Original subtitles

Bettany Hughes: ANCIENT ROME:

ONE OF THE GREATEST SUPERPOWERS IN HISTORY

\h\hWHOSE FAR-REACHING LEGACY CONTINUES TO SHAPE OUR LIVES.

FOR CLOSE ON 1,000 YEARS,

THE ROMANS DOMINATED \h\hTHE KNOWN WORLD.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHEIRS WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY EMPIRE

THAT HERALDED AN AGE

OF UNPRECEDENTED PROSPERITY \h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND STABILITY,

BUT THAT ALSO RULED THROUGH \h\hVIOLENCE AND OPPRESSION.

[THUNDER]

ROME’S RISE TO GREATNESS \h\h\hWASN’T INEVITABLE;

\hITS EPIC HISTORY WAS OFTEN DECIDED

BY SINGLE CRITICAL MOMENTS.

[YELLING]

[GASP]

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN THIS SERIES I’M EXPLORING EIGHT KEY DAYS

THAT I BELIEVE HELP TO EXPLAIN \h\hROME’S REMARKABLE SUCCESS.

\h\h\h\hTO UNDERSTAND THE FULL SIGNIFICANCE

OF THESE EIGHT DAYS,

\h\h\h\h\hI’M TRAVELING ACROSS THE ROMAN WORLD.

I AM INCREDIBLY LUCKY \h\h\h\hTO GET ACCESS

TO THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE.

EXAMINING REMARKABLE FINDS.

TODAY THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU’D PUT ON A DOG,

BUT THIS WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY \h\h\h\h\hATTACHED TO A HUMAN.

AND INVESTIGATING \hTHE COMPLEXITIES

OF WHAT IT WAS TO BE ROMAN.

[SCREAM]

\h\h\hTHIS IS THE DAY IN THE SUMMER OF 73 BC

WHEN A BAND OF SLAVES ESCAPED...

Man: WE’RE FREE.

Bettany: ...AND TOOK ON \h\h\hTHE MIGHT OF ROME.

THEY WERE LED BY ONE OF THE MOST LEGENDARY NAMES IN HISTORY.

Man: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

Spartacus: MY NAME IS SPARTACUS.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBettany: ROME STARTED OUT IN LIFE

JUST AS A MODEST LITTLE VILLAGE ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER TIBER,

\h\hBUT IT WOULD RISE TO BECOME THE MASTER OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

\h\h\h\hFROM THE 6th CENTURY BC, ROME FOUGHT TO ESTABLISH HERSELF

AS THE DOMINANT POWER IN ITALY.

THEN, AFTER HER GREAT VICTORY \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOVER CARTHAGE

IN 202 BC AT THE BATTLE OF ZAMA,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSHE BECAME A MEDITERRANEAN SUPERPOWER.

BUT FOR MILLIONS,

ROME’S EXPANSION CAME \hAT A TERRIBLE PRICE.

FOR ROME, THE SPOILS OF CONQUEST

\hWEREN’T JUST TERRITORIES AND TREASURES, BUT SLAVES.

BY THE 1st CENTURY BC,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hROMANS DEPENDED ON AROUND 1.5 MILLION OF THEM.

SO HAD YOU BEEN WALKING DOWN \h\h\h\hTHESE STREETS THEN,

1 IN 5 OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU PASSED WOULD HAVE BEEN UNFREE.

\hTHE MASSIVE MAJORITY OF THESE WOMEN AND MEN

\h\h\h\h\h\hWERE TREATED WITH ABSOLUTE BRUTALITY.

\hTHE ROMANS WERE CREATING A PROBLEM FOR THEMSELVES--

\h\hMORE CONQUESTS, MORE SLAVES, AND MORE LAND FOR THEM TO WORK.

\h\hBUT THE ROMANS ALSO HAD A SAYING:

YOU HAVE AS MANY ENEMIES \h\hAS YOU HAVE SLAVES.

\h\hTHEY KNEW THAT SLAVES WERE POTENTIAL INSURGENTS,

\h\h\h\hAND ONE DAY, IN 73 BC, THEIR WORST FEAR WAS REALIZED.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHERE IN CAPUA, 100 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ROME,

A MAN CALLED SPARTACUS

LED A GROUP OF HIGHLY TRAINED SPECIALIST SLAVES, GLADIATORS,

IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT \h\h\h\h\h\hTO ESCAPE.

\hTHIS WAS A DO-OR-DIE MISSION THAT TURNED INTO A MASS REVOLT

AND THREW THE ROMAN REPUBLIC \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hINTO CRISIS.

I THINK THIS WAS A CRUCIAL DAY,

BECAUSE IT NOT ONLY DESTABILIZED THE ROMAN REPUBLIC,

\h\h\hIT SHOWS US PRACTICALLY, PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY

HOW ROME WIELDED POWER.

I WANT TO EXPLORE THE EVENTS AROUND SPARTACUS’S BREAKOUT,

THE DAY THAT SPAWNED \h\h\h\hTHIS LEGEND,

BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT CAN TELL US A HUGE AMOUNT ABOUT ROME,

\h\h\h\h\h\hA CIVILIZATION WHERE EXTRAORDINARY WEALTH

AND ABJECT OPPRESSION \h\h\h\h\hCO-EXISTED.

