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The defeat of Spartacus was largely a result of the leadership of Crassus. His strategy was to contain Spartacus and then weaken him by defeating elements of his army. He was able to restrict the Thracian and his forces to a small area before forcing them into a decisive battle. Unlike other, Roman commanders he did not underestimate the Thracian and this was key <re>Strauss, Barry. The Spartacus War (London, Simon & Schuster, 2009)</ref>. In the aftermath of the defeat and death of Spartacus, the leadership of Crassus was widely praised. Previously, Crassus had been influential in Roman public life on account of his vast wealth<ref> Plutarch, The Life of Crassus. Vii</ref>. After his role in the defeat of Spartacus many hailed him as the saviour of Rome and became popular with many. This allowed him to become consul and later to establish the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey, a political arrangement that dominated Rome for several years and was a crucial step in the fall of the Roman Republic<ref> Plutarch, The Life of Caesar, iii</ref>.

[[File: 512px-Fedor Bronnikov 002.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A 19th century painting of Crassus execution of Spartacus ex-slaves]]

==Impact on Rome==

The Third Servile War as it was known was the largest slave revolt in the ancient world. It seemed at one time that Spartacus could bring the Roman Republic to its knees. The war devastated much of southern Italy and many towns and landed estates were destroyed. Many slaves had been freed or escaped and many local herdsmen had joined the insurrection. It took many years for the South of Italy to recover and banditry became endemic. The revolt by Spartacus even if it was defeated possibly helped to undermine the system of landed estates that had dominated much of the Italian countryside<ref> Plutarch, The Life of Crassus. Viii</ref>. In the wake of the revolt many landowners in the south of Italy were bankrupt or had their properties destroyed. The latifunda system as it was known in the south of Italy was undermined. It appears that in the wake of the revolt that many landlords adopted a new strategy <ref> Shaw, p. 116</ref>. The years after Spartacus coincided with a sharp fall in the slave population. It seems that instead of using slaves that they instead rented out portions of their land and in return received rent and a share of the crops grown. This was a system that was similar to the feudal system in medieval Europe. While there were many estates that used slave labor, they began to decrease in number. It seems that the revolt by Spartacus had so shaken the confidence of the Roman elite that they turned to new strategies for controlling their labor. Spartacus and his men had shown that slaves made an unreliable and even a dangerous labour force <ref>Matyszak, p 114</ref>. They were rebellious at the best of time and parties searching for escaped slaves were a common sight in many Italian districts. This persuaded many in the elite to move away from slave labour and this led to the emerge of a semi-feudal system in many areas of Italy. This ultimately may have led to an overall fall in the number of slaves which had grown dramatically in the previous decades. It should be noted that some historians disagree with this assessment. However, the revolt of Spartacus did not undermine the institution of slavery and it continued to flourish until the fall of Rome <ref>Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989), p. 156 </ref>.