As already noted here, where there were most of the slaves, there they were subjected to greater exploitation, their conditions of detention were more difficult, which means that they often rebelled. So, in 104 - 99 years. it was in Sicily that the second mass slave action took place. "Before the Sicilian uprising of slaves," says Diodorus, "there were so many short uprisings and small conspiracies of slaves in Italy that it was as if the deity himself in this way foreshadowed a new colossal uprising in Sicily."
Interestingly, the Romans not only executed the captive slaves who participated in the Second Sicilian Uprising, but also took them prisoner and sent them back to work, and also gave them to gladiators. Captive slaves from Miletus. Museum of Archeology. Istanbul.
According to Diodorus, the cause of the uprising was the love of a certain Titus Vettius for a slave woman whom he wanted to redeem, but he did not have enough money. However, he still took her to him, and promised to give the money later. However, in the end, he did not find the money - apparently the slave was quite expensive, and when the time for reckoning came, he did not think of anything better than how to resolve the issue with creditors by force. Arming 400 of his slaves, he ordered them to go to the villages and raise an uprising, but, of course, he decided to declare himself king. Then he had 700 people, and Rome sent to pacify this "ancient Dubrovsky" praetor Lucius Lucullus. He arrived in Capua, and having gathered there an army of 4500 people, he went to the Vettius, but by that time he also had 3500 people under his command. In the very first clash, the slaves defeated the Roman detachment, but Lucullus decided to outwit his opponent: he bribed Apollonius, the commander of the Vettius, and he calmly betrayed him. However, this was only the beginning!
Meanwhile, the Cimbrian tribes attacked Rome from the north, and the Senate ordered the commander Gaius Mary to call for help from the states allied to Rome.
Thus, the captive slaves again received access to weapons, however, now gladiatorial. But it was also quite effective in that era. Especially for slaves. It, as well as armor and weapons of legionnaires, was made in special workshops. And today we can judge him both by the images of fighting gladiators that have survived to our time and by real artifacts, such as, for example, this gladiatorial helmet from the British Museum.
However, the king of Bithynia refused to help, arguing that he simply did not have people, since they were sold into slavery by Roman tax farmers. The Senate did not like this, and he decided to free all the freeborn subjects of his allies who are in slavery for debt. The Sicilian praetor Licinius Nerva also began to free the slaves. And the slaves considered that they would free everyone, but only 800 people received freedom, since the slave owners simply bribed Nerva so as not to lose their working hands. The slaves did not receive freedom, they considered themselves deceived and … rebelled, because people generally do not like to be deceived and do not fulfill the promised.
At night, on a sacred hill near the city of Syracuse, slaves drew up a plan for an uprising, and that night they began to put it into practice: to kill their masters. Then they occupied the hill and prepared to defend themselves, but the uprising was not destined to spread. A certain traitor gave Nerva all the plans. And he managed to deal with the conspirators while they were still few. But this was only the beginning of a rebellion that soon engulfed the entire island.
For example, these bronze leggings, found in gladiatorial barracks in Pompeii, testify to how complex and expensive the details of the armor of Roman gladiators were.
Literally there and then slaves revolted in the western part of Sicily near the city of Heraclea. First, 80 slaves killed Publius Clonius, who belonged to the class of horsemen, gathered a detachment of 2 thousand people and also fortified on the hill. Nerva, who arrived in Heraclea, did not dare to oppose them himself, but sent a certain Mark Tacinius. And it all ended with the fact that the slaves destroyed his squad and seized the weapons that belonged to him!
When the number of rebels reached 6 thousand, they arranged a council "of men distinguished by prudence", and, as usual, chose a king - a slave named Salvius (who later took the name Tryphon), about whom Diodorus says that he knew how to guess by the insides animals, skillfully played the flute and was experienced in various kinds of acting. So this is not only a modern trend - to elect actors to the authorities, in those ancient times people also sinned with this!
Sylvius divided the army into three parts, led by his commander, which were to consult periodically. Gathering an army of two thousand soldiers, Salvius moved him to the city of Morgantina, but he did not succeed in taking it, since he was also defended by slaves, whom their masters promised freedom for this! But as soon as it became clear that all these promises were deception, the slaves from Morgantina fled to Salvius.
