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A Roman slave from Thrace launched a slave revoly (73 BC). Spatacus was forced to train as a gladiator, but convinced other slaves at the gladiatorial school in Capua to revolt rather than fight as gladiators. Thousands of slaves ran away to join him. His revolt proved to be the last, but most important of the Servile Wars. Rome not appreciating the danger sent small, inexperienced forces to supress the slaves. The more important Roman armies were stationed on the frontiers of the Republic. After a series of battles throughout the Italian peninsula, the Roman general Crassus pinned him in the toe of Italy and built a wall to keep him there, hoping to starve him army. Spartacus manages to break out, but with only a part of his army. Spatacus took his army north again and Crassus persued him. Again the Gauls and Germans separated from he main army and were almost defeated by Crassus until Spartacus came to their rescue. Spartacus achieved one more minor victory against part of Crassus' forces. Then Spartucus turned on Crassus' persuing legions. Spartacus fought is last battle near the headwaters of the Siler river in southern Italy. Here the more disciplined Roman legions destroyed the depleted slave army. Spartacus appears to have been killed in the battle, but his body was never found among the huge number of corpses. Crassus reportedly crucified 6,000 of the priosoners along the Appian Way from Capua to Rome. Pompey leading another army converging on Spartacus' force is believed to have killed another 5,000 slaves.
Very little is known about Spartacus before the revolt he launched. He was born in Thrace. Thrace at the time was not a stronhglu unifoed state. There were internal disputes and constant conflict between Thracian family dynasties and nobels. This allowed Rome to make inroads. Rome used both military force and diplomacy to conquer Thrace. Rome finally annexed TThrace (46 BC). Well before that, Spartacus was enslaved. He may have come from a nobel family. The circumsr=tances of his enslavement are unclear. Most Roman slaves were taken as prisioners of war or conquered peoples. Spartacus appears to have at first cooperated with the Romans. He is believed to have served as an auxiliary in the Roman army operating in what is now Macedonia. As a result, he learbed a great deal about Roman military organizatiin and capabilities. He appears for some unknown reason to have deserted the army. The circumstances are unknown. When found, Tbe Romans reduced him to slave status. His wife apparently was also enslaved. She is said to have profesized that he would experience great success and sorrow. He was purchased for training as a gladiator. He was trained at the gladiatorial school of Batiatus in Capua. Little more is known about Spartacus the man. He must, however, been a man of considerable pesence and charisma to amass an hold together such a discordant group of slaves. And his mastery of military tactics must have also been formidable. [Strauss]
The ethnic mix of Roman slaves varied over time. One of the principal sources of slaves were wars, both war captives and the population of conquered peoples. At the time Rome was in constant conflict with the Gauls along the norther frontier. Thus many slaves, especially relatively new slaves were Gauls. Besides the slaves from conquered territiry, there were many native-born Italian slaves. These slaves were ethnically indestinguishable from the free population of Rome and other Italian cities. Some thought was given to forcing the slaves to dress in a certain way or wear aadge of servitude. It was decoded, however, that this could empower the slaves by making it clear how numerous they were.
Performing as gladiators was a virtual death sence. Some gladiators acquired great fame and a few were able to buy their freedom. Most howerver died in the many Romn ampitheaters. Spartacus convinced about 70-80 other slaves training to be gladiatorsthat as long as they were going to die, they might as well die seeking their freedom. They escaped from the training school at Capua. The managed to escape using the knives from the kitchens. They escaped with a wagon full of weapons from the school. They camped out on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, a long dormant volcano. Soon news of the revolt spread and slaves from nearby farms ran away to join them. The nimbers gradually sweeled. The slaves would break into near by frms and homes and rob the local population, often encouraging more slaves to run away. Spartacus is said to have discouraged this plundering, but had no way of controlling the rising number of escaped slaves. His most important lieutenants were Crixus and Oenomaus. Both were enslaved Gauls from the gladatorial school.
The Roman Seanate did not consider Sparatcus' slave revolt a serious challenge. The Senate ordered a praetor, Claudius Glaber, to supress the rebel slaves. He was dispatched south and from the locl region receuited a small force of 3,000 men. They were recruited on such short notice that there was no time to trin the men. Glaber moved to trap the slaves on Vesuvius, but Spartacus had some of his gladiators cut vines. They quietly descended from the mountain and attacked the Romans from the rear. The trained gladiators quickly defeated the small Roman force and caputured many of their weapons. The Senate sent two more legions south to face Spartacus. Each was defeated by the slaves. This lilled the slaves into a false sence of secrity. None of these forces were strong battle hardened legions. The main Roman forces were on the frontiers.
At this time discension appeared among the slaves. Spartucus wanted to move the north and across the Alps to freedom. The slaves appeared to have organized themselves in ethnic affinity groups. The Gauls and Germans who might have been assumed would have been the most anxious to cross the Alps ppear to have seen the lucrative potehtial in plundering Italy. Crixus emerged as the leader of the Gauls. He separated his men from Spartacus who set up a winter camp near Thurii in southern Italy. The initial escapees were men. I know of no acounting as to the makeup of the slave revolt. Most appeared from rural areas. Over the Winter the slave force appars to have risen go about 70,000. This must have included substantial numbers of women, youth, and children. We do not know the proportion of women and children among the slaves Some accounts of the numbers involved are quite large. Substantial numbers may have been non-combatants, women and choldren.