\hA REPUBLIC GOVERNED BY ELECTED POLITICIANS

\hWHO WERE SO PANICKED BY SPARTACUS’S REVOLT

\hTHAT THEY OFFERED UNPRECEDENTED POWER

\h\h\h\hTO A SINGLE, AMBITIOUS INDIVIDUAL

WHO PROMISED VICTORY--

A DARK FORESHADOWING OF ROME’S \h\h\hSLIDE INTO DICTATORSHIP.

THE ORIGINS OF THAT FATEFUL DAY LIE HERE, 700 MILES AWAY,

IN WHAT WAS ONCE KNOWN \h\h\h\h\h\hAS THRACE,

IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE.

BY 100 BC, IT WAS ON THE FRINGE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND ACCORDING TO THE ROMAN HISTORIAN APPIAN,

THIS WAS SPARTACUS’S HOMELAND.

THE THRACIAN PEOPLE HAD A LONG, PROUD WARRIOR TRADITION.

THERE’S ACTUALLY A POSSIBILITY \h\h\hTHAT THE NAME SPARTACUS

\h\hIS THE LATIN VERSION OF A THRACIAN WORD, SPARADAKOS:

"FAMOUS FOR HIS SPEAR."

BUT ACCORDING TO APPIAN, \h\hINITIALLY SPARTACUS

WASN’T ACTUALLY FIGHTING \h\h\hAGAINST THE ROMANS

\h\hBUT WITH THEM, PROBABLY AS SOME KIND OF A MERCENARY.

MIKE LOADES IS AN EXPERT \h\hIN ANCIENT WARFARE.

WHY DID THE ROMANS NEED \hTO EMPLOY MERCENARIES?

\hMike Loades: IT WAS A VERY CLEVER THING THAT ROME DID.

AS IT STARTED TO EXPAND \h\hBEYOND ITS BORDERS,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIT RECRUITED PREVIOUSLY CONQUERED PEOPLE

INTO ITS OWN FAMILY,

SPECIALIST TROOPS LIKE SLINGERS, LIKE ARCHERS

AND ESPECIALLY HEAVY CAVALRY.

\h\h\hBettany: WHY DID THEY TURN TO THE THRACIANS OFTEN FOR THIS?

\h\h\h\h\hMike: THEY WERE SOME OF THE BEST CAVALRY IN EUROPE.

\h\h\h\h\hTHERE’S A STORY OF ONE THRACIAN CAVALRYMAN

\h\h\hWHO GALLOPED ALONG AND DECAPITATED A ROMAN

WITH HIS SWORD AS HE RODE BY.

I MEAN, THESE WERE FEARED MEN.

\h\h\h\h\hBettany: AND WE THINK THAT SPARTACUS WAS A MERCENARY.

WHY DO YOU IMAGINE THINGS \h\h\h\h\h\hWENT SO WRONG

AND THAT HE ENDED UP A SLAVE?

Mike: WELL, WE CAN \hONLY SPECULATE.

THERE COULD BE ALL MANNER \h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF REASONS.

MAYBE HE WAS JUST \hA NATURAL REBEL,

AND HE TALKED BACK TO OFFICERS,

AND IT COULD HAVE JUST BEEN \h\h\h\h\hAS SIMPLE AS THAT.

SO WHO KNOWS,

BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE \hSPARTACUS FELL FROM GRACE,

AND HE BECAME A SLAVE--

FROM POSSIBLY BEING

A HIGH-RANKING THRACIAN \h\h\h\hCAVALRY OFFICER

TO BEING A SLAVE.

THAT’S QUITE A FALL.

[LABORED BREATHING, \h\h\hWHIP CRACKING]

Bettany: WHATEVER CRIME \h\hSPARTACUS COMMITTED,

\h\h\h\h\hHIS PUNISHMENT-- TO BE SOLD INTO SLAVERY--

WAS THE START OF A JOURNEY \h\h\hINTO A LIVING HELL.

Man: HALT!

♪

♪

[MAN SIGHS]

Man: STAND.

Man: STUBBORN BASTARD.

THIS ONE IS TROUBLE.

Man: STAND!

\h\h\hSTAND, OR YOU SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR YOUR FRIEND’S DEATH...

AS WELL AS YOUR OWN.

Man: WHAT IS YOUR NAME, SLAVE?

Spartacus, softly: \h\h\h\hSPARTACUS.

Man: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

Spartacus: MY NAME IS SPARTACUS.

\hMan: DO YOU KNOW WHAT LAND THIS IS?

WHAT LIES AT THE END \h\h\hOF THIS ROAD?

ROME. YOUR DESTINY.

Bettany: THE ROMANS \hBROUGHT SPARTACUS

TO THEIR IMPERIAL HEARTLAND--

THE MAN WHO WOULD ONE DAY LEAD THEIR OWN SLAVES AGAINST THEM.

\hAS A SLAVE, SPARTACUS WAS RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM

\hOF ROME’S STRICT SOCIAL HIERARCHY.

\h\h\hBUT FOR THOSE AT THE TOP, LIFE COULD BE VERY GOOD INDEED.