In the western part of the island, near the city of Lilibey, an uprising also began, led by a slave - the Cilician Athenion, known for his experience in military affairs. Like Sylvius, he possessed the fame of an astrologer and predicted the future from the stars. He was also elected king, and his army numbered 10 thousand people. Interestingly, he took only the most powerful slaves into his army, and ordered everyone else to run the household and maintain complete order in it. Protecting the land of his former masters as his own is what, according to him, the stars were revealed to him, so that the result of such a revelation was the abundance of food for the slaves.
The gladiatorial helmet from Pompeii is a real work of art. It is not even clear why he was needed this way. After all, the audience in Roman circuses sat far enough from the arena and simply could not see small details! National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
True, he did not succeed in taking the city of Lilibey, but the uprising continued to spread. When Salvius approached Triokale and learned that Athenion was nearby, he sent for him "like a king for a commander" and he went to Triokale with his troops. The slave owners hoped that a strife would begin between them, but Athenion obeyed him, so the hopes of the slave owners did not come true.
Although Rome was busy with the war with the Cimbri and Teutons, it still managed to allocate an army of 17 thousand people under the command of Lucius Lucullus. A battle began near Skirtei, with Athenion fighting in the forefront of his elite body of warriors. Moreover, the slaves fought very bravely and fled only after Athenion was seriously wounded and could not continue the battle. However, he remained alive, as he pretended to be dead and thus managed to escape from the Romans! King Tryphon took refuge in Triokale and was besieged by Lucullus there. The slaves began to hesitate, but then Athenion, who was considered dead, returned, encouraged everyone and not only encouraged, but inspired everyone so much that the slaves immediately left the city and defeated Lucullus, who was besieging Triokala! True, Diodorus wrote that the slaves simply bribed him. This statement cannot be verified, although it is known that Lucullus was recalled to Rome, where he was put on trial and even punished.
The same fate befell the next "slave fighter" - Gaius Servilia, who was also recalled from Sicily and sentenced to exile.
At this time, King Tryphon died and Athenion was chosen as his successor, who decided to take Messana - a rich northeastern city, distant from Italy only by a small strait. To the cities of Messana, Rome sent the newly elected consul, Gaius Acilius, known for his bravery. The battle was fought under the walls of the city, and Athenion entered into a duel with the Roman consul, and he himself was killed, and Acilius was severely wounded in the head. In the end, the Romans won and began to pursue the rebellious slaves throughout the island.
Relief with the image of a slave. Royal de Mariemont Museum, Belgium.
Only one small detachment of slaves, led by a certain Satyr, ventured into open battle with the Romans. And here Acilius promised the slaves that if they surrender without a fight, then they will all receive freedom and will not be punished. The slaves believed and surrendered, but Acilius put them in shackles and sent them to Rome, where they were all given to gladiators. According to legend, such a sneaky deception of the slaves so outraged that they did not want to fight for the fun of the Roman public, but conspired to kill each other right in front of the guards and the audience. At the same time, the Satyr was the last of all to stab himself with a sword. Thus, shame did not allow any of them to be faint-hearted!
Ceramic lamps made in the form of gladiator helmets. Roman-Germanic Museum, Coulomb, France.
Meanwhile, a slave revolt began in Greece, in Attica, in the mines of Lavrion, where silver ore was mined and where the slave labor was extremely hard. The slaves conspired, killed the guards, then captured the fortress of Sunius, which was nearby, and began to "rampage and devastate Attica." This event, according to the historian Posidonius, happened simultaneously with the second slave uprising in Sicily.
Tetradrachm of King Mithridates VI. British museum
There was also an uprising of slaves in the Bosporus kingdom. Moreover, the main role in it was played by the local Scythian slaves, led by a slave named Savmak. The rebellious slaves killed the king of Perisad and chose Savmak as their king. True, the details of this uprising are practically unknown. Although there is information that he fought for the independence of his state and tried to protect it from foreign invaders, that he ruled for about two years and even minted coins with the inscription “Tsar Savmak”. The uprising was suppressed by the troops of King Mithridates Eupator, and in time it also coincided with the second slave uprising in Sicily!
(To be continued)
