IN A NUTSHELL
YOUR BRIEF EXPLAINER TO HISTORY'S HOT TOPICS
WHAT WERE THE SERVILE WARS AND WHAT CAUSED THEM?
Between 135 and 71 BC, the Roman Republic was shaken by three separate large-scale slave uprisings known as the Servile Wars. The first two of these occurred on the island of Sicily. The third war, which was much larger in scale, and is probably the best-known, was led by the insurgent gladiator Spartacus.
By the last two centuries BC, Rome had amassed an empire that encompassed the full span of the Mediterranean. Several dazzling military conquests had enabled the small city-state to wield dominance over a vast array of cultures
