Spartacus

Spartacus led the third and largest slave revolt against Rome. His army of nearly 100,000 overran most of southern Italy and fought its way up the entire length of the Italian Peninsula to the Alps. He then turned back south in an effort to reach Sicily but was defeated by Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Spartacus waged a brilliant guerrilla campaign against a strong and well-organized enemy, but he could not prevail against a fully mobilized Rome. Although Crassus would ultimately defeat the Spartacus rebellion, Pompey would claim credit for the act, fueling his own rise to the apex of Roman politics.

The chroniclers Appian and Plutarch provide the greatest detail about Spartacus's final battle against Crassus. Spartacus is said to have tried to engage Crassus directly but was wounded and driven to one knee. Appian relates that Spartacus continued fighting but was eventually surrounded and struck down by the Romans.