Two Servile Wars had been fought between 135 and 100 B.C., in Sicily. The slave revolts were eventually squashed by the Roman army. The First Servile War began in 135 B.C. due to drastic changes in slave ownership and lack of food, which created conditions that spark the rebellion. Approximately twenty thousand slaves were led by Eunus, a slave entertainer, until their defeat in 132 B.C. The Second Servile War was fought from 104 to 100 B.C. Salvius and his army of a few thousand slaves revolted while they were being forced into slavery after mistakenly being released. In Sicily overcrowding had become an issue which increase conflicts before both Servile Wars broke out.
Slaves made up a large portion of the population during the Roman Republic. Jona Lendering suggests in his writing Spartacus that, traders or pirates were continuously selling slaves, and as a consequence, runaway slaves began filling the country.[1] The runaways slaves probably felt that the conditions they had to live in were unacceptable, and as a result they would risk death to gain their freedom. The slaves would often return home, but many chose to hide in the countryside and often became bandits. Persons that became slaves were placed in a situation without any rights, or so much as a name. The slaves were subjected to their owners’ whims.
Slaves, in Ancient Rome, were a common commodity among the prestigious. Their slaves were often purchased to flaunt their wealth and were an important status symbol. Many of the slaves had been captured or were prisoners of war. In Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome Keith Bradley believes, “some slaves were treated well, but there were few restraints on their owner’s powers, and physical punishment and sexual abuse were common.”[2] The slaves had no voice in the actions which were taken against them, unless they were able to purchase their freedom. Some slaves sought ways to relieve themselves of the torment a life of slavery brought them; such as by stealing money to buy their freedom or they committed suicide in order to escape a life of slavery. It is understandable why slaves would want to seek revenge or why they would seek to escape slavery.
Slaves planned and escaped from the Lentulus Batiates gladiatorial school in 73 B.C. There were approximately seventy, to less than eighty; slaves escaped the school in Capua. Plutarch states in Plutarch’s Lives, “two hundred of these resolved to make their escape; but their design being betrayed, those who had notice of the discovery, and succeeded in getting away, to the number of seventy-eight, took knives and spits out of the cook’s shop, and sallied out.”[3] After the slaves had escaped the school they began looting for more weapons. N.S. Gills mentions in Spartacus: The Slave Revolt of Spartacus the Gladiator that, the slaves took weapons from wagons.[4] After the fugitive slaves found the gladiatorial weapons they made their way from Capua to Mount Vesuvius.
The slaves began to organize themselves at Mount Vesuvius. That is where the slaves made their intentions known. It was first to plunder and secondly to prepare for war with Rome. They could have chosen to return to their homelands instead, or to hide in the hills like many runaway slaves had before them. During their stay at Mount Vesuvius the escaped slaves were joined by many others. Appian in The Civil Wars writes, “After this still greater numbers flocked to Spartacus till his army numbered 70,000 men.”[5] At Mount Vesuvius, they also chose their generals, whom were among those that had escaped from Capua. They trained and prepared themselves for what lay ahead.
The slaves at Mount Vesuvius and those that joined them afterwards, attracted more people their cause. These people were fugitives, slaves, shepherds, and freedmen. The army consisted of men, women, and children. Prisoners joined them after the slaves released them during raids. Spartacus drew many to his followers, because he equally split the plunders gathered after a raid. In Florus on Spartacus Publius Annius Florus reports, “Supplied with abundant material…his [Spartacus’] men provided themselves with plenty of arms and continued in robbery for the time being.”[6] Shepherds may have become scouts, because of their familiarity with the countryside. They gained their weapons and armor, used during raids and battle, in several different ways.
The slave army used different resources to prepare themselves for war. The gladiators may have used the training techniques to train their militia. Florus notes, “ They made themselves rude shields of wicker-work and the skins of animals, and swords and other weapons by melting down the iron in the slave-prisons…Calvary was procured by breaking herds of horses which they encountered.”[7] They traded their gladiatorial weapons for those they confiscated during raids or battle. The leaders of the slave army proved successful in building a force worthy of opposing the Roman army.
