Spartacus Essays - Third Servile War, Roman Gladiators,

Spartacus Who was Spartacus and what was his influence on Roman civilization? Both these questions and more will be answered in our report. Spartacus was born and eventually sold into slavery. He was born in the Roman city of Thrace. There he joined and later deserted the ever powerful army of Rome. Little did he know that what was once his home army would turn to be the army threatening to kill him and his followers. In 71 B.C., after being caught as a deserter of the Roman army, he was sold as a slave to a gladiator trainer in Capua. He was then, trained as a gladiator for the spectators at coliseums. He was trained well and soon escaped from the tight grip of slavery. In 73 B.C., he and his fellow gladiator trainees escaped to the safety of the fabled Mount Vesuvius. There, he and his small group of followers met up with thousands of runaway slaves like themselves. The slaves had all gathered to mount one of the bloodiest, largest rebellions in all of time. As Spartacus as the leader, the rebel force in and around the mountain prepared themselves for war. This rebel uprising in southern Italy was later known as the Third Servile war, also known as the Gladiator's war. Spartacus's forces soon advanced and plundered miles of land. In this time, they were met by two Roman armies and destroyed them both. The rebel's forces soon overran all of southern Italy and looked like a formidable opponent for the Roman Empire. Spartacus quickly moved into the Cisalpine Gaul region, which was south of their previous position, and soon enough had defeated three Roman armies. Spartacus's armies decided to remain in Italy for the sake of plunder and marched even farther south. Spartacus had taken them here so that their armies would disperse and the soldiers could return home. Unfortunately many men did not return and they decided to stay and plunder the area. Once again they were met by the Roman armies led by the commander, Marcus Licinus Crassus. The rebel armies soon found great difficulties. The Roman army fought hard and soon pushed them into the narrow peninsula of Rhegium (now Reggio di Calabria). Spartacus's armies were now forced with the problem of escape. One night while the Romans were off guard, the rebels snuck past the Romans and fled to Lucania. At this point, Spartacus's armies had suffered severe casualties and were not very quick to move. The Roman Armies quickly pursued and in a last and final stand, the rebels fought hard but were soon surmounted by the overpowering Roman forces. In this last battle, Spartacus himself was killed and many of his followers suffered the same fate. Upon Spartacus's death, that marked the end of this great insurrection. The remaining followers of Spartacus soon fled the battle and retreated to the north. They were soon met by the armies of Pompey the Great and quickly obliterated by the large armies. All the prisoners obtained by the Romans during this great rebellion were crucified by the Roman armies. Just a few years later, one of the most famous people of all time would suffer the same means of execution. This Rebellion had a lasting effect on civilization because it showed the will power of the commoners and of slaves that, if in all cooperation, could easily overthrow any government. This brought about many reforms to balance wealth and power In conclusion, we hope you have learned from this brief report on the trials and tribulation's of Spartacus and his loyal followers who stuck with him till the end. History Reports