Eight Days That Made Rome

Bettany Hughes continues her compelling history of Rome with a focus on the day in 73BC when a slave took on the might of the Roman Empire

Bettany Hughes continues her compelling history of Rome with a focus on the day in 73BC when a slave took on the might of the Roman Empire.

She uses the story of Spartacus as an entry point to explore the appalling treatment of slaves in Ancient Rome, an empire that was built on the conquest and enslavement of people.

It was widely accepted among wealthy Romans that ‘you have as many enemies as you have slaves,’ and they were recognised as potential insurgents.

After being enslaved, Thracian warrior Spartacus led a band of fellow gladiators in an escape, which quickly escalated into a full-blown slave revolt that destabilised the Roman republic.