\hIF YOU’D BEEN A SLAVE IN A WEALTHY HOUSEHOLD,

MY GOODNESS, YOU’D HAVE BEEN \h\h\hAWARE OF THE DISPARITY

\hBETWEEN RICH AND POOR, BETWEEN FREE AND UNFREE.

SOME OF THE WEALTHIEST ROMANS \hOWNED AS MANY AS 20 HOUSES,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN \h\h\h\h\h\h\hDECORATED

WITH BEAUTIFUL ARTWORKS \h\h\h\h\h\h\hLIKE THIS.

\h\h\h\hTHIS WAS ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY A DINING ROOM,

\h\hAND IT CELEBRATES THE FRUITS OF SUCCESS.

\h\h\h\hSO YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE MEN AND WOMEN LYING DOWN HERE

BEING HAND-FED, PHYSICALLY BEING WAITED ON HAND AND FOOT

EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES.

WHAT’S PERHAPS MOST DIFFICULT \h\h\h\h\h\h\hFOR US TO FATHOM

\h\h\h\h\hIS THAT ALL LEVELS OF ROMAN SOCIETY SAW SLAVERY

AS PART OF THE NATURAL ORDER.

THERE WERE CHANCES FOR FREEDOM,

AND FREED SLAVES COULD GO ON \h\hTO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS,

BUT FOR THE MASSIVE MAJORITY, \hLIFE WAS UNREMITTINGLY GRIM.

THERE’S ONE PLACE WHERE WE CAN \h\h\h\hSTILL GET A REAL SENSE

OF DAILY LIFE FOR ROME’S SLAVES.

THIS IS POMPEII.

\h\hIN 79 AD, IT WAS BURIED UNDER VOLCANIC ROCK AND ASH

SPEWED OUT BY THE ERUPTION \h\h\h\hOF MOUNT VESUVIUS.

THE RESULT IS AN ANCIENT TOWN \h\h\h\h\h\hSUSPENDED IN TIME.

\h\hSLAVES WOULD OFTEN HAVE WORKED AND SLEPT

IN SMALL BUSINESSES LIKE THIS.

THIS IS A LAUNDRY,

AND THEY’D HAVE SPENT THEIR DAY TRAMPLING CLOTH SOAKED IN URINE.

\h\h\hIN FACT, THEY DID PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING--

THEY TAUGHT CHILDREN, \h\hTHEY COMBED HAIR,

THEY CLEARED UP, DUG FIELDS.

\h\hAND AT NIGHT THEY WERE OFTEN PUT TO BED

IN TINY LITTLE CUBICLES \h\h\hLIKE BATTERY HENS,

OR JUST SLEPT ROUGH.

THE FACT THAT "WHIPPING BOY" WAS A VERY POPULAR NAME FOR SLAVES

SUGGESTS JUST HOW DESPERATE LIFE WAS FOR THE MASSIVE MAJORITY.

ONCE ENSLAVED, YOUR CHILDREN

WERE AUTOMATICALLY BORN \h\h\h\h\h\h\hAS SLAVES.

BECAUSE FOR ROMANS BEING UNFREE

WAS THE DESTINY OF A SUB-GROUP \h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE POPULATION,

\hLIKE BEING BORN A MAN OR A WOMAN,

SLAVES WERE SHACKLED \hBY RIGID PREJUDICE

AS WELL AS BY THEIR CHAINS.

WE KNOW OWNERS SOMETIMES \hTOOK EXTREME MEASURES

TO HANG ON TO THEIR PROPERTY.

THIS METAL TAG WOULD ORIGINALLY HAVE BEEN ATTACHED TO A COLLAR,

AND THE INSCRIPTION ON IT READS,

"HOLD ME FAST IF I RUN AWAY,

\h\hAND THEN RETURN ME TO MY MASTER VIVENTIUS

ON THE ESTATE OF CALLISTUS."

NOW, TODAY THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU’D PUT ON A DOG,

BUT THIS WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY \h\h\h\h\hATTACHED TO A HUMAN.

YOU SEE IMAGES OF THEM \hTIME AND TIME AGAIN,

SLAVES CHAIN-GANGED TOGETHER,

\hWITH IRON BANDS AROUND THEIR NECK.

THESE WOULD BE MEN AND WOMEN \h\h\h\h\h\hWHO IN REAL LIFE

\hWOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED HEAD TO FOOT WITH BRUISES.

IT IS JUST HIDEOUS TO THINK \h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE ISOLATION

OF SOMEONE WHO WORE SOMETHING LIKE THIS,

AND WHO TRIED TO ESCAPE,

AND THEN THE RETRIBUTION \h\hTHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN

\h\h\h\hMETED OUT ON THEM IF THEY WERE EVER CAUGHT.

\h\h\hWE HAVE NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF SLAVES SLIPPING AWAY AT NIGHT

OR RUNNING OFF DURING ERRANDS, \h\h\hEVEN COMMITTING SUICIDE.

\h\h\h\hMEN AND WOMEN WHO JUST COULDN’T BEAR

THE LIFE THAT THEY’D BEEN GIVEN.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBUT THERE WAS A PARTICULAR CLASS OF SLAVES

\hWHO LIVED A UNIQUELY NIGHTMARISH EXISTENCE.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHESE WERE THE MOST EXTREME SLAVES--

GLADIATORS.

