Bruttium (71 BC)

Spartacus retreated through Lucania into Bruttium and toward the sea. He encamped at Rhegium where he attempted to gain passage to Sicily with the help of some Cilician pirate ships. Spartacus judged he could open a new front against Rome …

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212

Spartacus retreated through Lucania into Bruttium and toward the sea. He encamped at Rhegium where he attempted to gain passage to Sicily with the help of some Cilician pirate ships. Spartacus judged he could open a new front against Rome by starting another slave rebellion in Sicily. Unfortunately, the treacherous pirates deceived Spartacus. After coming to terms with him and receiving payment, they simply sailed away. When Crassus came upon Spartacus at Rhegium, he decided to exploit the engineering skills of his legions. The Roman army built a wall and ditch across the 1sthmus, some 30 kilometers in length. Spartacus was walled in, but he did not attempt to break out until his provisions began to fail. After two strenuous efforts to break free, his main force still remained trapped. Waiting and watching for a weak spot, the opportunity came one snowy night. The Slave army crossed the ditch and breached the wall to gain its freedom, but casualties were still very heavy, and only about a third of Spartacus’s men were able to escape. Crassus hurried after them in pursuit.

Strongoli, Italy

The Third Servile War, also called by Plutarch the Gladiator War and The War of Spartacus, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known as the Servile Wars. The Third was the only one directly to threaten the Roman heartland of Italy. It was particularly alarming to Rome because its military seemed powerless to suppress it.

Wikipedia: Third Servile War

Slave

Roman

Third Servile War