The Roman Times
All the News Romans Need to Know
August 13, 71 BC
Rome, Italy
Spartacus and Followers Revolt,
Fail to Succeed
Large Slave Army Revolts, with Gruesome Ending
By Bennytheus Greenicus
An army of slaves led by
the former gladiator Spartacus,
challenged the government and
tried to overthrow them.
Spartacus was a gladiator
who was fed-up with how he was
treated. He saw the struggle of
others lives and wanted to do
something about it. Other slaves
were like him, maltreated and
forced to work in mines with
very harsh conditions. Because
of these harsh living
conditions, many of the slaves
did not live until middle age.
Since there were almost as many
slaves as citizens, Spartacus
thought that it would be a smart
move to attack. The slaves were
either captured or sold into
slavery, so all they wanted was
to get revenge on their owners.
In the end, they recruited
10,000 slaves to join the
revolt.
They set up a camp in Mt.
Vesuvius. In 73 BC, they started
to attack the armies. Their
first victory was in 72 BC, and
they soon became a symbol of
freedom to not only the slaves
that decided not to join the
revolt, but to everybody being
mistreated by the government.
They would go on to defeat
numerous armies over the course
of the next few years.
In 71 BC, Spartacus was
captured and he was crucified.
After he was killed, the entire
revolt went downhill due to the
fact that they were without
their sole leader. As the armies
would slaughter every slave in
sight or capture them, they
decided to show that they meant
business. They crucified every
body they had from Capua to
Rome. This sent out a message
saying the government was not to
be trifled with.
When one of his fellow
slaves was asked what Spartacus
was like, they said word for
word, “he was the perfect
leader. He was a brave, strong
and humane man who only thought
of the well being of himself and
others.” These are the perfect
qualities for a leader, and that
is why he was able to lead all
these men to the edge of
freedom.
Sources: Exploring Ancient
Civilizations, volume 9 and Ancient
Greece and Rome encyclopedia,
volume 6