was an amazing victory for Salvio; Not only had he won the field, but his promise to forgive any man who abandoned his weapons allowed him to fully arm his army. He once again resorted to the siege of Morgantina. The slaves inside the city had been promised their freedom if they helped in the defense.

However, Nerva once again made a disastrous decision, announcing that no more slaves would be freed until the revolt was contained. As a result, the slaves within the city quickly betrayed the defenders, opened the gates, and allowed Salvius to capture the city. Salvio now effectively had control of eastern Sicily. Meanwhile, in the western part of the island another revolt had begun. A slave named Athenion had been inspired by both the First Servile War and the Salvian uprising, and had managed to raise an army of over 10,000 people. Athenion was a man known for his bravery and also professed to have prophetic powers, making beloved slaves of his cause as Eunus had previously done.

He too was crowned king, but unlike his and Salvius's predecessors, Athenion did not accept into his army all the slaves who wished to rebel. Instead, he chose those who had experience in war, while using the others as workers to keep his force well fed and supplied. By doing this, he was able to create a quasi-paramilitary force, with which he began to besiege the city of Lilybaeum. However, this proved to be too great a task, as Lilybaeum was a well-fortified city and he was able to easily resist the slaves until a relief force of Mauretenian auxiliaries relieved the city, forcing Athenion to retreat.

Despite this setback for the slaves, the entire island was effectively in chaos. Wealthy Roman citizens were forced to remain in the cities for their own safety, while slaves and lower-class citizens rampaged through the countryside. In the midst of this chaos, Salvius strengthened his position. He gathered his forces, now totaling 30,000, outside the city of Triocala and, in parallel with Eunus and Cleon, summoned Athenion. Athenion responded to the summons and brought with him 3,000 of his most experienced slaves. Possibly out of a desire to imitate Cleon, or simply intimidated by the size of Salvius' forces, Athenion swore allegiance and acted as his military advisor and general.

Together, they captured Triocala, once again with the help of disaffected slaves inside, and began to fortify the city. Salvius declared the city his royal capital, established a cabinet of advisors, and even wore a purple toga with lictors preceding him; in fact, he became what the Republic feared most: a Roman king. Nerva had proven unable to handle the situation and, as a result, at the end of his tenure as praetor, in early 103 BC. C., Lucius Licinius Lucullus, father of the famous Roman general of the same name, was sent to replace him. The Senate had assigned Lucullus a considerable force of 14,000 Roman soldiers and 3,000 allies.

Salvius wanted to wait at Triocala to fight from the city walls, but Athenion advised fighting the Romans in the open field, rather than risk being forced into the same disastrous situation as those of Tauromenius 30 years before. Salvius accepted this advice and gathered even more slaves under his banner before marching towards Scirthea with a force of 40,000. The slave force camped just over a mile from the Roman camp and the two armies began to slowly close the gap between them. Fierce skirmishes broke out between the two forces, each harassing the other with cavalry and lighter missile troops. When the two main lines met, the fighting was furious, both sides suffering heavy casualties and neither being able to gain the upper hand.

However, on the flanks, Athenion was having much more success, winning his side of the battle and threatening the Roman center. However, just when it seemed that the Romans would be surrounded, Athenion was wounded and dragged off his horse. Believing that his general had been killed, the slaves dispersed and fled the battlefield. Salvio could not stop the defeat and, knowing that the battle was lost, he too retreated. In this defeat, the Romans killed many slaves and, by the end of the day, a total of 20,000 lay dead. However, Lucullus was unable to pursue them any further and the other 20,000, including Salvius, were able to retreat to Triocala.

Perhaps most importantly, Athenion was also able to escape from the battlefield. After being wounded, he pretended to be dead and fled during the night to Triocala. It was not until nine days later that Lucullus advanced and besieged Triocala. Although the slaves were disheartened by their defeat at Scirthea, they resolved to fight to the end. Lucullus attempted numerous assaults on the city, hoping to take it by force and thus cut off the revolt, but the city's strong fortifications allowed the slaves to defend themselves against each attempt, causing numerous casualties to the Romans. These victories only emboldened the slaves, and eventually Lucullus was forced to camp outside the city, preparing for a siege.

