The Third Servile War was the last and largest of three slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, and it is the one led by Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator. In 73 BCE, Spartacus and several dozen fellow gladiators escaped from a training school at Capua and took refuge on Mount Vesuvius. They were joined by tens of thousands of other slaves and defeated several Roman armies as they ranged across southern Italy. The Senate gave Marcus Licinius Crassus the command of eight legions, and he finally defeated the rebels in 71 BCE, in a battle in which Spartacus was killed. Some six thousand captured slaves were crucified along the Appian Way. Pompey, who arrived at the end, claimed part of the credit.
Before and after
- 83 BCEBirth of Mark Antony
- 78 BCEOrigins of Tabularium
- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- from 73 BCE to 63 BCEThird Mithridatic War
- from 73 BCE to 71 BCEThird Servile War
- 15 October 70 BCEBirth of Virgil
- 13 January 69 BCEBirth of Cleopatra
- from 66 BCE to 217 CERoman–Parthian Wars
- 8 December 65 BCEBirth of Horace
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 149 BCE to 146 BCEThird Punic War
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- 49 BCECaesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
- 476 CEFall of the western Roman Empire
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century BCE.