[CHICKEN SQUAWKING]

\h\hMOST SLAVES ENDED UP DOING BACKBREAKING LABOR

\h\hOR WORKING IN HOUSEHOLDS FOR WEALTHY ROMAN FAMILIES.

\hBY CONTRAST, GLADIATORS WERE EXOTIC AND DANGEROUS,

\h\h\hSLAVES WHO FOUGHT AND DIED FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF ROMANS.

A THRACIAN WARRIOR \h\hLIKE SPARTACUS

\h\hWOULD HAVE QUICKLY CAUGHT THE EYE OF A GLADIATOR MASTER.

Man: HUH? LOOK AT HIM.

\h\h\h\h\h\hTHESE MEN ARE FROM THE FAR REACHES OF THE EMPIRE.

ALL FINE WARRIORS BRED TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH.

HUH?

Batiatus: TRUE.

BUT AT THESE PRICES

I CANNOT AFFORD FOR THEM \h\hTO KILL EACH OTHER.

\h\h\hMan: THEN LET ME SELL YOU SOME TO KILL.

EH?

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBettany: FROM THE HISTORIAN PLUTARCH,

\h\h\h\h\hWE KNOW THAT SPARTACUS WAS BOUGHT BY LENTULUS BATIATUS,

\hOWNER OF THE FAMOUS CAPUA GLADIATOR SCHOOL

IN SOUTHERN ITALY--

THE START OF THE JOURNEY TOWARDS THE FATEFUL DAY OF HIS REVOLT.

THANKS TO THE EXCAVATIONS \h\h\h\h\h\h\hAT POMPEII,

JUST 25 MILES FROM CAPUA,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWE CAN SEE WHAT A GLADIATOR SCHOOL, OR LUDUS,

LOOKED LIKE.

A LUDUS WAS A KIND \h\hOF COMBINATION

OF A PRISON AND A SCHOOL \h\h\h\hFOR GLADIATORS,

AND THE OPEN COURTYARD WHERE I’M WALKING NOW

\h\hIS WHERE THE MEN WOULD HAVE TRAINED.

\h\h\h\h\hWE THINK THERE WERE AROUND 140 OR SO OF THEM HERE,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE FOUGHT \hOUT HERE DURING THE DAY

\hAND THEN SLEPT, TWO MEN TO A CELL,

IN THE ROOMS BEHIND ME.

IN THESE PLACES, CONDITIONS \h\hWERE PHENOMENALLY TOUGH.

\h\h\h\h\h\hTHESE WERE MEN WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE

BEING TRAINED IN THE ART \hOF DEATH AS SPECTACLE.

♪

WE KNOW THE NAME OF ANOTHER GLADIATOR AT THE CAPUA LUDUS

WHO’D PLAY A KEY ROLE ON \hTHE DAY OF THE REVOLT.

[GRUNTS]

A GAUL BY THE NAME OF CRIXUS.

[GRUNTING]

\hCrixus: STILL SMARTING FROM YOUR LAST BEATING?

[GRUNTING]

Crixus: AH....

FINALLY...

A FIGHT.

[GRUNTING]

Crixus: I CAN PRACTICE SMASHING YOUR HEAD IN.

[GRUNTING]

[GROANING]

Spartacus: YOU TALK TOO MUCH.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBettany: THESE TWO SPARRING PARTNERS,

SPARTACUS AND CRIXUS, WOULD GO ON TO FORM A CRUCIAL ALLIANCE,

A BOND BETWEEN GLADIATORS THAT WE NOW THINK WAS QUITE COMMON.

RATHER BRILLIANTLY WE KNOW \h\hFROM SOME INSCRIPTIONS

FROM GLADIATOR SCHOOLS \h\h\h\h\h\hLIKE THIS

\h\hTHAT SOME SLAVES SHARED A REAL SENSE OF SOLIDARITY,

ALMOST COMRADESHIP.

\h\h\h\hFOR EXAMPLE, A GLADIATOR’S BURIAL

\h\h\h\h\hMIGHT BE PAID FOR BY HIS FAMILIA--HIS TROUPE--

OR EVEN BY HIS DOCTOR \h\h\h\h\hOR TRAINER.

♪

THIS IS A BIT OF EVIDENCE

THAT REVEALS A REALLY UNEXPECTED DETAIL IN ONE GLADIATOR’S LIFE.

IT’S FROM MILAN,

\h\hAND IT’S THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SHORT LIFE OF URBICUS.

NOW, URBICUS WAS A SECUTOR, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOR CHASER,

SO THAT’S A GLADIATOR WHO FIGHTS WITH A SWORD AND A SHIELD.

AND THIS INSCRIPTION IS WRITTEN IN LATIN, AND IT’S VERY ERODED,

BUT THIS IS HOW IT TRANSLATES.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h"TO URBICUS, SECUTOR OF THE FIRST GRADE,

FROM FLORENCE BY BIRTH,

WHO FOUGHT 13 TIMES AND LIVED 22 YEARS.

\hTHIS MEMORIAL IS SET UP BY HIS DAUGHTER OLYMPIAS,

\h\h\h\h\h\hWHOM HE LEFT AT THE AGE OF 5 MONTHS,

\h\h\h\hAND LAURICIA, HIS WIFE, FOR HER WELL-DESERVING HUSBAND,

WITH WHOM SHE LIVED \h\hFOR SEVEN YEARS.

