Spartak - this name is familiar to everyone from childhood. His uprising is studied by schoolchildren in the course of the history of the Ancient World. For many centuries, the gladiator Spartacus remained a symbol of the struggle for freedom, a beautiful and heroic symbol. In addition, the figure of the leader of the slave uprising was once romanticized by writers and historians.
In reality, the apparent knowledge about Spartacus is largely mythologized, and it is very difficult to separate the truth from what has been "completed" over the centuries.
For what reason is he? After all, he is far from the only leader of the uprising in world history.
Who is the gladiator Spartacus? We do not even know the specific dates of his life. Instead, the dates of the uprising. Beginning - 74 or 73 BC BC, defeat - 71 years. The same short life in history as Joan of Arc. These short lives, like comets, sweep over humanity and, as you can see, do not accidentally leave such a bright trail.
So, the biography of Spartak is approximate. There is no doubt that he was from Thrace - this is the territory of today's Bulgaria. There are two versions of its origin. First: from the royal family of Spartokids. In the V-II centuries BC. e. they ruled a kingdom, the center of which was where the city of Kerch is now located.
According to the second version, the name Spartacus is associated with the mythological people - Sparta. According to Greek mythology, they once lived in the territory of Northern Greece. Sparta literally means "sown". Someone once had the teeth of a dragon buried in the ground. And from them incredible warriors grew.
The first version looks more realistic. Moreover, the best warriors did not come from the peasants, but from the upper class. At least in antiquity. The attitude to the royal family (which meant upbringing, education) explains somewhat better the indisputable intellectual abilities demonstrated by Spartacus during his short life.
Here is what Plutarch wrote about him: “Spartacus, a Thracian who came from the tribe of Meads, was a man who was not only distinguished by outstanding courage and physical strength, but in intelligence and gentleness of character stood above his position and was generally more like a Hellene than was possible expect from a man of his tribe. The Greek Plutarch could not give a higher mark than “he looked like a Hellene”. He emphasizes with this comparison that Spartacus was an outstanding man - and not only in the sense that he swung his sword perfectly. He looked like a Hellene. What a compliment!
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It cannot be ruled out that Spartacus, before he became a slave, fought against Rome. Which side? Perhaps on the side of the Pontic king Mithridates in the 80s and 60s BC. e. It was a difficult war for Rome. The participation of the Thracians in it is recorded by many documentary sources. Spartacus could well be captured and sold as gladiators. That is how the Romans used good warriors.
According to Plutarch, Spartacus was married to his fellow tribesman, his wife was with him and also fled from the gladiatorial school. She, according to Roman authors, told the following story about him: once, when Spartacus was asleep, a snake settled on his face and fell asleep. The wife, like all women of that time, claimed to interpret the signs. She said that what happened predicted her husband a formidable power and a tragic end.
A somewhat more detailed biography of Spartacus begins with the gladiatorial school of Lentula Batiatus in the city of Capua, south of Rome, in the Campania region. Capua is an ancient city founded by the Etruscans, comparable in size, wealth and importance to Rome itself. And there was a famous gladiatorial school. Lentulus Batiatus sold them to wealthy people. Gladiator fights were like an important part of daily life. Rome simply did not know how to exist without it.
74 BC e. - a conspiracy of gladiators arose in this school, 200 gladiators took part. There is no evidence that Spartak was its organizer. He could be at the head simply as the strongest of the warriors.
The conspiracy, as is often the case, was betrayed by some traitor. Measures began to be taken inside the school and security was strengthened. And then 78 of the 200 conspiracy gladiators broke free, crushed the guards, rushed through the streets of Capua, armed with kitchen utensils: knives, skewers, which they managed to capture. The gladiators repulsed the attack of the municipal unit. They took their real weapons.
No one has yet realized what kind of grand event is taking place. As Appian writes, in Rome they reacted with absolute contempt to the report from Capua about the escape of some 78 gladiator slaves.
Gladiators were able to hide from their pursuers on Mount Vesuvius. The mountain is steep and difficult to climb. One path led to the top, very winding. But people who were saving their lives took off relatively easily. And the guards, the lazy municipal police, of course, fell behind. The fugitives settled there for a while. They were left alone. There was, apparently, the simplest thought - they themselves will rest. But they did not die.
In addition, other oppressed began to come to the rebellious gladiators. It should be noted that the 1st century BC. e. was still the time of classical slavery in Rome. At its extreme, a slave is a speaking instrument (as Varro puts it). This attitude has led to a desperate situation for many people, and the desperate are able to grasp any hope.
And so the camp at the top of Vesuvius began to attract disaffected people. According to historical data, their number grew rapidly and soon reached 10,000 people. They turned into a band of robbers. They needed food, they robbed and terrified the neighborhood. Therefore, in Rome, they finally found it necessary to deal with them.
Praetor Clodius (high rank!) With 3,000 people was sent to Campania. It was believed that this was enough to cope with any number of slaves.