The Senate was not satisfied. Seeing that Lucullus failed to capitalize on his initial victory at Scirthea and his failure to take Triocala, as a result of incompetence or corruption, they decided to replace him as praetor at the end of the year with Gaius Servilius. Lucullus was enraged by this decision, considering it an unjust betrayal on the part of the Senate. As a result, when Servilius landed at the beginning of 102 BC. To take command of him, Lucullus ordered his army to burn his camp, supplies and siege buildings and then disbanded them. By doing this, he hoped to humiliate his successor by ensuring that he was unable to make any significant progress in the war and thus dispel accusations of incompetence leveled against himself.

The plan worked. Salvius died sometime during 102 BC. C. for unknown reasons, and Athenion succeeded him as general leader of the revolt. Despite this setback, thanks to the actions of Lucullus, Servilius was unable to coordinate a concentrated effort against him and Athenion was able to raze Sicily, besieging and taking even more cities. At one point, Servilius managed to gather a force large enough to attempt to confront Athenion, but Athenion was able to take the praetor's army in the camp by surprise, overtaking it and forcing Servilius to retreat. Despite Lucullus' initial success the previous year, at the end of 102 BC.

C. the revolt was stronger than ever. Lucullus and Servilius were accused by the Senate of incompetence and were exiled as a result. In the year 101 BC. C., Gaius Marius was again elected consul, with Manius Aquilio as his colleague. Gaius Marius was Rome's top general at the time, and Manius Aquillius had fought alongside him in the Cimbrian Wars and was a veteran and trusted leader. The revolt in Sicily had come to threaten a famine in Rome, thus jeopardizing the ongoing war with the Cimbri. As a result, it was decided to send Aquilius with a full consular army, around 20,000 men, including 2,500 cavalry, most likely diverted from the Cimbrian front, to crush the revolt once and for all.

Aquilius immediately forced Athenion into a pitched battle. Perhaps because of his success the previous year, Athenion was confident that his army, consisting of between 20,000 and 30,000 men, would again emerge victorious. However, facing an experienced army led by a veteran and expert general, the slaves stood little chance. The battle was short and bloody, and only 10,000 slaves managed to escape. During this battle, Aquilius and Athenion found themselves fighting face to face, and although Athenion was able to wound the consul, Aquilius ultimately killed the slave king. The remaining slaves fled leaderless to numerous fortresses and fortifications throughout Sicily. Aquilio was relentless in his pursuit.

Each fortress was besieged and the slaves inside starved to death until they were defeated. When the last bastion of only 1,000 slaves remained, Aquillius sent envoys to them, asking them to surrender and risk fighting the animals in the arena. Rather than face this humiliating fate, the slaves did what their predecessors had done in the First Servile War and took their own lives, each man killing another and the last falling on his sword. Both Sicilian revolts achieved little. However, they would act as inspiration for a much larger, terrifying and dangerous revolt; the Third Servile War under the leadership of the gladiator Spartacus.

The first two servile wars centered on Sicily, where there was a huge concentration of disenfranchised slaves. However, this problem was not unique to Sicily, but was prevalent throughout Magna Graecia, including southern Italy. Thousands of these slaves were put to work on latifundia, large agricultural estates, but many others, particularly those with military experience, were sent to gladiator schools, ludi, to fight in the Roman games. One of the largest gladiator schools was in Capua, and it was here that Spartacus was sent. Spartacus was a Thracian who had served as a mercenary or auxiliary in the Roman army before, under unknown circumstances, being imprisoned and sent to gladiator school.

Lentulus Batiates, the owner of the school, was known as a particularly cruel teacher and, as a result, in 73 BC. C., 200 gladiators devised a plan to try to escape. They were betrayed, but before they could be stopped, approximately 70 grabbed all the weapons they could from the kitchens (choppers, knives and spits) and left the school. While escaping, they managed to steal gladiatorial weapons and armor. Thus equipped, they took up a defensive position on the outskirts of Capua, preparing to confront the small force that Batiates had sent to recapture them. Here they appointed Spartacus as their leader, and two Gauls, Crixus and Oenomaus, as theirlieutenants.