MAY THOSE WHO LOVE HIM \h\hHONOR HIS SPIRIT."

[CROWD CHEERING]

♪

\h\hWE NOW THINK A GLADIATOR HAD ABOUT A 1-IN-10 CHANCE OF DYING

EACH TIME HE ENTERED THE ARENA--

NOT GREAT ODDS.

TO AVOID AN EARLY DEATH,

\h\h\h\hSPARTACUS HAD TO SOMEHOW SEIZE BACK CONTROL OF HIS FATE.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[CHEERING]

[COUGHS]

[CHEERING]

Spartacus: VITUS?

\hMan: STAND, OR YOU SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR YOUR FRIEND’S DEATH.

[CROWD MURMURING]

[JEERING]

♪

♪

[CROWD GASPS]

[CHEERING]

\h\h\h\h\h\hBettany: ROMANS, FOR THEIR OWN ENTERTAINMENT,

WERE TRAINING SLAVES TO BECOME

\h\h\h\hINVENTIVE AND SOPHISTICATED KILLERS,

LOYAL ONLY TO THEIR \hFELLOW GLADIATORS.

[THUNDER]

IT WAS AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, \hAND SPARTACUS BEGAN PLANNING

FOR A DAY WHEN HE COULD TURN IT TO HIS ADVANTAGE.

\h\h\h\hCrixus: TWO MORE, AND YOU WILL BE MY EQUAL.

[THUNDER]

♪

\h\h\h\h\h\hSpartacus: I WILL NOT FIGHT AGAIN

FOR THE PLEASURE OF ROMANS.

IN HERE OUR FATE IS SEALED,

\h\h\hBUT OUT THERE WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN.

Guard: SILENCE, SLAVE.

♪

Spartacus: I SWEAR, THE NEXT MAN I KILL WILL BE A ROMAN.

Bettany: RIGHT HERE, \hIN ANCIENT CAPUA,

SOMETHING WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

\hTHAT WOULD SEND SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE WHOLE REPUBLIC.

A DAY THAT NOT ONLY \hFORGED THE LEGEND

OF ONE MAN, SPARTACUS,

BUT I THINK DEALT A MORTAL WOUND TO THE ROMAN REPUBLIC ITSELF.

[THUNDER]

♪

[GRUNTING]

Crixus: I WILL NOT SHARE A CELL

WITH THIS THRACIAN PIG \hFOR ONE MORE NIGHT.

Guard: YOU TWO STOP THAT NOW!

♪

Guard: MARCUS!

♪

MARCUS!

♪

I ALWAYS WANTED A REASON TO KILL YOU, SPARTACUS.

[GRUNTING]

Spartacus: WE KILL FOR YOU \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEVERY DAY.

NOW IT’S OUR TURN.

[GRUNTS]

[THUD]

Crixus: LET’S GO.

\h\h\hSpartacus: NO. WE FREE THE OTHERS.

Crixus: THERE ISN’T THE TIME.

JUST THE TWO OF US.

ODDS ARE IN OUR FAVOR.

WHO WILL FIND US?

Spartacus: THEY WILL ALWAYS \h\h\h\h\h\hFIND US, CRIXUS.

\hIF WE ARE MANY, WE CAN FIGHT BACK.

GO!

[MEN TALKING]

Crixus: WHICH WAY?

\h\h\h\h\h\hSpartacus: WHICHEVER WAY WE WANT.

WE’RE FREE.

Crixus: COME ON.

Bettany: SPARTACUS AND \h70 OTHER GLADIATORS

BROKE OUT OF THE CAPUA LUDUS.

THIS BAND OF RUNAWAYS

ROAMING THROUGH THESE VERY HILLS AND WOODS IN SOUTHERN ITALY

WOULD SOON BECOME A REBEL ARMY \h\h\h\h\h\hTO CHALLENGE ROME.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

♪

\hPLUTARCH TELLS US THAT THEY SOON FELL

ON A LIGHTLY GUARDED CONVOY \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF WAGONS.

Spartacus: WAIT! HERE.

YOU’RE A SLAVE?

Ardomir: YES.

MY NAME IS ARDOMIR.

Spartacus: THRACIAN?

Ardomir: YOU ARE GLADIATORS?

Spartacus: YOU SHOULD JOIN US.

[GEESE HONKING]

[CATTLE LOWING]

Ardomir: YOU’LL BE KILLED.

Spartacus: I DON’T THINK SO.

♪

CRIXUS.

♪

\h\h\h\h\hTHIS MORNING WE WERE ESCAPED SLAVES

WITH NOTHING BUT KITCHEN KNIVES.

\hNOW WE’RE ARMED WITH ROMAN STEEL,

AND WE’VE ACQUIRED A TASTE \h\h\h\h\h\h\hFOR FREEDOM,

THE FREEDOM ROME TOOK AWAY.

JOIN US, AND WE WILL \h\hGRANT YOU YOURS.

♪

Bettany: WE’RE TOLD BY APPIAN \hTHAT SPARTACUS QUICKLY MADE

FOR THE HIGHEST POINT \h\hIN THE LANDSCAPE.