These were not legionnaires yet, but security troops, but under the command of the praetor. Clodius considered that there was nothing to fight with slaves, the narrow path disorientated him. He chose a place where Vesuvius was impregnable from all sides, well blocked the only path, became a camp and waited for the rebels to die without food.
But one of the main personal qualities of Spartacus, which Plutarch noted, is that he never gave up. He came up with the idea of weaving stairs and ropes from the abundant wild grapes growing on Vesuvius. In the middle of the night, when in the camp of Clodius complete carelessness reigned: who was sleeping, who was having fun, they went down straight to the camp, taking with them the weapons they had stolen by that time. And they simply destroyed the detachment of Clodius. The camp was completely destroyed. The Romans fled! It was incredible and shameful. Spartacus became powerful and terrible.
Then Rome sent another praetor, Varinius, to Campania, with the demand to quickly teach the slaves a lesson. A battle took place, Varinius's advisor, Kasinius, almost ended up in captivity. His horse went to Spartak personally. Sallust writes that the Romans were shocked, there were cases of desertion.
And Spartacus is building an army at this time. All of southern Italy is under his control. Now he began to accept not everyone who runs to him, but only those who will fight. His army became huge, and it was no longer just a crowd of slaves.
72 BC e. he headed north. Everyone has the simplest thought - to Rome!
Panic began in Rome. I even remembered an old phrase, III century BC. BC, the time of Hannibal, - "Hannibal ante portas" ("Hannibal at the gate"). It is similar in spirit to the sea cry: "Polundra!" Bad business, guard, save yourself who can! Wealthy Romans flee their estates, burn papers, curry favor with their slaves …
However, here vague information appears about the disagreements among the leaders of the rebels. The fact is that at that time Spartak already had co-leaders, Crixus and Enomay, apparently Gauls in origin, from the territory of the future France. (These lands have not yet been conquered by Caesar.)
Spartacus, perhaps from the very beginning, intended to pass by the Eternal City without attacking Rome. And so he did. And his fellow Gauls seemed to think that it was necessary to "crush the reptile", to destroy the very center, the very nest of slavery. And, in general, it is also good to rob. Many of Spartak's associates were ordinary robbers.
Of course, every revolt is accompanied by violence. But, surprisingly, Spartak has repeatedly tried to stop it.
The rebels were divided. A detachment led by Crixus moved to Rome. And he was broken.
And Spartacus continued to move north, past Rome.
The position of the Roman Republic was difficult. In the west, on the Iberian Peninsula, for more than 5 years there was a war against a powerful movement, led by the Roman Sertorius, a former supporter of Mary, a wonderful warrior and a very outstanding person. And in the east was Mithridates, numerous rebellious Malaysian tribes.
There were reports that Mithridates, through his envoys, was negotiating with Sertorius. And they seem to want to come to terms with the Gauls. If all the movements come together, it will be really scary for Rome. The Spartak movement contributed to the general atmosphere of the catastrophe.
The Republic reeled. And the Senate made an amazing decision - sending two consuls at once against the rebellious slaves - Lucius Gellius Publikola and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus. In 74 they headed east.
Spartacus believed that it was necessary to take people away from Rome, from this country of slaves and slave owners. Perhaps he was going to cross the Alps, although it was extremely difficult. He moved north.
There, in Cisalpine Gaul, which was conquered by Rome, the famous battle of Mutina took place. In it, Spartacus proved to be a true commander. At first, he managed to defeat both consuls, and under Mutin, the governor of Cisalpine Gaul Gaius Cassius, using the technique that Hannibal used at Cannes in 216 BC. e. Separation and complete destruction of encircled enemy troops.
Rumors that he led 120,000 people are probably exaggerated as usual. But it was a real army, as can be seen from the result.
Why didn't he cross the Alps after Mutina? The answer options are infinitely varied. Perhaps because the passes at that time were impassable. However, before Spartak overcame any difficulties!
Now he turned south. And although in Rome everyone was already completely demoralized, he again passed by. He led an army to the very south of the Apennine Peninsula.
If you leave Italy through the Mediterranean from the south, you need a fleet. And the fleet became his target.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the Senate finally decides who to send to this fight … no, already a real war with slaves with gladiators. The Chosen One is Mark Licinius Crassus. Many questioned whether it was worth taking on the post of commander-in-chief against slaves. Win - a little honor. Just think, broke the slaves! And if you fail, your career ends. Crassus took a chance. I really wanted a career and fame.
A corrupt person, a speculator, but just a swindler. He specially bought buildings, insured for large sums, organized arson and received insurance payments. His name, as Roman historians wrote, became a household name. Crassus is corruption.
This is the kind of man who got the post of commander-in-chief in Italy, emergency powers for the war against slaves. He immediately applied these special powers - he carried out what in Rome was called decimation, an ancient rite of restoring order in the army. When every tenth warrior was executed. It seemed that this ancient tradition had long been forgotten. Rome knew difficult wars, but for a long time did not know major defeats.
