He is thought to have been born in Thrace modern day Balkan region and it has been suggested he was in the Roman army. He was sold into slavery and trained at the gladiatorial school in Capua, north of Naples. Spartacus escaped in 73 BC and took refuge on nearby Mount Vesuvius, where large numbers of other escaped slaves joined him.
Leading his army of runaway slaves, which has been estimated to have reached , men, Spartacus defeated a series of Roman attacks using tactics which would now be called guerrilla warfare. They fought off a series of attacks from Roman forces, but then turned south.
The administration in Rome now began to take the threat from Spartacus seriously and the Roman politician and general Marcus Licinius Crassus led an army south.
Image Spartacus Spartacus was an ancient Roman slave and gladiator who led a rebellion against the Roman Republic. Hermann Vogel. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Western European civilization that became a major part of ancient Rome. Mount Vesuvius. Roman Empire. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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Related Resources. Ancient Rome. View Collection. After sunset, the slaves descended on their ladders and fell upon the few sentries Glaber had bothered to post. In minutes, the gladiators were slashing their way through the slumbering Roman camp, routing the militia and seizing valuable stocks of military arms and armor. Two legions of militia under the command of the praetor Publius Varinius then were dispatched from Rome to track the insurgents and bring them to justice.
Lacking knowledge of the terrain, Varinius was further hampered by disease brought on by damp autumn weather, as well as an outbreak of insubordination among his own troops. Perhaps even worse was his own refusal to consider the slaves a serious fighting force. Spartacus was determined to crush the Romans. Using his scouts to good advantage, the gladiator discovered another party of Romans under Cossinius at a camp and bath near Herculaneum.
In a swirling battle, Spartacus nearly captured Cossinius, then pursued him as he fled. The Roman and the remnants of his column were brought to bay and slaughtered. Varinius trailed him into Lucania, where he suddenly found the rebels deployed in battle formation. The insubordination that had plagued Varinius earlier now flared up once more. Some soldiers refused to advance, while others fled.
The Roman praetor a magistrate next below the rank of consul continued his attack but was badly mauled. Varinius escaped, though his horse and his official standards and insignia were seized, adding to the Roman humiliation. Captured legionaries were forced to fight each other as gladiators or were crucified, just as some Romans crucified captured slaves. Spartacus and his army marched north, reoccupying Campania and destroying a Roman corps under Gaius Thoranius that had been left there by Varinius to restore order.
Spartacus undoubtedly realized that his ragtag force had been lucky so far. It had defeated several Roman forces, but the rebels had not yet faced the rugged veterans of wars in Spain, Gaul and Germany. Unfortunately for the slaves, another faction, this one led by the Gaul Crixus, was full of confidence after helping to crush the Roman militia and argued that Rome itself should be attacked.
Taking as many as 30, men, including a contingent of German and Gallic gladiators, Crixus broke with Spartacus to plunder neighboring villages and towns. No longer considering the gladiator uprising as a mere outbreak of brigandage, the Roman senate decided to send two more armies against the slaves in the spring of 72 bc. It was relatively easy to follow the trail left by Crixus and his band as they levied tribute in the Apulia region at the heel of the Italian peninsula.
Gellius sent two legions under his praetor Quintus Arrius to hem in the gladiators against the coast. Surprised by the Romans near Mount Garganus, Crixus found himself surrounded. Despite furious fighting, the Gaul and two-thirds of his army were cut down. Spartacus, meantime, had made good use of his winter respite while camped in the Appenines. His men scoured the area, raiding estates and towns, particularly in search of horses.
The slave leader hoped to build and train a cavalry unit to be his eyes as his rabble marched toward the Alps. Towns such as Consentia and Metapontum were stormed, their newly released slaves joining ranks with Spartacus and swelling the army to more than 70, Any freed slaves capable of bearing arms received rudimentary training. In the spring of 72 bc, the gladiator army trekked northward, pursued by the consuls and their legions.
In three separate engagements, Spartacus first defeated Lentulus, who had attempted to surround the slaves, and then both Gellius and the praetor Arrius, who had recently slain Crixus and his Gauls.
To appease the ghost of Crixus, Romans were sacrificed or forced to fight each other as gladiators. Surprisingly, Spartacus chose to lead his slaves back into Italy. Perhaps a contingent of his gladiators preferred looting the peninsula as Crixus had, and Spartacus may have feared that a further division of his force could be disastrous if Roman legions pursued them and forced them into battle. He may have even entertained the idea of raiding Rome, the source of enslavement of so many peoples.
For whatever reasons, the Thracian led his mob southward. Rome was beside itself with anxiety. The gladiator army was estimated at between 75, and , With the losses of the various legions, the city was short of available troops and able commanders. The most experienced generals, such as Quintus Metellus and Gnaeus Pompey, were stationed with their battle-hardened legions in rebellious Spain, while Lucius Lucullus kept an eye on troublesome Asia Minor.
For the moment, only poorly trained local levies remained to defend Rome. The Roman senate finally gave supreme military command to the praetor Marcus Crassus, the only man who offered to take the post. There their forces grew to 70, men. In 72 the Senate assigned both consuls and four legions to the war against the slaves.
After a minor engagement at Mt. Garganos in which Crixus was killed, Spartacus defeated the two consuls in separate battles in central Italy. At this point he attempted to lead the slaves north to freedom beyond the Alps.
But after they defeated the governor of Cisalpine Gaul at Mutina Modena , they elected to turn back to Italy to plunder and enrich themselves. Spartacus not only threatened Rome itself but again defeated both consuls in a major battle in Picenum.
The Romans no longer dared face him in the field. He then returned to southern Italy and again made Thurii his headquarters. In the autumn of 72 the Senate transferred the command against the slaves to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who held no public office at the time.
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