Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
Do Now!
Dear 6th Grade Historian,
1. Silently take out your homework and put it in the upper left corner
of your desk.
2. Silently copy down tonight’s homework into your homework chart.
3. Silently put your binder on the floor.
4. Read the article below and answer the questions that follow.
Spartacus: A Gladiator Who Fought Back
Spartacus was born a freeman. He joined the army, but he ran
away. When he was caught, he was sold into slavery to work as a
gladiator. Some gladiators were freemen. But most, like Spartacus, were slaves, who had been sold
to a gladiator school. When these men were not fighting, they were locked up in the gladiator school,
to make sure they did not escape.
One day, in 73 BCE, Spartacus did just that - he escaped. Around 70 other gladiators escaped with
him. They armed themselves with knives from the cook's shop. They found a wagon full of gladiator
weapons. They stole those, too. They camped on Mount Vesuvius. Rome sent an army of 3,000
soldiers to capture the runaway slaves. Spartacus attacked from behind. The Roman army was
defeated. Rome tried again. This time they sent 6,000 men. Spartacus won that battle as well.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
When other slaves first heard that Spartacus had escaped, some ran away and joined Spartacus. But
when Spartacus and his men defeated the Roman army, many slaves ran away to join him. The
people knew Spartacus. He was a gladiator. He was famous. Rome's slaves felt if they could reach
Spartacus, Spartacus would keep them safe. In a very short amount of time, Spartacus and his
followers had swelled from 70 to over 100,000 people.
Rome was terrified. The wealthy Roman way of life was dependant upon slaves. That is one reason
so many poor Roman citizens were out of work. Slave labor was free. About 1/3 of the people in the
Roman Empire were slaves. Wealthy citizens could not allow this revolt to succeed, not if they wanted
to keep their lifestyle.
Catching Spartacus was not easy. Spartacus and his followers spent their first winter with plenty of
good food that they stole from the surrounding countryside. They prepared for battle. They made
weapons. They drilled. The gladiators taught others how to fight like a gladiator.
Spartacus and his followers were hunted for two years. They defeated every effort to capture them.
When Rome finally caught up with him, they killed Spartacus and everyone with him.
1. Who was Spartacus?
2. What did Spartacus and his followers do?
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
3. Why did free Romans think that Spartacus was such a threat to Rome? Be detailed.
During Reading Directions: Read the following primary source interactively (write notes in the margin,
underline key words, etc.). Answer the questions after each paragraph.
Primary Source
Spartacus Revolts
Plutarch, c. 73 BCE
A rebellion of the gladiators and their attacks on Rome began. The rebellion was called the “war of
Spartacus,” for Spartacus was the leader of the gladiators. The owner of the gladiators trained the gladiators, most
of them from Gaul and Thrace. The gladiators were held prisoner by their cruel master and forced to fight each
other to the death. Two hundred of these gladiators made a plan to escape, but their plot was discovered. Some of
the prisoners learned that their master had discovered their plot and they ran to the kitchen. From the kitchen they
took the cook’s chopping knives and ran through the city, and took gladiator’s weapons from several carts that they
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
past. They then organized themselves and chose three captains to lead them. Spartacus was one of the captains.
Spartacus was a Thracian from a nomadic tribe, a man of high spirit, valiant, gentle, and of superior strength.
1. Why did Spartacus and the other gladiators try to escape?
Spartacus’s army fought and defeated two Roman armies, and killed a Roman general. Spartacus’s army
became very strong and skilled at fighting. After many successful battles with the Roman army, Spartacus decided to
march his army toward the Alps, hoping that every one of his men would return to their homes. However, Spartacus’s
men had become too confident and puffed up with their success, so they decided not to listen to Spartacus. Instead,
Spartacus’s army decided to destroy Italy and keep attacking Rome.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
2. Why did Spartacus’s men decide not to go home?
The Roman Senate became very alarmed at how violent and destructive Spartacus’s army had become.
The Senate asked a new general named Crassus to fight the rebels. At first, Spartacus defeated Crassus’s army
in several battles. However, Crassus then began to win battles against Spartacus’s army. Spartacus and his men
tried to sail away, to escape Crassus by fleeing to the sea. But Spartacus’ men disobeyed him and wanted to keep
on fighting against Rome.
3. Who is Crassus?
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
Spartacus’s army continued to fight Rome, not listening to Spartacus’s orders. Crassus planned for this to
happen all along, for he knew that Spartacus’s men would be vengeful and would never stop attacking Rome.
Crassus waited for Spartacus’s men to become weak and tired, and faced them in a final battle. During the final
battle, Spartacus and his men were all killed.
Spartacus
Critical Questions
1. What were the causes of the revolt of Spartacus? Support your answer with a fully-explained quotation from
the text.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
2. What does the revolt of Spartacus reveal about the social structure of Ancient Rome? Support your answer
with a fully-explained quotation from the text.
3. Would you describe the revolt of Spartacus as a success or a failure? Support your answer with a fullyexplained quotation from the text.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
During Reading Directions: Read the following primary source interactively (write notes in the margin,
underline key words, etc.).
Primary Source
Julius Caesar Invaded Britain
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
Julius Caesar, c. 55 BCE
At about 10 a.m. my boat arrived off the coast of Britain with my leading ships. Armed men could be seen
around all of the cliffs on the shore. They were Britons who were fighting against us and did not want us to land.
The armed men stood on cliffs, which gave them a major advantage over us. Because they were on cliffs, they could
shoot arrows, hurl boulders and throw spears at us from way up high. I realized that this place was a totally awful place
for us to try to land, so I gathered all of my commanders.
My commanders and I decided to land elsewhere, seven miles up the coast. We moved our ships far from the
shore at night so that the Britons did not know where we were going to attack. The barbarians had discovered my
plan, however, by sending horsemen up ahead along the coast to spy on our ships. The rest of the Britons followed
and they were waiting for us to attack. This created a great difficulty. Our soldiers were faced with a difficult task –
they had to land with heavy weapons and equipment, leap down from the ships, keep their footing in waist-deep water,
and fight the enemy.
On the other hand, the Britons could fight from dry land quite easily. The Britons knew the area well, were
rested, had built defenses, and were ready for our invasion. The Britons did not have to carry very much equipment,
and they could shoot arrows very easily. Our men were very shaken by this situation, and were not very enthusiastic
about entering the battle.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
I order my boats to land at yet another location. This helped out our men greatly. The barbarians became
confused by our movements. Our men were still afraid however, because they were worried that the water was too
deep to land. Then, one of our commanders yelled, “Jump down, men, unless you want the enemy to destroy you!
You will not find me failing in my duty to my country or my leader!” He yelled this at the top of his voice, and his men
charged off against the enemy. The soldiers shouted words of encouragement to each other, and attacked.
The fighting was tough on both sides. In the end, we caused the enemy to flee, although we did not destroy
them entirely. I then made peace with the Britons, within four days of the battle.
Julius Caesar
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Name:
Date:
Critical Questions
1. Which factors caused Julius Caesar to expand his empire? Support your answer with a fully-explained
quotation from the text.
2. How did Julius Caesar invade Briton? Support your answer with a fully-explained quotation from the text.
3. Were Julius Caesar's wars of expansion justified? Support your answer with a fully-explained quotation from
the text.
Mr. Woodward, History
Unit VI:
Ancient
Rome
Mr. Woodward, History
Date:
Name: