Servile Wars

The Servile Wars were three major slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, fought in Sicily and Italy between 135 and 71 BCE.

First Servile War: A slave revolt in Sicily from 135 to 132 BCE, led by Eunus and Cleon. It began the series with a rebellion that briefly established a rebel kingdom.
Roman slavery: The legal and social system that treated enslaved people as property in ancient Rome. The wars arose from resistance to this system, which supplied coerced labor across the Republic.
Marcus Licinius Crassus: A Roman politician and general who commanded the campaign against Spartacus. His victory in 71 BCE established his military reputation and political standing.
Social War: A conflict from 91 to 88 BCE in which Rome’s Italian allies fought for Roman citizenship. Unlike the Servile Wars, it was an uprising by allied communities seeking civic rights.
Second Servile War: A slave revolt in Sicily from 104 to 100 BCE, led by Salvius and Athenion. It renewed the Sicilian rebellions and required a major Roman campaign to suppress.
Latifundium: A large agricultural estate in ancient Rome, often worked by enslaved laborers. Large estates in Sicily concentrated enslaved workers under harsh conditions.
Pompey: A Roman general and politician who rose to prominence in the late Republic. His forces intercepted survivors of Spartacus’s army, allowing him to claim a share of the victory.
Catiline conspiracy: A political conspiracy and armed revolt led by Catiline against the Roman Republic in 63 BCE. It challenged the Republic through elite political conflict rather than a mass slave uprising.
Third Servile War: A revolt of enslaved people in Italy from 73 to 71 BCE, led by Spartacus. It was the largest rebellion in the series and reached the Italian mainland.
Gladiator: A trained combatant who fought in public spectacles in ancient Rome. Spartacus and other rebels escaped from a gladiatorial training school.

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Roman civil warsCompared with: These uprisings challenged Roman authority without being wars between Roman political factions.