Spartacus, the slave who made Rome tremble
The history of Spartacus is one of the best known of ancient Rome, especially thanks to the cinema. He was born in Thrace in 113 BC, and his name became a legend for leading a slave rebellion. This event is known as War of the Slaves or War of the Gladiators, during the years 73 and 71 a.C., at the time of the Roman Republic.
Spartacus was condemned to be a slave after defecting from the auxiliary troops of Rome for being a Roman citizen. Both he and his brothers were working in plaster quarries, according to historians. There, his physical strength caused a slave merchant to notice him and buy him to enter the gladiator school of Capua.
Although his story is very diffuse, it is known that when planning his escape from the gladiatorial school he wanted to do it together with the rest of his classmates. The more than 70, together with those who fled, took refuge in Mount Vesuvius, from where they carried out looting activities in nearby towns. He began to gain great fame, being the place to which other slaves went after escaping their lords.
The first action of Rome was to send a small contingent, which ended up massacred. In addition, the soldiers' weapons were used to equip the small army of Spartacus. After this, another garrison was sent, although this one of 3,000 men led by Claudius Glabro Key. He had his hosts encamped at the foot of the volcano. Spartacus had his men unhooked in vines above the camp. They attacked by surprise, causing heavy losses that made the enemy flee.
The rebellion grew, as did the fear of Rome. After fighting several battles, Spartacus was cornered along with about 80,000 men in Apulia. On the other side there were renowned generals, like Pompey. Before the battle, Spartacus sacrificed his horse, saying the following: "The victory will give me enough horses from among the enemies, and if I am defeated, I will no longer need it." In the fight, more than 60,000 slaves and only 1,000 men of the Roman army died. The body of Spartacus was never found.