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Spartacus
A slave named Spartacus led a revolt against the Romans 73BC. Spartacus built an army of thousands of soldiers from slaves he and his followers liberated. The slaves resisted the Roman army for more than two years and plundered the Italian countryside. The Roman councils sent an army of 40,000 soldiers to defeat the slave revolt. Spartacus was killed in battle, but six thousand of his soldiers were taken prisoner and crucified. Crucifixion is a form of execution where the prisoner is nailed to a cross and left to die a slow, painful death. Crosses stretched for miles along the Apian Way, one of Rome’s most traveled roadways. They served as a gruesome reminder of the strength and the brutality of the Roman army. |
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Rome
needed workers to maintain its wealth. The first conquered people were
welcomed as Roman citizens, but after 265BC,
many conquered people were auctioned off as slaves. A great deal of the
grandeur of Rome was created by the grueling labor of slaves.