Together, these three led the gladiators in defense, easily fighting off Batiates' men and taking as many weapons and armor as possible. With this immediate threat handled, the gladiators proceeded to plunder the countryside around Capua, raiding properties in the area and gathering more and more former slaves to their cause, increasing their numbers to perhaps a few thousand. They equipped as many of them with captured weapons as they could before retreating to a highly defensible position on Mount Vesuvius. As the revolt raged in Campania, close to Rome itself and with many lands in the area owned by influential politicians, the Senate acted more quickly than in previous Servile Wars.

However, they still saw the event not as a full-blown revolt or the start of a war, but rather as a collection of simple bandits. As a result, when they took action, they only sent one praetor, Gaius Claudius Glaber, with 3,000 hastily assembled militiamen, as opposed to professional legionaries. Glaber was hesitant to attack a force trained in such a well-defended position, so he opted to block the only pass to the mountain, hoping to force Spartacus to surrender. But the latter proved to be a shrewd leader; Using the vines and trees in the area, Spartacus' force made long ladders and ropes that allowed them to descend the steep mountain slopes without being noticed.

Quickly, they surrounded the base of the mountain and fell upon Glaber's men from behind. Taken completely by surprise, Glaber's force was almost completely destroyed. After this victory, even more flocked to Spartacus. He was a popular leader, who provided captured weapons to as many as he could and divided the spoils of war equally among his forces. A second force, possibly an entire legion, under the praetor Publius Varinius, was also sent against Spartacus. However, for some reason Varinius had decided to divide his forces between two Legates, Furius and Cossinius. Furius's force of 2,000 men was forced into battle and was quickly defeated, while Cossinius, leading his men to reinforce Furius, was caught camped by a river and killed, and the praetor barely escaped with his life. .

After these successes, Spartacus's number increased to nearly 70,000, and the captured Roman camps provided even more equipment for his growing army. With his force now considerably increased, Spartacus felt secure enough to spend the rest of the year attacking southern Italy, including Nola, Nuceria, Turios and Metaponto. These cities attempted to put up some resistance, and in one of the raids, Oenomaus was killed, but Spartacus's force was so great, and continuing to grow, that he would be effectively unstoppable, except with a consular army. Alarmed by Spartacus's success against the praetors and his proximity to Rome, the Senate decided to send its two consuls, Lucius Gellius Publicola and Gnaeus Lentulus.

Clodianus, with consular armies, of 20,000 men each, to confront what the The Romans eventually discovered that it was a large and organized revolt. The fact that both consuls were sent against Spartacus shows how fearful the Senate was of Spartacus; even at the height of the previous Servile Wars only one consul had been sent. At the beginning of 72 BC. C., these two armies set out to finally crush the uprising. The events of this year are vague and not well documented, but there appears to have been some division between Crixus and Spartacus. Crixus appears to have wanted to remain in southern Italy, plundering the country and hopefully gathering more men for the cause, while Spartacus intended to push north, possibly through Cisalpine Gaul, toward freedom.

As a result, the army was divided: 30,000 stayed with Crixus in the south and the rest, possibly 60,000, headed north with Spartacus. This division would prove to be the first major setback for the former slaves. Publicola was able to capture Crixus's army and forced them into battle near Mount Garganus. They had proven to be a formidable force, but without Spartacus's leadership, a consular army was too much for Crixus. Although he and his men fought hard and bravely, they were destroyed by the Romans: 20,000, including Crixus, lost their lives and the rest fled to the countryside. Spartacus continued his march north, but Clodianus blocked his path.

Publicola, following his victory over Crixus, was also marching quickly north, hoping to trap Spartacus between his two armies. Spartacus knew that being trapped between two consular armies on either side would spell disaster, and so he decided to defeat them in detail. He first directed his attention to the most immediate threat: Clodianus. Despite having a full consular army, it appears that Clodian had underestimated how many men Spartacus would have with him, probably assuming that his numbers would be similar to Crixus's. Instead of waiting until Publicola could help him, Clodian gave battle, and a combination of numbers and Spartacus' leadership resulted in a complete victory for the rebel troops.