The Senate with the defeat of the three initial forces and the rising number of runaways was becoming increasingly nervous. They began to see Spartacus as a real threat. Unlike most slave revolts was no minor anoyance, but becomong aeal threat to Rome and its slave-based society. . The Senate dispatched Consuls L. Gellius Publicola and Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, each with two full legions to supreess the slaves. The two Romn forces split. This basic departure from the most basic military strategy shows the disdain which the Romans still had for the slaves. Publicola engaged the Gauls and Germans who had separated from Spartacus. In the initial engagement, the slaves badly mauled the Romans, but then fell into an orgy of looting and driking and were defeated. Crixus was killed. Lentulus separately engaged Spartacus and was defeated at Picenum in central Italy. Publicola then engaged Spartacus, also at Picenum and was defeated. To avenge his comrade Crixus, Spartacus forced 300 Roman prisoners taken in these battles fight gladatorial duels in pairs to the death.
Spartacus marched north, apparently planning to cross the Alps. He encountered an army commanded by the proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul at Mutina. Spartacus' victory at Mutina meant that the roads to the Alps were wide open. The slaves could have crossed to Gaul. But again the Gauls and Germans refused to go. Apparently the plunder to be hd in Italy influenced the Gauls and Germans. It is unclear how the Italian and other ethnic slaves viewed escaping to Gaul and how they would have been received there. Spartacus apparently began thinking about moving South and escaping to Sicily, but ships would be needed.
Sicily was an enticing destination for Spartacus and perhaps many of the thnic Italian slaves who had joined him. Sicily was a relatively recent addition to the Roman Empire. It had been seized from Carthage during the Punic Wars. Large areas of Sicily were large plantations owned by absentee Roman landlords. There were large numbers os slaves on Italy which Spartacus believed would join his banner.
The height of the Spartacus rebellion was Fall 72 BC. He is believed to have ammassed aabout 120,000 run away slaves. Sparrtacus moved his followers south, apparently attending to escape to Sicily.
The Senate was no longe dismissive of Spartacus and the rebeling slaves.
The Senate decided to pass over the consuls and granted imperium to Marcus Licinius Crassus. He had considerable prestige. Crassus was the richest man in Rome. Sinc he had descended from a plebeian family, he had little support from the conservative nobles who normally controlled the Senate. Crassus allied himself with the populares faction. Crassus had been a praetor (73 BC), but was out of office. The Senate was now determined to crush Spartacus. Crassus amassed a force of six new legions plus four consular legions. This was a much more powerful force than Spartacus had previously faced. Crassus was determined not to make the mistake of previoys Roman commanders and attack Spartacus piece-meal. Disregarding orders, one of Crassus' legates attacked Spartacus with a force of only two legions. He was defeated by Spartacus. Crassus decimated the cohort that had retreated from the battle. The modern decimate comes from the Roman practice of decimtion. Here the soldiers counted off and every tenth man was put to death by his comrads. This apparently steeled the Roman force. Crassus with his entire command attacked the slaves. Spartacus withdrew to Rhegium--the toe of Italy. He was apparently intent on crossing the straits into Sicily. He had made arrangemenrs with the Cilician pirates who were the only group with a naval force large enough to move thousands of people across the Straits. The pirates, however, betrayed him and did not meet him at Rhegium.
The Senate was not going to rely soley on Crassus. The Senate recalled major battle-hardened Roman armies from the frontiers. The Senate recalled Pompey and his legions from Spain. It would be sometime before they could reach southern Italy. They did, however, begin the march. The Senate recalled Marcus Licinius Lucullus from Macedinia. Lucullus landed at Brundisium in the heel of Italy. This force made it impossible for Spartacus to move toward Brundisium and use the ships there to escape east.
Crassus after pinning Spatacus in the toe of Italy hoped to destroy the slave force here. Crassus built a defensive wall to keep Spatacus pinned there, hoping to starve him army. With the arrival of Lucullus at Brundisium and with Pompey moving south, Crassus began to reevaluate his strategy. He did not want to share his triumph with other Roman commanders. In addition, Spartacus saw clearly that after the pirates failed to proivide their boats, he was doomed if he stayed at
Rhegium. Spartacus launched a major attack at the fixed Roman defenses. He managed to break through Crassus' lines, but at great cost and with only a part of the army.
Spatacus took his army north again and Crassus persued him. Again the Gauls and Germans separated from he main army and were almost defeated by Crassus until Spartacus came to their rescue. Spartacus achieved one more minor victory against part of Crassus' forces. Then Spartucus turned on Crassus' persuing legions. Spartacus fought is last battle near the headwaters of the Siler river in southern Italy. Here the more disciplined Roman legions destroyed the depleted slave army. Spartacus appears to have been killed in the battle, but his body was never found among the huge number of corpses. Crassus reportedly crucified 6,000 of the priosoners along the Appian Way from Capua to Rome.
A substantial number of slaves after the battle at the Siler River escaped north. About 5,000 were captured by Pompey's which was still north of Rome. Pompey tried to claim the glory of defeating the slaves, eve though it was Crassus who had fought and defeated Spartacus. The Senate voted Pompey a triumph because of his victory in Spain. Crassus was given a mere ovation (a less impressive parade). Once Spartacus was defeated, the Senate view became that Crassus' victory was less important because it was just against slaves. The defeat of the slaves was definitive. It was the last major slave rebellion in Roman history. Spartacus had frightened Roman leaders to the core. There would not, however, be another such rebellion.
Strauss, Barry. The Spartacus War.
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