Rome's Sicilian Slave Wars: The Revolts of Eunus and Salvius, 136-132 and 105-100 BC

Description

Natale Barca's study sets the revolts of Ennius and Salvius in their social context, describing the nature of slavery in the Late Republic and while explaining the causes behind the revolt. In 136 BC, in Sicily (which was then a Roman province), some four hundred slaves of Syrian origin rebelled against their masters and seized the city of Henna with much bloodshed. Their leader, a fortune-teller named Eunus, was declared king (taking the Syrian royal name Antiochus), and tens of thousands of runaway slaves as well as poor native Sicilians soon flocked to join his fledgling kingdom. Antiochus’ ambition was to drive the Romans from the whole of Sicily. The Romans responded with characteristic intransigence and relentlessness, leading to years of brutal warfare and suppression. Antiochus’ ‘Kingdom of the Western Syrians’ was extinguished by 132 but his agenda was revived in 105 BC when rebelling slaves proclaimed Salvius as King Tryphon, with similarly bitter and bloody results. Natale Barca narrates and analyses these events in unprecedented detail, with thorough research into the surviving ancient sources. The author also reveals the long-term legacy of the slaves’ defiance, contributing to the crises that led to the seismic Social War and setting a precedent for the more-famous rebellion of Spartacus in 73-71 BC. Cover Book Title Copyright Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Slavery and Slave Rebellions Chapter 1: The Slave Trade Chapter 2: First Uprisings Part I: The Hellenistic Sicily Chapter 3: A Large Triangle-Shaped Island Chapter 4: From the Phoenicians to the Romans Chapter 5: A Vibrant Urban Life Chapter 6: Grain, Slaves and Banditry Part II: The Revolt of Eunus Chapter 7: The Slave Insurgency in Henna Chapter 8: The Birth of a Kingdom Chapter 9: King Antiochus’ Army and its Commanders. Looting and Taking Cities. The Joining of Free Proletarians. Chapter 10: Like a Fire Driven by an Impetuous Wind, the Rebellion Spreads Part III: The Roman Army Moves Chapter 11: The Reasons of Rome Chapter 12: A Hole in Water Chapter 13: Chasing the Final Victory Chapter 14: The Turning Point Chapter 15: A Bloodbath Part IV: The Revolt of Salvius Chapter 16: Twenty-Eight Years Later Chapter 17: The Rebirth of the Phoenix Arab Chapter 18: Disorder, Famine, Death Chapter 19: Lucullus’ Reverse Chapter 20: Meanwhile in Rome … Chapter 21: The End of the Story Conclusions Appendix: The Rebellion of Spartacus Chronology Abbreviations and Notes List of the Primary Sources Cited References Further Literature Index Back Cover