Taking advantage of this victory, Spartacus quickly marched to confront Publicola before news of his colleagues' defeat reached him. Publicola was also quickly defeated and both consular armies retreated to Rome to regroup. In a desperate attempt to regain some honor and avoid public disgrace, the two consuls attempted to combine the remains of their two forces to confront Spartacus again at Picenum, but were once again defeated. Spartacus's victory over two consuls attracted even more followers to his banner, giving him perhaps as many as 120,000, including civilians. He briefly considered marching on Rome itself, but quickly realized that, despite his numbers, his army did not have the engineering skills necessary to take a city with such formidable defenses.

Instead, not wishing to be trapped in the winter in northern Italy, Spartacus headed south again, spending the winter raiding the country and trading the loot with merchants in exchange for even more weapons and armor. It was already the third year of the war. So far, despite some setbacks, Spartacus had the better of the fight, defeating praetors and consuls in the field. As a result, when elections for the praetorship were held, few candidates could be found, and most feared that they would be forced to confront Spartacus. However, one man, Marcus Licinius Crassus, seized the opportunity. Crassus was one of the richest men in Rome and had been steadily rising in the cursus honorum.

Crassus was no stranger to war, as he served admirably as one of Sulla's commanders during the Civil War in 82 BC. C., but he knew that to ascend to the highest rank of consul, he needed to personally secure a notable military victory. As a result, he volunteered for the praetorship, and even offered his own wealth to help finance the war effort. He was quickly given full command of the war and assigned six new legions, as well as the remnants of Publicola's and Claudian's armies, a total of between 30,000 and 50,000 legionaries plus auxiliaries. Crassus' first task was to instill discipline in his men;

The Legions had performed poorly so far against Spartacus, quickly breaking down and embarrassing the Republic. Crassus understood that this was not due to a lack of training, but rather the soldier's fear of Spartacus himself, so Crassus decided to make his men fear him even more. Taking command of the two consular armies that had been so soundly defeated by Spartacus, Crassus ordered them to be decimated; They were divided into groups of 10, drawn lots and then forced to kill 1 of the 10, the one who had drawn the shortest straw. This was an ancient form of discipline in the Roman army, but it had the desired effect of making Crassus' troops fear him even more than the enemy.

Crassus then sent two legions under the command of one of his legates, Mummius, to march behind Spartacus's army to cut off his retreat and scout his army, giving him strict orders not to engage. However, Mummius, perhaps wanting glory, disobeyed this order and attacked Spartacus from behind. However, once again the legions were defeated and Mummius was forced to return to Crassus. Crassus was furious at Mummius for his insubordination and at the legions for their defeat. Once again, he gathered the 500 who had initially led the rout and decimated them in front of the rest of his army. After this, Crassus moved all his forces to confront Spartacus.

Despite Spartacus's successes, he was nervous about facing Crassus' eight legions with his approximately 70,000 men. Instead, Spartacus decided to retreat to Lucania, in southern Italy. While here, he attempted to negotiate passage with some pirates to Sicily, hoping to leave part of his army there to spark another rebellion and bring in reinforcements. However, despite accepting the payment, the pirates betrayed Spartacus and abandoned him. This gave Crassus enough time to catch up with Spartacus near Rhegio. Using the size and skill of his army, Crassus began construction of a stockade and ditch across the isthmus, 37 miles long. Spartacus's force continued to harass the workers, but this had little effect, and Spartacus was still preoccupied with facing Crassus' full force head-on.

The fortifications were soon complete. Spartacus found himself trapped and without supplies. With Crassus' army spread along the line, Spartacus attempted to concentrate on one point to break through, but the Roman fortifications held and 6,000 of Spartacus's men were killed. Assaulting the fortified legions seemed impossible. However, fortunately for Spartacus, a fierce snowstorm broke out one night, hampering visibility. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Spartacus refocused his army on one point in the line, filling the Roman moat and invading the stockade, sneaking with 50,000 men towards Lucania and attempting to advance to Brundisium. The Senate became nervous upon hearing this, fearing that Spartacus had overtaken Crassus and was marching towards Rome.

