Revolt of Spartacus

The revolt of Spartacus took place in Italy in 73-71 BC. The rebellion of slaves began in Capua with the conspiracy of the gladiators of the school Batiata. About 70 conspirators led by Spartacus fled to Vesuvius. Fortified there, fugitive slaves began raiding the rich estates of Campania. The detachment quickly replenished with runaway slaves and soon numbered about 10 thousand people. Directed against them three thousandth, and then ten thousandth detachments of the Romans were defeated by the rebels.

From Campania, the uprising quickly spread to the southern regions - Lucania, Apulia and Brutii. The army of Spartacus by this time became more organized, military discipline was established, the slaves had weapons taken from the Romans. In addition, the production of weapons by the slaves was organized in the camp itself. The army of Spartacus was built on the model of the Roman. The rebellion of Spartacus was different from all the uprisings of slaves in Sicily by the fact that the leader did not declare himself king, passing the decision of all affairs to the military command of the commanders and to the meeting of the soldiers.

In 72 against the rebels, the Roman Senate sent 2 armies under the consuls Lentulus and Gellius, which meant that Rome regarded the situation as extremely dangerous. One of the armies was able to destroy the 30,000-strong detachment of slaves who had separated from the main troops, led by Crixus. But the plan to surround Spartacus Roman armies was never realized. Spartacus was able to disengage the Roman armies and defeat them singly. The uprising of Spartacus is at the stage of its greatest strength.

The rebels passed through the Adriatic coast all over Italy. Having reached the province of Cisalpine Gaul, they were able to destroy the troops of the proconsul of Cassius in the Battle of Muchin. In all likelihood, Spartacus sought to withdraw his army beyond Italy. But after the victory won over Cassius, he suddenly turned the army back, to the south, and went along the coast of the Adriatic.

At this time, the Senate collected 6 new legions and connected them with the surviving consular troops. The Roman army at this time numbered about 40 thousand people. Commander was appointed the richest slave owner Licinius Crassus, who was able to restore discipline in his troops and began the persecution of slaves, led by Spartacus. The revolt for some time passed into the stage of calm.

Spartacus sought to get to Sicily, to agree with the pirates on the supply of ships to them. He managed to reach the Strait of Messina, but the calculation of the pirates failed: the slaves did not receive the ships. Crassus also managed to cut off the Spartak army on this stretch of land, a breakthrough from the sea to the sea ditch, reinforcing it and separating it from the rest of Italy.

To break through the fortifications, the Spartak army had to make a lot of effort and lose about 2/3 of its composition. The uprising of Spartacus at this time was experiencing one of the most difficult stages. However, the rebels were able to quickly replenish their army, again bringing it to 70 thousand. Spartacists went to Brundisium, planning to go to Greece. In response, the Senate sent them to meet the Spanish army Pompey Gneya and a detachment from Thrace under the leadership of Marc Lucullus. On the border of Lucania and Puglia, a decisive battle took place between the rebels and the army of Crassus. In the battle nearly 60 thousand slaves were killed, among whom was Spartak himself. The survivors (about 6 thousand) were crucified along the road from Capua and Rome. Separate groups of slaves continued to fight in various parts of Italy for several years after the suppression of the uprising.

The revolt of Spartacus, whose history is one of the most impressive among the uprisings of antiquity, was, however, initially doomed to failure, because at that time the slave system was experiencing its heyday, for the destruction of slavery there were no prerequisites. Slaves were divided into classes (rural, urban, intelligentsia), so they had different interests, which prevented them from working out a single program. However, this uprising was very important in the history of the Roman Empire: it accelerated the emergence of a powerful centralized empire, as the slaveholders realized how much strong state power is needed to prevent such riots.