Crassus built 500 soldiers - 50 of them (Roman citizens, legionnaires!) Were executed for educational purposes. So Crassus demonstrated that he was determined to win.
He caught up with Spartacus when he was on the Regium Peninsula - on the "tip of the toe" of an Italian boot. Spartacus had an agreement with the pirates that they would provide the rebel slaves with a fleet. And then it is possible to sail across the Mediterranean Sea and to the Balkan Peninsula, and to Asia Minor, whoever wants to.
Pirates in those days were a colossal force. And the terrible enemies of the Roman Empire. Pompey, the great Roman general who was sent to fight pirates, made a career out of it. The pirate fleet was huge.
After many successes of Spartacus, Crassus was in a hurry to add to his name the title - "winner of slaves." He knew that the fleet of his political rival Pompey was sent from Spain to Italy. A little time will pass, and Crassus and Pompey will fight for the right to be called the winner of Spartacus.
Spartak's pirates deceived - they did not provide the fleet. They were able to outbid. There is an opinion that this is the work of the highly experienced Crassus. For a career, he did not mind his own money. He knew that if he became one of the first people in Rome, he would receive as much as he wanted.
But Spartak never gave up! He ordered to immediately build a fleet, as we can say today, from improvised means. And, despite the risk, how many people are possible to embark and sail. As you can see, he has already matured a plan. In this fleet, he will not sail either to Asia Minor or to the Balkan Peninsula. Only Sicily is nearby.
And in Sicily, relatively recently there were two large-scale slave uprisings, in 138-132 and 104-101 BC. e. Their leaders were decisively different from Spartacus in that first of all they proclaimed themselves kings. Spartacus is a commander, warrior, leader. But not the king.
He made an attempt to get over to Sicily. According to historians, he hoped to kindle a flame that could not completely cool down on this island. Swim close. But the storm swept away the homemade boats built by slaves.
At this very time Crassus separated the Spartak army from the main territory of Italy. He made an unprecedented decision. In the narrowest part of the Regium peninsula, Roman legionnaires, magnificent builders, were ordered to dig a deep ditch, erect a wall and place sentries along it. All! Spartacus was locked up with his army on this toe of an Italian boot. Seems like it's over this time?
Spartacus ordered to keep the fires burning along the entire moat, to pretend that there were sentries, in some places they even put the corpses of the dead so that everything looked natural. Spartacus was going to gather an army in one place on a dark night, to throw everything possible, including the bodies of the dead, the corpses of horses. And on this terrible bridge - make a breakthrough.
Crassus did not understand what was happening, because there were lights along the entire ditch. And the breakthrough took place. Spartacus withdrew the army.
He began to move northeast. It's absolutely obvious where he was headed. He walked towards Brundisium, the largest Roman port. It was known that the city was well fortified, it would be difficult to take it by storm. And from the east, the commander Lucullus approached him. Pompey was sailing from the west.
For Spartacus, the most important thing was not to get caught in ticks, but to break each one separately.
Crassus overtakes him, he has a good, disciplined army. It is clear that a great battle is approaching. It took place, before reaching Brundisium, in the region of Apulia. Some details are known. Before the battle, all authors write, a white horse was brought to Spartak. He suddenly stabbed him with a sword, saying: "If we win, we will have many of these horses, and if we do not win, I will not need a horse."
It is curious that a fresco has been preserved in one of the mansions of the city of Pompeii: a noble Roman depicted how he overtakes Spartacus and wounds him in the thigh with a spear. In this case, Spartacus is on horseback. But in fact, Spartak fought on foot. And the inhabitant of Pompeii, apparently, was simply boasting.
Many enemies were killed around Spartacus, and he was rushing to Crassus. Crassus was behind the lictor guards. Spartacus could see his helmet, very noticeable, with feathers, he tried to cut his way to the main enemy. I couldn't.
Wounded, he dropped to one knee - and hid under the heap of the fallen around the bodies.
The Romans dreamed of leading him, a prisoner, through the streets of Rome. True, the triumph over the victory over the slaves … this is somewhat belittling. However, Crassus was simply hungry for triumph. And he achieved the so-called pedestrian, small triumph, or standing ovation. To arrange a grand triumph over the victory over the slaves was still a shame.
They could not capture Spartak alive. But the Romans would have been pleased to at least abuse his body: put it on public display, drag him by the legs, tying a horse to the tail in order to humiliate him posthumously. But there is no body either!
According to one version, Spartacus was chopped to pieces. According to the other, the surviving detachments were able to carry out the body of their deceased leader.
Pompey, who arrived in time, had enough work: he fought for a long time with the remaining detachments of Spartacus.
As for Mark Crassus, a terrible death awaited him in Parthia. From his skull the Parthian king will make a goblet and drink wine at feasts.
Gladiator Spartacus will remain for centuries …
N. Basovskaya