Spartacus

Spartacus Before Rome According to the surviving sources, Spartacus was from Thrace, an area in southeast Europe that the Romans were often trying to control during the first century B.C.. He appears to have served in a Roman auxiliary unit for a time, deserted, and became either a bandit or insurgent against the Romans. At some point he was captured, brought to Rome and sold as a slave to a man referred to at times as “Vatia.”

Capua This man owned a gladiator school in Capua, about 120 miles southeast of Rome. While at the school, Spartacus helped organize a breakout that led to more than 70 gladiators escaping armed with knives, cleavers and other makeshift weapons they got from the kitchen.

Escape Spartacus and his small band of escapees acquired gladiator weapons and made their way to Mount Vesuvius. This was more than a century before it erupted and, in Spartacus’ time, the mountain was actually covered with vines and had fertile farmland nearby. On their way, Spartacus and his co-leaders, Crixus and Oenomaus, raided for supplies and recruited slaves in the countryside. Rome did not respond to Spartacus’ growing force seriously…a group of escaped slaves were not seen as posing a serious challenge to Roman soldiers

Glaber’s Plan The Romans dispatched Gaius Claudius Glaber to form an army to crush the slaves. Glaber’s army didn’t even try to attack Spartacus. Instead, they blocked off the main route up Vesuvius, pitched camp and tried to starve him out…

Spartacus’ Response Spartacus took the initiative, having his newly freed slaves build rope out of wild vines so they could move down the mountainside to a spot the Roman had neglected to defend. The Romans, still in camp, never saw them coming. The slaves were able to surround them and to shock the Romans with a surprise attack. When the Romans fled, the slaves seized their camp. This success resulted in new recruits flocking to the force of Spartacus. At its peak, the army is believed to have been 90,000– 120,000 strong.

A Growing Army The growth of Spartacus’s force was aided by other factors. Throughout his rebellion, his army spent much of its time in rural areas and small towns, places that were poorly defended but had an abundance of slaves. In time, he even succeeded in getting non-slaves to join his rebellion. They were able to build such a formidable force in part because many freedmen and other free commoners joined their ranks along with thousands of fugitive slaves.

A Split Army Spartacus wanted to cross the Alps to put distance between the army and Rome and find freedom. One of his co-commanders, Crixus, wanted to attack Rome itself, where large numbers of slaves would likely swell their ranks even more. Crixus broke off from the main force, taking 30,000 men with him and began raiding the countryside until he was defeated and killed.

Spartacus’ Decision After defeating another Roman force, this one led by a Roman governor named Gaius Cassius Longinus, Spartacus’s force was now free to climb the Alps and go to Gaul, Thrace, or other areas not controlled by Rome. However, for reasons lost to history, Spartacus chose not to do this, instead turning his force around and heading back into Italy.

Crassus A new leader named Marcus Licinius Crassus had taken command of the Roman forces. He was a wealthy individual, able to raise a large army and pay them, at least in part, out of his own pocket. He was a ruthless military leader. Among his forces were the remains of legions that had been previously defeated by Spartacus. As a consequence Crassus revived a practice called “decimation”. Needless to say discipline tightened under Crassus.

The End After a long period of pursuit and a few engagements, the slave army was defeated near the headwaters of the Siler River in southern Italy. Spartacus was killed, but his body was never found. Some 6,000 rebellious slaves were crucified as a warning to others.