In 136 BC, in Sicily (which was then a Roman province), some four hundred slaves of Syrian origin rebelled against their masters and seized the city of Henna with much bloodshed. Their leader, a fortune-teller named Eunus, was declared king (taking the Syrian royal name Antiochus), and tens of thousands of runaway slaves as well as poor native Sicilians soon flocked to join his fledgling kingdom. Antiochus’ ambition was to drive the Romans from the whole of Sicily. The Romans responded with characteristic intransigence and relentlessness, leading to years of brutal warfare and suppression. Antiochus’ ‘Kingdom of the Western Syrians’ was extinguished by 132 but his agenda was revived in 105 BC when rebelling slaves proclaimed Salvius as King Tryphon, with similarly bitter and bloody results. Natale Barca narrates and analyses these events in unprecedented detail, with thorough research into the surviving ancient sources. The author also reveals the long-term legacy of the slaves’ defiance, contributing to the crises that led to the seismic Social War and setting a precedent for the more-famous rebellion of Spartacus in 73-71 BC.

In 72 B.C., in the heart of Rome's Mediterranean empire, a slave named Spartacus ignited one of the most violent episodes of slave resistance in the history of the Roman Empire--indeed in the world annals of slavery. This volume organizes original translations of 80 Greek and Latin sources into topical chapters that look at the daily lives of slaves trained as gladiators and those who labored on farms in Italy and Sicily, including accounts of revolts that preceded and anticipated that of Spartacus. In a carefully crafted introductory essay, Shaw places Spartacus in the broader context of first and second century B.C. Rome, Italy and Sicily and explains why his story continues to be a popular symbol of rebellion today. The volume also includes a glossary, chronology, selected bibliography, three maps, an annotated list of ancient writers, and questions for consideration.

Although much has been written on Greek and Roman slavery, slave resistance has typically been dismissed as historically insignificant and those revolts that are documented are portrayed as wholly exceptional and resulting from peculiar historical circumstances that had little to do with the intrinsic views or organizational capabilities of the slaves themselves.In this book Theresa Urbainczyk challenges the current orthodoxy and argues that there were many more slave revolts than is usually assumed and they were far from insignificant historically. She carefully dissects ancient and modern interpretations to show that there was every reason for the writers who recorded and re-recorded the slave rebellions and wars to repress or to reconfigure any larger-scale slave resistance as something other than what it was. Further, she shows that we often have the accounts that we do because of the happenstance of certain ancient authors having been particularly interested in creating accounts of them for their own interests. Urbainczyk argues that we need to look beyond the canonical sources and episodes to see a bigger history of long-term resistance of slaves to their enslavement.

This second edition examines all aspects of Roman history, and contains a new introduction, three new chapters and updated bibliographies.

Enormous numbers of slaves were absorbed into Roman society from the third century B.C. onwards. Mainly enslaved prisoners of war, they transformed the quality of life in the Roman Empire beyond recognition. In this anthology the author offers a complete collection of Greek and Latin sources in an English translation which deal with the great slave rebellions in the second and first centuries B.C. In a postscript Zvi Yavetz surveys the controversy on slaves and slavery from the French Revolution to our own days, with an emphasis on the debate between Marxists and non-Marxists. The book is intended for specialists and generalists alike, including those who have had no previous classical education, but could after delving in sources concern themselves with one of the most intriguing problems in world history. Zvi Yavetz holds the Lessing Chair of Roman History at Tel Aviv University, Israel, and is distinguished visiting professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. He is the author of many books in Hebrew, French and German on Roman history among which are Julius Caesar and His Public Image and Plebs and Princips.

Bradley's study carefully analyses and describes the 3 major slave rebellions and uprisings that occurred during the period 140 B.C. to 70 B.C. His analysis examines the conditions that led the slaves to resist and how they maintained the rebellion.

Les intervenants analysent le couple du maître et de l'esclave au regard des schémas d'autorité et d'obéissance, de liberté et de servitude, de suprématie et de soumission, et les incidences de ces problématiques sur les mouvements du corps social dans l'Antiquité.

This Osprey Campaign title brings to life the story of Rome's most famous revolt, the Slave War (73-71 BC), and the ex-gladiator who led it. In the year 73 BC, the Thracian Spartacus broke out of the gladiatorial training school at Capua in Campainia. A charismatic leader, Spartacus formed an army of runaway slaves and people with little to lose, and defeated the Roman troops under the praetor C. Claudius Glaber. With this minor victory, Spartacus' army swelled to 70,000 and rampaged throughout Campania assaulting a number of cities and defeating two consular armies. Terrified lest the revolt spread across the republic, the government assigned M. Licinius Crassus the task of crushing the revolt. Crassus' first attempt to capture Spartacus failed, and the Roman senate called upon Pompey to help him. Together, they cornered Spartacus and brought him to battle near the source of the river Silarus. During the battle, Spartacus was killed and his army defeated. Crassus crucified 6,000 prisoners as an example to others who might think of revolt.

A detailed overview of the tumultuous events of this pivotal period, in which a divided Rome was plagued by assassination, civil wars, and invading hordes. This ambitious series offers a comprehensive narrative of late Roman military history from 284–641. Each volume gives a detailed account of the changes in organization, equipment, strategy, and tactics among both the Roman forces and their enemies in the relevant period, while also giving a detailed but accessible account of the campaigns and battles. This third volume analyzes in great detail the pivotal years of 395–425. It was then that the mighty Roman Empire faced the Great Migrations while being wracked by civil wars. In 395 the task of defending the Roman Empire fell on the great generalissimo Stilicho. He faced a series of hostile bureaucrats, emperors, usurpers, and foreign foes until he was killed in a conspiracy in 409. His death led to an event that shook up the Empire to its very core. The city of Rome fell to the Visigoths of Alaric in 410. The book shows why this happened and how and why the Germanic tribes were able to settle inside the borders of the Empire. This, however, is not the entire picture. In contrast to the West Romans, the East Romans survived the civil wars and faced the Germans, Huns, and Persia successfully. Why it was so and why were the East Romans able to take control also of West Rome in 425? The information in this book will give history buffs much to consider and debate. Praise for Military History of Late Rome 425–457 “An outstanding work . . . [the series] gives us a very good picture of the long process that has come to be known as the ‘Fall of Rome.’ This is an invaluable read for anyone with an interest in Late Antiquity.” —The NYMAS Review