The slave army chose three leaders from their group, of the original slaves from the ludus school. Spartacus, Crixus, and Oenomaus were chosen to become generals. According to Lendering, “They represented ethnic groups: a Thracian, a Greek, and a German.”[8] The generals would shape the army for battle with Rome. Other sources suggest that Oenomaus and Crixus may have served second in command to Spartacus, because he may have had previous military experience.
Spartacus became the strongest leader and saw the war to its end. He was a Thracian of nomadic ethnicity. Sources provide different theories on how Spartacus became a slave. Some suggest he was a prisoner of war or a bandit, while others suggest that he had served as a Roman soldier and became a deserter. Most sources agree that Spartacus was elected, because of his courage. Plutarch claims, “They say that when Spartacus was first taken to Rome to be sold, a snake was seen folded over his face while he was sleeping, and a woman…who was skilled in divination...declared that this was a sign of a great and formidable power which would attend him to a happy termination.”[9] It is possible that this prophecy may have increased his ability to gain allies, such as those generals who escaped from the ludus along with him.
Oenomaus and Crixus died early in the war, but their lives made impact enough to be mentioned in several sources. Crixus was killed in battle near Mount Garganus sometime during 72 B.C., with the majority of his militia. Appian confirms that Spartacus offered a sacrifice in Crixus’s honor, by killing hundreds of Roman prisoners.[10] Sources provided limited information on Oenomaus. It is suggested that Oenomaus was Gallic. He may have died early during the rebellion, possibly during a raid seeking plunder. Spartacus was last of the original three generals from 72 to 71 B.C., and it was his leadership that led them through many battles.
During the first confrontation at Mount Vesuvius, the slave army proved their adaptability to situations. They used thinking skills to decide the best way to outsmart their enemies by using their environment to their aid. Aldo Schiavone in Spartacus explains:
The topography of the area is different today,
partially due to two millennia of lava accumulation, and this does not
help us to identify the spot exactly: one plausible hypothesis is that the
fugitives hid out in the hills between Mounts Somma and Vesuvius….The
crest of the mountain where they had treated,…abounded in wild vines: the
slopes of Vesuvius were clad with vineyards which produced a
celebrated wine.[11]
The slaves used the vines to aid them in outsmarting their enemy. Florus illustrates, “being besieged here by Clodius Glabrus, [a praetor, or commander, also known as Gaius Claudius Glaber] they slid by means of ropes made of vine-twigs through a passage in the hollow of the mountain down into its very depths, and issuing forth by a hidden exit, seized the camp of the [sic] general by a sudden attack which he never expected.”[12] The slave army may have also used the vines to create ladders in order to climb down the mountain side in the cover of night. A member of the slave army lowered the weapons down after the army had descended the mountain. The slave army then crept through the enemy camp while they were sleeping in order to confuse them with an attack. After the Romans had fled the camp Spartacus’s men were able to take the weapons and supplies left behind.
After the defeat, a new Roman army was sent in its place. As Appian claims, after Glaber’s troops were defeated, Publius Varinius hastily formed an army, since the rebel army was not a large concern for Rome.[13] It is also possible that a trained Roman army was not available to address the issue. Rome was engaged in two other wars during the time with Hispania, the region of Spain, and the other with King Mithradates VI, in what is now Turkey. The Senate most likely sent Varinius in an attempt to prevent the slave rebellion from further increasing, but he was unsuccessful.
Publius Varinius’s army was divided in two. Furius and Cossinus each controlled one portion of the Roman army. Sextus Julius Frontinus in The Strategemata remarks, “This Spartacus, when enveloped by the troops of the proconsul Publius Varinius [also called Publius Valerius and Publius Barinus by different sources] placed stakes at short intervals before the gate of the camp; then setting up corpses, dressed in clothes and furnished with weapons, he tied these to the stakes to give the appearance of sentries when viewed from a distance.”[14] The slave army once again demonstrates their ingenuity using the resources available to outsmart their opponent. The tactics may have provided aid in defeating both portions of Varinius’s troops.
