Spartacus

Spartacus, a renowned leader of the enslaved in the third servile war, was born in 109 BCE. What is known of Sparticus comes mainly from his achievements in the slave uprising against the Roman Republic. He fought for the oppressed and anyone who shared his ideas against the aristocratic government of the Roman Republic. He was a Thracian who, at one point in his life, served in the Roman military until he was taken prisoner and sold to be a gladiator. Through her research and that of her students, retired prefessor emeritus at the college of New Rochelle Barbara F. McManus, lays out the life of Sparticus in the following arguments.

In 73 BCE, Sparticus and a large group of other Gladiators enslaved with him planned an escape. That year, The group of about 80 gladiators successfully escaped using the training that they had in man to man combat. Outside of the walls of their encampment, they were joined by other commoners and peasants who shared the belief of the need for a revolt against those that enslaved them. The senate, in an attempt to stop the gladeators sent a praetor of 3000 drafted men. The praetor was surrounded and defeated unexpectedly at Vesuvias. By the year 72 BCE Sparticus had rounded up a 70,000 slave army. Later that same year, at Picenum in Italy, Sparticus and his group of gladiators defeated the Sonsular armies. Near the end of 72, Sparticus's army was at the height of its power with a massive land force of 120,000 men. By this point the senate had had enough of the revolt and voted to endow imperium to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had taken part in the previous praetor in 73 BCE. In the year 71 BCE, Crassus pursued Sparticus and his followers, wiping out many of the smaller armies that branched from Sparticus on his path. The Slaves, gladiators, defeated Crassus's army in few more minor battles before they were wiped out in a massive battle near the Siler river in southern Italy. After the battle, only few of the slaves who had survived and escaped, fled to Italy. Pompey, another war hero who did not take part in the defeat of Spartacus and his men, attempted to take the fame away from Crassus and as a result was elected into the consul along with Crassus.