SPARTACUS AND A FEW HUNDRED \h\h\h\h\h\hOF HIS FOLLOWERS

CAMPED OUT NEAR THE SUMMIT \h\h\h\hOF MOUNT VESUVIUS.

PURSUED AND THEN TRAPPED \h\h\h\hBY ROMAN FORCES,

\h\h\hTHEY MADE A DARING ESCAPE BY TURNING WILD VINES INTO ROPES

AND LOWERING THEMSELVES DOWN \hBEHIND THE ROMAN SOLDIERS,

WHO THEY THEN MASSACRED.

SPARTACUS AND HIS DEEDS \h\h\h\h\hOF DERRING-DO

\hWERE BECOMING THE STUFF THAT LEGENDS ARE MADE OF.

♪

THAT SUMMER OF 73 BC, AS WORD SPREAD OF SPARTACUS’S REVOLT,

MORE AND MORE SLAVES \hLEFT THEIR FIELDS

AND ABANDONED THEIR MASTERS \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO JOIN HIM.

\hFIRST A TRICKLE AND THEN A FLOOD.

\hSOON THERE WERE TENS OF THOUSANDS

RAMPAGING THROUGH \hTHE COUNTRYSIDE

SPREADING TERROR AND PANIC.

FOR THE ROMAN REPUBLIC,

WHAT STARTED AS A SIMPLE \h\h\h\hPRISON BREAKOUT

\h\h\h\hHAD ESCALATED WITH HORRIFYING SPEED

\h\h\hINTO SOMETHING MUCH MORE SERIOUS--

A FULL-BLOWN SLAVE REVOLT.

\h\h\h\hWHAT’S MORE, WE KNOW FROM APPIAN

THAT EVEN SOME FREE MEN \hJOINED WITH SPARTACUS.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAT THIS TIME AROUND 90 PERCENT OF ITALIANS

\h\hLIVED AND WORKED IN THE COUNTRYSIDE,

AND MANY OF THEM, HERDSMEN AND FARMERS AND SHEPHERDS,

WERE DIRT POOR.

JUST 15 YEARS BEFORE

THIS WHOLE REGION HAD RISEN UP

\h\h\hAGAINST THOSE THAT THEY THOUGHT OF

AS THE FAT CATS OF THE REPUBLIC,

DEMANDING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE SPOILS OF ROMAN CONQUESTS.

\h\hTHIS WAS AN ARMY OF THE DISGRUNTLED,

\h\h\h\hTHE DESPERATE, AND THE DISPOSSESSED,

ALL MALCONTENTS WITH THEIR OWN \h\h\hGRIEVANCES AGAINST ROME.

AND IT EXPOSED THE REPUBLIC \h\hTO A CHILLING PROBLEM--

THAT PROTEST AND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM IS CONTAGIOUS.

THIS WAS A CRITICALLY SERIOUS \h\h\h\h\hCHALLENGE FOR ROME,

\h\h\hAND IT’S INCREDIBLE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT--

THOUSANDS OF MEN, AND PROBABLY \h\h\hWOMEN AND CHILDREN, TOO,

PREPARED TO RISK EVERYTHING \hFOR THE DREAM OF FREEDOM.

I THINK THIS FUNDAMENTAL \h\h\h\h\h\hHUMAN DESIRE

\h\h\h\h\hCAUGHT ROME COMPLETELY OFF GUARD.

\h\hAND THERE’S ANOTHER REASON FOR ROME’S SLUGGISH RESPONSE.

Mike: WELL, THE TOUGHEST, \hMOST EXPERIENCED LEGIONS

ARE NOT THERE.

THEIR STRONGEST FORCES \hARE OUT IN THE EAST

\h\h\h\h\hWHERE ALL THE RICHES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE STILL ARE,

AND THEY’RE OUT IN SPAIN.

\h\hI THINK THEY DIDN’T THINK HE WOULD BE SUCH A MILITARY THREAT.

\h\h\h\hBUT THEY WERE MUCH MORE CONCERNED WITH HIS MORAL THREAT,

TO UNDERMINE THE FABRIC \h\h\hOF ROMAN SOCIETY.

SPARTACUS IS A VERY FRIGHTENING IDEA IF YOU’RE A ROMAN.

Bettany: A YEAR AFTER SPARTACUS’S BREAKOUT,

AND AFTER MONTHS OF ANARCHY \h\h\h\h\hIN SOUTHERN ITALY,

ROME RAISED FOUR LEGIONS-- \h\h\h\h20,000 SOLDIERS--

\hTO TAKE ON SPARTACUS AND HIS 40,000 REBELS.

NEAR MOUNT GARGANO THE ROMANS \h\h\h\h\hINTERCEPTED A COLUMN

COMMANDED BY SPARTACUS’S RIGHT-HAND MAN, CRIXUS,

AS IT MOVED NORTH.

[BATTLE CRIES]

THE DETAILS OF WHAT HAPPENED \h\hNEXT ARE PRETTY SKETCHY,

BUT IT’S CLEAR THAT THE BATTLE

WAS AN UTTER DISASTER \h\h\hFOR THE REBELS.

