1,752
edits
Changes
no edit summary
==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 labor 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 labor 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>. [[File: 622px-Ancient bronze greek helmet -South Italy.jpg|thumbnail|200px| A Gladiator’s helmet c 2nd century BCE]]
== Perceptions of Slavery==
It has been argued that Spartacus revolt changed the way that the Romans viewed slavery. In the Roman histories, there is certainly a great deal of respect and even admiration for the Thracian. Plutarch stated that Spartacus was a gifted leader and general and compared him favourably to the Roman generals he faced. There are later writers who argue that the revolt of Spartacus led to long-term attitudes to slavery in Roman society. After the end of the Third Servile War, there were to be no more great slave revolts. It has been argued that the Roman elite were so shaken by the revolt of 73-71 BC that they had a new view of slaves. They were more inclined to see them as beings endowed with reason and a soul <ref>Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989), p. 156 </ref>. In the person of Spartacus, they encountered a person with all the virtues that they admired in men. This led them to reconsider their view of slaves as a class. It is impossible to state with any degree of certainty if Spartacus changed the Roman elite’s views of their slaves. It seems unlikely, this can be seen in their pleasure in the gladiatorial games and the fact that most slaves were still treated as objects. However, it is undeniable that the revolt by Spartacus was the last of the great Servile Wars <ref> Bradley, p 117</ref>. This is even though many more slaves were imported into Rome from Gaul and elsewhere in the following decades. There is a real possibility that the success of the Thracian gladiator and his many victories so impressed the Romans that they adopted a new strategy to prevent future insurrections. There was a conscious effort by the elite to treat their slaves in a more humane way to prevent a repeat of Spartacus revolt <ref> Bradley, 189</ref>.