Varinius was humiliated by the outcome of events. At some point Furius’s army had engaged the slave army and was defeated. Plutarch explains, “Cossinus was then dispatched, with a large force, to advise with Barinus, and to be associated in the command; but Spartacus… was very near seizing him. Cossinus made his escape with great difficulty, and Spartacus, seizing the baggage closely followed up the pursuit, with great slaughter of the Romans, and he took the camp.”[15] The slave army moved into the countryside and continued to plunder. They had encountered several more Roman legions along the way. The slave army was victorious in the majority of battles, but also suffered a few defeats. Titus Livy insists that Spartacus’ army defeated the legions of consuls and praetors Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, Lucius Gellius Publicola, Quintus Arrius, Gaius Cassius Longinus Varus, and Gnaeus Manlius along the way.[16] These battles took place from north Italy to the region of Campania, in southwest Italy.
Appian and Plutarch both report a difference in events that took place, but both agree that the slave army was pursued by Licinius Crassus and eventually made their way south. Marcus Licinius Crassus had been sent to join his legions with the remaining legions of Lentulus and Publicola. Crassus then sent his general, Mummius, to watch the slave army and ordered him not to attack. Mummius had disobeyed Crassus and was defeated. Spartacus and the slave army avoided confrontation with Crassus’ force as they traveled towards Bruttium, the toe of Italy.
Spartacus and his men sought transportation to Sicily while on the east coast of Italy. It is suggested by several historians that the slaves wanted transportation to Sicily. It is possible they chose this location, because it had been the location of previous two slave rebellions. The slave army made an agreement with Cilician pirates. Plutarch claims, “The Cilicians came to terms with Spartacus and received his presents; but they deceived him, and sailed off.”[17] They then built rafts in an attempt to cross the Strait of Messina. This seems to be the one instance where the slave army failed at using the resources to succeed in their goals. Crassus’s legions had then move into the area and trapped the slave army.
Crassus decided to build a wall in order to make certain the slave army would not escape Bruttium. He had probably received some pressure from the Senate to destroy the slave army. Lendering concludes, “It was sixty kilometers [approximately 37.28 miles] long, but his army consisted of eight legions, or 32,000 men, and the job was done quickly.[18] Crassus had hoped to starve the slaves as they were trapped in Bruttium. The slaves found that the resources for food were becoming exhausted. Spartacus had attempted, but failed at making an agreement with Crassus. It was up to the slave army to take matters into their own hands once more.
The slave army uses its
ingenuity to find ways to attack the Roman military. According to Appian they,
“harassed the besiegers by frequent sallies [excursions] here and there. He
fell upon them unexpectedly and continually, threw bundles of fagots into the
ditch and set them on fire and made their labor difficult.”[19] With the cover of a winter storm, they built ramps across the
trenches and escaped northeast to Brundisium. Spartacus learned that Gnaeus
Pompeius Magnus’s army was moving to reinforce Crassus. Spartacus decided it
was time to make their final stand against Crassus’s legions.Spartacus’s army confronted the Roman legions at Siler River in 71 B.C., which would become [20] The slaves that had escaped were either captured or crucified along the Appian Way. These events at the Siler River ended the Third Servile War.
known as the Battle of the Siler River. Due to the size of the armies the troops were not quickly depleted as the battle waged on. Spartacus decided it was time to die as heroes and sent the remainder of his army against the Romans. Appian writes, “Spartacus was wounded in the thigh with a spear and sank upon his knee, holding his shield in front of him and contending in this way against his assailants until he and the great mass of those with him were surrounded and slain.”
The war did nothing to improve the lives of slaves. If anything the results made it more difficult for slaves to escape. With the capture and execution of the slave army, life in Rome became normal once again. The Romans had no reason to concern themselves, since slaves were back under their control and fear of a rebellion was gone. Adrian Goldsworthy in He Was Spartacus; What Do We Actually Know About the Most Famous Gladiator in History? claims that there was never another slave revolt after the Third Servile War.[21] This is possibly due to the employment of slave catchers. Rome would never allow such disobedience to cause devastation to their country again.
The Third Servile War showed that, despite the oppression of slaves, they posed a serious threat to Rome during a rebellion. The slaves successfully made their escape to build an army using confiscated resources. They used those resources to prepare themselves for war. Their allies joined their cause with the promise of equally distributed plunders and revenge. They elected leaders and Spartacus proved to be an able and courageous leader.
