The Battle of the Silarius River was the final, decisive action of the

Roman Servile Wars The Servile Wars were a series of three slave revolts ("servile" is derived from "''servus''", Latin for "slave") in the late Roman Republic. Wars * First Servile War (135−132 BC) — in Sicily, led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a p ...

. It occurred near the mouth of modern

Sele River The Sele is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from the Monti Picentini in Caposele,Meaning "top of the Sele" it flows through the region of Campania, in the provinces of Salerno and Avellino. Its mouth is in the Gulf of Salerno, on the ...

, southern

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Background

Marcus Licinius Crassus trapped

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

Bruttium 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawa ...

by building a system of ditches and walls. After a failed truce, Spartacus gathered his army for battle. He ordered his horse to be brought to him, drew his sword, and slew the animal. He proclaimed to his troops that if he should win the day, he would have many horses to choose from, but if he should lose the upcoming battle and the Romans should win the day, he would not need one. Appian wrote that Spartacus then launched several skirmishing assaults upon the Roman defenders, striking them swiftly and almost with silence. After slaying a number of the Roman guards and penetrating the Roman defenses, Spartacus and about 50,000 rebels managed to slip past Crassus' defenses, while

Gannicus Gannicus was a Celtic slave, who together with the Thracian Spartacus, Crixus, Castus and Oenomaus, became one of the leaders of rebel slaves during the Third Servile War (73–71 BC). In the winter of 71 BC, Gannicus, along with Castus, broke ...

and

Castus Castus is a Latin word meaning clean and pure. *Lucius Artorius Castus, Roman general * Castus and Emilius, Roman martyrs and saints *Castus (rebel), Roman rebel gladiator in the Third Servile War See also *Vitex agnus-castus ''Vitex agnus-cas ...

remained behind with the remaining 12,000 soldiers of the rebel army.

Battle

On the banks of the

, Spartacus' army finally met the

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

s of Crassus on the open battlefield. The

gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

charged at the Roman ranks, colliding with a wall of shields and swords. Though the rebels fought hard and took down many Roman soldiers, they also suffered heavy casualties in the process. Spartacus rallied his troops and led an advance against Crassus. In the midst of the battle, Spartacus tried desperately to reach Crassus, killing two centurions in the process. Appian wrote that during the battle, Spartacus was severely wounded in the leg by a javelin and was forced to get down on his knees. Despite his injury, the rebel leader refused to give up and continued fighting before he was finally overpowered and killed. The rebels fought desperately for a long time but were eventually cut down in droves with many fleeing to the mountains.

Aftermath

At the end of the battle, Crassus and his men were victorious, though they too had suffered some heavy casualties. According to Appian, the numbers of dead on both sides were extremely high and impossible to count. Appian pointed out in his sources that only about 1,000 Roman soldiers fell in the battle, but other historians believe that Roman casualties were much higher than that. Spartacus also died in the battle, but his body was never recovered. An ancient source estimated 60,000 rebels killed but Barry Strauss in 2009 suggested between 5,000 and 10,000 dead. Six thousand survivors of the revolt were captured and

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

on Crassus' orders, while 5,000 others who escaped from Crassus' troops were captured and killed by the Spanish legions under

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, possibly in northern

Footnotes

References

* {{coord missing, Italy Third Servile War Silarius River

Battle of the Silarius River The Battle of the Silarius River was the final, decisive action of the Roman Servile Wars. It occurred near the mouth of modern Sele River, southern Campania, southern Italy. Background Marcus Licinius Crassus trapped Spartacus in Bruttiu ...

Silarius River Battle of Silarius River Silarius River Silarius River