TWO-THIRDS OF THE SLAVE ARMY \h\h\h\h\hWERE SLAUGHTERED,

INCLUDING CRIXUS HIMSELF.

[HORSE NEIGHS]

♪

\h\h\h\hWITH ROME’S LEGIONS NOW CONVERGING ON SPARTACUS,

IT LOOKED CERTAIN THAT, \h\h\h\h\h\hLIKE CRIXUS,

HE’D BE DEFEATED AND THE REVOLT BROUGHT TO A BLOODY END.

♪

BUT THE ROMANS DIDN’T FACTOR IN

\h\hHIS ABILITY TO EXPLOIT THEIR PREDICTABLE TACTICS.

♪

Ardomir: A ROMAN ARMY.

THERE ARE THOUSANDS.

IT’S MORE THAN WE \hHAVE EVER FACED.

♪

Spartacus: HAVE FAITH, ARDOMIR.

\h\hTHEY ARE ROMANS; THEY FIGHT ONE WAY.

[HORSE NEIGHS]

♪

WE WILL USE THEIR STRENGTH AND NUMBERS AGAINST THEM.

[YELLING]

THEY WON’T SEE US COMING.

[YELLING]

NOR WILL MANY OF THEM LIVE \h\h\h\h\hTO SEE US LEAVE.

AND WE CAN DO THIS.

[YELLING, WEAPONS CLASHING]

YOU DELIVER A MESSAGE FOR ME.

YOU TELL ROME WE WILL NEVER \h\h\h\h\h\hBE SLAVES AGAIN.

[YELLING, WEAPONS CLASHING]

\h\h\hBettany: SPARTACUS USED SPEED AND SURPRISE

TO INFLICT A HUMILIATING DEFEAT ON THE LEGIONS.

[YELLING]

BUT ROME WOULD NEVER MAKE PEACE WITH HIM.

HIS BREAKOUT AND THE REBELLION

THAT HAD SNOWBALLED \hFROM THAT ONE DAY

\h\h\h\h\h\hWAS A CHALLENGE TO THE REPUBLIC’S AUTHORITY

THAT COULD NOT BE TOLERATED.

\h\h\hTHE SENATE’S RESPONSE WAS TO AWARD EMERGENCY POWER

TO ONE OF ROME’S RICHEST, MOST AMBITIOUS CITIZENS--

MARCUS LICINIUS CRASSUS.

WHEN SOME OF HIS SOLDIERS \h\hRAN AWAY FROM A FIGHT

WITH SPARTACUS’S REBELS,

HIS RESPONSE WAS PITILESS.

\hCrassus: DO YOU KNOW WHAT DISTURBS ME MOST

ABOUT THIS REBEL ARMY?

NOT THAT THESE FILTHY SLAVES

\h\hRAMPAGE THROUGH THE ROMAN HEARTLAND.

\hBUT THAT MY OWN ARMY ALLOW THEM TO DO SO...

UNCHALLENGED.

♪

500...

GUTLESS COWARDS.

DESERVING OF DEATH.

\h\hTHE PROBLEM IS IF I KILL THEM ALL

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hI HAVE NO ARMY, AND THEY HAVE LEARNED NOTHING.

\hBettany: THIS WAS THE BRUTAL ROMAN PRACTICE OF DECIMATION,

AN EXTREME DISCIPLINARY MEASURE IN WHICH ONE IN EVERY TEN MEN,

CHOSEN BY LOT,

\hWERE BEATEN TO DEATH BY THEIR OWN COMRADES.

\h\h\hCrassus: THIS WAY THEY ARE ALL...PUNISHED.

\h\hBettany: THIS IS THE GRUESOME ORIGIN

OF OUR OWN VERB "TO DECIMATE," \h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO TAKE A TENTH.

Crassus: AND ONLY 50...

DIE.

♪

[SCREAMING]

Bettany: IT WAS A STARK SIGNAL \hTHAT WITH CRASSUS IN CHARGE,

THE REPUBLIC WAS NO LONGER GOING TO TOLERATE FAILURE.

BUT BY GIVING SO MUCH POWER \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO ONE MAN,

WAS ROME PLAYING WITH FIRE?

THE SENATE, RESORTING TO DESPERATE MEASURES,

\h\h\h\hHAD AWARDED COMMAND TO MARCUS LICINIUS CRASSUS,

A MAN WHOSE AMBITION \h\hWAS ONLY MATCHED

BY HIS VAST PERSONAL FORTUNE.

\hCRASSUS HAD BEEN AWARDED SWEEPING EMERGENCY POWERS

BY THE SENATE

AND PUT AT THE HEAD OF A HUGE ROMAN ARMY

THAT THIS AMBITIOUS BILLIONAIRE HAD LARGELY PAID FOR BY HIMSELF.

NOW, THIS WAS A PROBLEM.

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC WAS FULL \h\hOF CHECKS AND BALANCES,

PRECISELY TO PREVENT POWERFUL INDIVIDUALS

TURNING THEMSELVES \hINTO DICTATORS.

\h\h\h\h\h\hBUT THAT DAY OF SPARTACUS’S BREAKOUT

HAD THROWN ROME INTO A PANIC.

THIS UNORTHODOX DEAL \h\h\h\hWITH CRASSUS

WAS A MASSIVE GAMBLE,

\h\h\h\h\hAND NO ONE KNEW WHERE IT WAS GOING TO END.

