Is there anything in this world that makes the death of thousands of people okay? Many people believe that war is not and should not be the only option when it comes to solving problems. Most of these people although, come from a place where freedom isn’t something they have to fight every day for. For someone who has had their freedom taken away from them, taking the most extreme measure can seem like the only way out. Many of the Roman slaves were in this situation during the time of the Roman Empire. Throughout history there have been many wars that have been fought for freedom that resulted in a major change. Usually, behind these major wars is a man who rises up and becomes a leader for the oppressed. In the case of the Roman Slave wars, there was Spartacus. The success the slaves had in the third Slave War is mostly in thanks to Spartacus and his braveness to be the one to make the change. His exceptional talent as a military leader was known and respected by many, even his enemies. Although some historians saw the defeat of Spartacus revolt as a failure this paper will argue that it was indeed a success, and ultimately changed the lives of slaves and the Roman Empire.
The third and final slave war in ancient Rome was also known as the Third Servile War. The slave revolt was originally planned to just escape according historian Plutarch he talks about the escape in his book saying, “Two hundred of these planned to make their escape, and when information was laid against them, those who got wind of it and succeeded in getting away”(Plutarch p. 337). Although, the plan got compromised which gave Spartacus and the slaves he was with, no other choice but to fight for freedom. Before rising up as a fearless leader there was not much known about Spartacus’ life. It was rumored that he was a Thracian who was imprisoned by the Roman soldiers and then sold as a gladiator.
Slavery was something that was happening all over Rome. Historian Mark Cartwright discusses it in his article saying, “Slavery was an ever-present feature of the Roman world. Slaves served in households, agriculture, mines, manufacturing workshops, construction and a wide range of services within the city. As many as 1 in 3 of the population in Italy or 1 in 5 across the empire were slaves and upon this foundation of forced labour was built the entire edifice of the Roman state and society”(Cartwright, Mark Slavery in the Roman World 2013). Appian also discusses the vast amount of slaves in his book saying “lest the government itself should be endangered by such a vast number of slaves. As they did not perceive any remedy, for it was not easy, nor in any way just, to deprive men of so many possessions they had held so long, including their own trees, buildings, and fixtures, a law was at last passed with difficulty at the instance of the tribunes, that nobody should hold more than 500 jugera5 of this land,6 or pasture on it more than 100 cattle or 500 sheep”(Appian p.17). The number of slaves grew immensely during the 2nd and 1st century due to the fact that the Romans made slaves of the people whose land they had conquered. Many slaves were used as gladiators and were forced to fight to the death for entertainment.
In 73BC, while training to be a gladiator, Spartacus and about 100 other gladiators made a plan to escape. Sadly, guards discovered their plan and only fifty made it out using kitchen utensils as weapons. Spartacus took the role of leader and he and the other gladiators set up camp on Mouth Vesuvius. It was obvious he was the best fit leader Joshua Mark discusses Spartacus’ role in his article saying “Although the slaves elected three leaders, each ancient source claims Spartacus soon became supreme commander” (Mark, Joshua The Spartacus Revolt 2016). In the beginning, the Romans did not take this escape as a threat. They sent soldiers to capture Spartacus and his men. Spartacus had already created a pretty strong army of slaves who heard about his bravery and wanted to fight for their freedom. Spartacus and his army defeated two sets of Roman soldiers, this success got more slaves to join his army. Spartacus had started a revolution. He was pretty successful until his battle with
Crassus where it is believed Spartacus was killed.
Although it was not a success the war lead by Spartacus is remembered as the largest slave revolt in ancient Rome. The war destroyed many towns which lead to many slaves being freed or escaping. It caused land owners to lose all their money and a lot of properties were destroyed. This lead to a decline in the growing slave population. The revolt instilled a hint of fear in some Romans in regards to owning slaves and the way they treated them.
Spartacus and the Third Servile War are very important Rome’s history. The revolt hit the economy and resulted in the rise of Crassus. Slaves began to gain more respect than before. The war proved that slaves were not lesser humans than the Romans and were capable of fighting back. Loosing isn’t always a bad thing and in the case of the Third Servile War it was just the beginning of major changes.