Spartacus and the slave army showed their persistence in seeking revenge upon their former masters and the Roman Empire. They defeated Glaber after using vines to climb down Mount Vesuvius in the dark, and sneak behind enemy lines. They used corpses to create fake sentries in order to fool Varinius. The used sticks and fire to burn workers which were digging ditches at Bruttium. Then, they snuck past the enemy during a winter storm before making their final stand at the Siler River.
The escaped gladiators started the Third Servile War, a war to remember. They proved their worth despite Spartacus’s death and their defeat. They continuously showed ingenuity, resourcefulness, and courage against the Romans. The slave army showed what lengths they were willing to take in order to make a point to the wealthy Roman citizens. Unfortunately, their point of fighting for freedom proved useless. For three years Spartacus and the slave army used tactics that helped them to survive against and defeat the Roman army during many battles.
ENDNOTES
[2]Keith Bradley, “Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome,” Ancient History, BBC, last modified February 17, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml
[3] Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, vol. 3, trans. Aubrey Stewart and George Long (Seven Treasures Publications, 2008), Kindle edition, loc.719 of 10516.
[4] N. S. Gills, Spartacus: The Slave Revolt of Spartacus the Gladiator, Ancient/Classical History, accessed May 7, 2013. http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/slavesandslavery/a/spartacus.htm
[5] Appian, The Civil Wars, (Waxkeep Publishing, 2013), Kindle edition, loc. 1308 of 8425.
[6] Publius Annius Florus, Florus on Spartacus, trans. Edward Forster, Ancient/Classical History, last modified December 30, 2008. http://www.livius.org/so-st/spartacus/spartacus_t03.html
[7] Ibid.
[8] Lendering, “Spartacus.”
[9] Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, loc. 729 of 10516.
[10] Appian, The Civil Wars, loc. 1315 of 8425.
[11] Aldo Schiavone, Spartacus, trans. Jeremy Carden, ed. Guilio Einudi (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013), 2.
[12] Florus, Florus on Spartacus.
[13] Appian, The Civil Wars, loc. 1308 of 8425.
[14] Sextus Julius Frontinus, The Strategemata, trans. Charles E. Bennet (Seattle, WA: The Praetorian Press, 2012), Kindle edition, loc. 734 of 799.
[15] Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, loc. 737-747 of 10516.
[16] Titus Livy, Periochae, trans. Jona Lendering, Ancient/Classical History, accessed May 7, 2013. http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae091.html#95
[17] Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, loc. 766 of 10516.
[18] Lendering, “Spartacus.”
[19] Appian, The Civil Wars, loc. 1333-1339 of 8425.
[20] Ibid., loc. 1343-1350 of 8425.
[21] Adrian Goldsworthy, “He Was Spartacus; What Do We Actually Know About the Most Famous Gladiator in History?” Wall Street Journal (Online), April 5, 2013. ProQuest.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Appian. The Civil Wars. Waxkeep Publishing, 2013. Kindle edition.
Bradley, Keith. “Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome.” Ancient History, BBC, Last Modified February 17, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml
Florus, Publius Annius. Florus on Spartacus. Translated by Edward Forster. Ancient/Classical History. Last Modified December 30, 2008. http://www.livius.org/so-st/spartacus/spartacus_t03.html
Frontinus, Sextus Julius. The Strategemata. Translated by Charles E. Bennet. Seattle, WA: The Praetorian Press, 2012. Kindle edition.
Gill, N.S. Spartacus: The Slave Revolt of Spartacus the Gladiator. Ancient/Classical History. Accessed May 7, 2013. http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/slavesandslavery/a/spartacus.htm
Goldsworthy, Adrian. "He was Spartacus; What Do We Actually Know About the Most Famous Gladiator in History?" Wall Street Journal (Online), April 5, 2013. ProQuest.
Lendering, Jona. “Spartacus.” Livius.org. Last modified December 30, 2008. http://www.livius.org/so-st/spartacus/spartacus.html
Livy, Titus. Periochae. Translated by Jona Lendering. Ancient/Classical History. Accessed May 7, 2013. http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae091.html#95
Plutarch. Plutarch’s Lives. Vol. 3. Translated by George Long. Seven Treasures Publications, 2008. Kindle edition.
Schiavone, Aldo. Spartacus. Translated by Jeremy Carden. Edited by Guilio Einudi. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2013.
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