♪

♪

♪

THE MIGHTY ROMAN WAR MACHINE \h\h\h\h\hWAS BACK ON TRACK,

AND IN SOUTHERN ITALY SPARTACUS WAS CORNERED ONCE MORE,

THIS TIME BY CRASSUS.

♪

\h\h\h\hAFTER TWO YEARS OF REBELLION AND BATTLE,

\hSPARTACUS’S ARMY, ABOUT 30,000 STRONG,

SQUARED UP TO CRASSUS’S 40,000

IN A FINAL SHOWDOWN WITH ROME.

Spartacus: I WOULD NOT CHOOSE \h\h\h\hTHIS DAY FOR BATTLE...

\h\hNOR THIS PLACE FOR A BATTLEFIELD.

THIS IS WHERE FATE HAS LED US.

BRING ME MY HORSE.

MY HORSE.

♪

[HORSE NEIGHS]

♪

\h\hBettany: CRASSUS WAS A FORMIDABLE ADVERSARY.

\hAND SPARTACUS KNEW THAT HE AND HIS MEN

COULD EXPECT NO MERCY IF THEY WERE DEFEATED.

[YELLING]

Spartacus: IF WE WIN TODAY...

[HORSE WHINNYING]

I WILL HAVE MANY HORSES \h\h\h\hTO CHOOSE FROM.

[WHINNYING]

[YELLING]

[SCREAMING]

\h\h\h\h\hIF WE LOSE, CRASSUS WINS THE DAY.

♪

I WILL HAVE NO NEED FOR A HORSE.

[WHINNYING]

[GRUNTING]

♪

\h\hBettany: PLUTARCH TELLS US THAT IN THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE

\hSPARTACUS RISKED EVERYTHING ON ONE MAD, DESPERATE CHARGE,

STRAIGHT TOWARDS CRASSUS.

[YELLING]

♪

[WHINNYING]

[DRAWS SWORD]

[GRUNTS]

♪

♪

Bettany: IN THE AFTERMATH \h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE DEFEAT,

\h\h\h\h\h\hTHERE WAS NO "I AM SPARTACUS" MOMENT.

THAT WAS A HOLLYWOOD INVENTION.

INSTEAD THERE WAS JUST TYPICAL, SAVAGE ROMAN RETRIBUTION.

THIS IS THE APPIAN WAY, AND ALL ALONG THIS ROAD,

FROM ROME TO CAPUA, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN,

\h\h\hCRASSUS CRUCIFIED 6,000 OF THE SURVIVING SLAVE REBELS.

SO THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN \h\h\h\h\hA CRUCIFIXION

\h\hEVERY 30 YARDS OR SO, FOR OVER A HUNDRED MILES.

THE THOUGHT OF THE CRUELTY \h\hAND THE SUFFERING HERE

IS JUST SICKENING.

SPARTACUS AND HIS MEN WERE DEAD.

SLAVERY LIVED ON.

\h\hIT WAS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE ROMAN ECONOMIC SYSTEM

FOR A THOUSAND YEARS,

IN WHICH TIME AN ESTIMATED \h\h\h\h100 MILLION PEOPLE

WERE SEIZED AND SOLD AS SLAVES.

THE DAY OF SPARTACUS’S BREAKOUT

MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED \hCOUNTLESS SLAVES,

\h\hBUT IT DID LITTLE TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM.

WHAT I THINK MADE THE SPARTACUS REVOLT SUCH A CRUCIAL MOMENT

\hWASN’T ITS IMPACT ON SLAVERY, BUT ITS IMPACT ON ROME HERSELF.

\h\hFOR TWO YEARS, THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

HAD BEEN INTIMIDATED BY AN ARMY OF SLAVES AND OUTSIDERS,

FOR THEM A HORRIFYING INVERSION OF THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS.

\h\h\hSPARTACUS HAD BECOME A BOGEYMAN, A DEMONIC NAME

\h\h\h\hUSED TO FRIGHTEN ROMAN CHILDREN AT NIGHT.

ROME’S RESPONSE HAD BEEN TO HAND EMERGENCY POWERS

TO ONE AMBITIOUS INDIVIDUAL,

\h\h\h\hA DANGEROUS PRECEDENT THAT CAME BACK TO HAUNT THEM.

IN TIME, THE LAST TRACES \hOF ROMAN PEOPLE POWER

WOULD BE SWEPT AWAY TO BE REPLACED BY A SINGLE MAN,

AN ALL-POWERFUL EMPEROR.

SPARTACUS’S BID FOR FREEDOM \hHAD SET THE CLOCK TICKING

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hON THE DEATH OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC ITSELF.

♪

NEXT TIME...

Crassus: POMPEY AND I \h\hHAD AN AGREEMENT!

Bettany: THE DAY THAT ROME WAS PLUNGED INTO CIVIL WAR

AS CRASSUS WAS ECLIPSED \h\h\h\hBY A NEW PLAYER,

GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR.

\h\h\h\h\h\hJulius Caesar: ONCE WE CROSS THIS RIVER,

THERE WILL BE NOTHING \h\h\h\hBUT VIOLENCE.

♪

♪

♪