All language subtitles for Eight Days that Made Rome Series 1 2of8 The Spartacus Revolt 1080p

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.

♪

♪

♪