As a result, Pompey the Great, who had recently returned from fighting in another revolt in Spain, was sent south to aid Crassus. In addition, they also asked Marcus Terence Varrus Lucullus, brother of the more famous Lucius Licinius Lucullus, to bring reinforcements from his governorship in Macedonia to help. However, Crassus was far from finished. Approximately 20,000, led by Cannicus and Castus, were still trapped by the Roman fortifications, and Crassus was determined to finish them off first. Crassus approached them cautiously and sent two envoys and 6,000 men to stealthily seize high ground behind his camp. However, they were discovered by locals who rushed to inform Cannicus and Castus of their position.

The former slaves quickly fell upon the Romans and their numerical superiority allowed them to almost completely surround the legionaries. The fighting was brutal: the Romans desperately tried to buy time for Crassus' main force to arrive, and his enemies were equally desperate to break through before being surrounded. Fortunately for the Romans, Crassus had moved quickly and his main force soon arrived. Now it was Cannicus and Castus who were surrounded. His warriors defended themselves fiercely, trying to fight their way out of the encirclement, but despite their bravery, they stood no chance, attacked from all sides. When the fighting ended, 12,000 former slaves had died.

Once this force was neutralized, Crassus turned his attention to Spartacus and followed his army to Brundisium. There were minor skirmishes as the two forces marched: Crassus eliminated small groups that attempted to break away from Spartacus and forge his own escape, and Spartacus defeated Crassus's scouting cavalry. However, just as Spartacus's army was about to reach Brundusium, they learned that Lucullus had landed in the area with reinforcements. Spartacus desperately tried to make a truce with Crassus, but was scornfully rebuffed. Instead, he began marching his army north through Campania to try to escape. But he once again heard from Pompey's army from the north.

This turned out to be the last straw. For three years Spartacus and his men had fought as free men and had no desire to become slaves again. But now, with three armies approaching from all sides, escape, and therefore freedom, seemed impossible. Spartacus and his men marched south, back to Lucania to confront Crassus. However, Crassus did not want Pompey or Lucullus to claim glory from him and so had stayed close to his enemy, and the two met at the Silarius River in Campania, where Spartacus and his remaining troops would make their last stand. The forces were roughly equal: Spartacus had 50,000 remaining fighters and Crassus 40,000, including a few thousand cavalry.

Before the battle began, Spartacus killed his own horse,proclaiming that if he won the day he would have plenty of other horses to choose from, and if he lost he wouldn't need one. His point was clear: withdrawal would not be an option; Spartacus would fight to the death. Spartacus's army charged into the Roman ranks and crashed into the shield walls. Although the majority of Spartacus's army were originally slaves, they had been trained by Spartacus's gladiatorial followers, armed with looted Roman weapons, and had three years of experience fighting legionaries. The battle was long and bloody, and neither side was able to make decisive advances.

Spartacus, seeing Crassus on horseback behind the front ranks, desperately tried to fight his way to his enemy, felling two centurions who tried to block him despite receiving numerous wounds. However, eventually the gladiator general was surrounded alone and shot down by Crassus' bodyguard. His death shocked his entire army, and with his leader killed, they broke. While the initial fighting had been brutal, the battlefield now turned into slaughter. In the end, 36,000 former slaves lay dead compared to only 1,000 Romans, and the survivors fled to the countryside. Crassus's men quickly pursued them and captured 6,000, whom he crucified all along the Appian Way from Rome to Capua.

Another 5,000 were recaptured by Pompey's forces coming from the north, and all were killed, finally ending the Third Servile War. Rome would never see a slave revolt of this scale again, and Spartacus would become an inspiration to others who fought for their freedom throughout history. The Third Servile War is also crucial to the history of the Roman Republic. Pompey would claim that, by capturing the last remnants of Spartacus's army, he had definitively put an end to the rebellion, claiming a share of Crassus' glory. Furthermore, both generals now not only had popularity among the people for defeating what, at the time, was considered the greatest threat to Rome itself since Hannibal, but also large armies within a few miles of the gates of Rome.

As a result, the following year, 70 BC. C., both men were elected consuls. Crassus would never forgive Pompey for claiming some of his glory, but eventually, along with Julius Caesar, they would form the First Triumvirate and thus further accelerate the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. We always have more stories to tell, so make sure you're subscribed to our channel and have pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to our Patreon supporters and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now you can also support us by purchasing our merchandise through the link in the description.

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