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Previously
on Barbarians Rising...

The ancient world

divides in two.

Rome is ambitious.

Ruthless.

Built on blood and glory.

These are Rome's lands now.

The barbarians unite

to challenge
its growing power.

On Roman soil,

we are finally ready to fight!

...is a fight
for our freedom.

Now,
Rome spreads tyranny

as it storms
across the continent,

plundering the people,
as the barbarians step up the fight.

Those inbreds
are still resisting.

We must bring them
to heel.

But the larger Rome grows,

the more enemies it brings
on the inside.

The vast barbarian army,

waiting for a leader
to rise.

Rome is now the supreme
power in the ancient world,

stretching across Italy,
to North Africa,

through Hispania
and into Gaul.

The Roman fighting machine
was, um,

incredibly disciplined
and organized,

and it moved with a rhythm,
and with a power

that would break apart a less
disciplined and well-trained force.

These were professionals.

The people beyond the
borders of the Republic,

who Rome calls
barbarians,

become targets in a new
phase of domination.

Rome wants a number of things
from the territories it conquers.

It wants wealth.
It wants glory.

And it wants human capital.
It wants slaves.

Rome builds its power by enslaving
people from the lands it conquers,

transporting them into the Roman
provinces where they're sold,

to farm its fields
and fight in its armies.

An estimated 20%
of the Roman population,

as many as one million people, are
barbarian slaves living on Roman soil.

Slavery is nothing new
to the ancient world.

What's different is the scale
of Roman slavery.

This is slavery
on a massive scale.

The fiercest men
among them

are forced to fight
for sport,

competing in the arena
as gladiators.

We think immediately
about the Colosseum,

we think about
this huge arena,

50,000 to 60,000 spectators

egging on
their favorite competitors

fighting to the death.

But the reality in the
Republic was very different.

This scale was
much more modest.

In the provincial
amphitheaters,

you're talking
about local events

that are dirty and sordid
and grubby and violent.

Gladiators were subject

to every type
of abuse imaginable,

both physical and sexual.

Most gladiators died
in their 20s or 30s.

Uh, it's a very,
very dangerous job

and life expectancy
is not long.

Spartacus.
My name is Spartacus.

Spartacus is a bit
of an enigma to us.

It seems that
he came from Thrace.

He may have been from
a noble background

because the name
Spartacus itself

could be an aristocratic
name from that region.

It's a place known for,
uh, great fighters.

So much so that the Romans incorporate
those fighters into their military.

But ultimately,
he is sold into slavery,

and he ends up in a
Gladiatorial school in Capua.

Spartacus! Spartacus!
Spartacus!

Spartacus!
Spartacus!

Spartacus! Spartacus!
Spartacus!

One thing worse than slavery

is to adjust to it.

And because it's painful and violent,
most people adjust.

Spartacus?

Spartacus,
the invincible.

King of the shit house!

No man would want
to be in that situation,

and if there was any opportunity
to get out of it, you would.

I want to give you something
to remember me by.

No. No. No.

Rome tightens its grip
on the Mediterranean,

and as it grows,

the future that Hannibal
envisioned 140 years earlier

is now coming true.

The Republic is making
slaves of the barbarians.

But one man, Spartacus,
is making a break for freedom.

Let's get out
of this shithole.

Crixus, no!

Swords!

Now we have two swords.

Now we have two dead soldiers
and an army sure to follow.

Spartacus and a group
of 60 barbarian slaves

seize the opportunity
to escape,

but they break out of Capua
without a plan.

He wants to get away
from Capua.

Put distance between himself
and his former captives.

By the same token, he needs food,
he needs shelter and he needs weapons.

When they get over that wall,
they gotta hit the ground running.

Law enforcement's gonna be
right behind 'em,

once they figure out,
you know, they're gone.

The clock is ticking
as the fugitives move south.

Rome responds by dispatching a
small militia to track them down.

Freedom is what's motivating
these individuals

to stay out there and again,
they'll fight their way out,

they'll kill somebody,
they'll kill themselves,

they'll do whatever it takes, because, uh,
you know, give me freedom or give me death.

Nearly every Roman household in
the area holds barbarian slaves.

Spartacus'
escape quickly becomes a real problem

for the wealthy estate owners
of Campania.

Uh, first of all,
he and his men are trained killers.

Secondly, they begin attracting
other slaves to them.

Look what I found.

Let's go.

Let's get to higher ground,
where we can see what's coming for us.

Here, they'll round us up
like sheep.

Vesuvius?

Demons live there.

No.

They live here.

Up there, we can see for
50 miles in all directions,

we can bide our time.

You do what you want,
Spartacus.

I'm going to enjoy
my freedom.

Fine.

And when the Romans roast you
like the pig you are,

you tell them we're going East,
back to Thrace.

If you come with us,
you'll likely die.

If I don't,
then I'll die for sure.

Very quickly,
we see Spartacus evolve.

He frees other slaves, there's strength
in numbers. He secures equipment.

Most significantly,
he decides

to head toward Vesuvius,
his high ground, if you will.

When were you taken
from Thrace?

I think maybe
it was 10 years ago.

I've lost count.

They dragged us
from our homes.

Burned our towns.

To my great shame,
I fell into their hands...

...and, well,
you know the rest.

The others
are getting anxious.

Tell them to enjoy
their freedom.

We've got an army snapping at our feet,
my friend.

Spartacus is invincible.
I know that, we all know that.

He has got a plan.

I've seen a giant fade to
nothing before my eyes.

He wasn't even hurt.

He laughed at me, as if to say,
"Is that the best you can do?"

I knew I had killed him.

And then he knew.

So, you are
invincible then.

People like Spartacus,

like some of the slave
revolts in our country,

they made a decision

that they'd rather
make the effort,

to be free
and risk their lives

than to spend one more day

as a slave in captivity.

Soldiers!

Roman soldiers!

How many?

200.

Maybe three.

And we're 60.

Maybe we shouldn't
wait for them.

If we don't meet them here,
we'll have to meet them somewhere else.

Let's show them
who we are.

Three miles
up the slopes of Vesuvius,

Spartacus holds his position
on the high ground.

In the valley below,
300 Roman soldiers make camp.

There's only one road
up and down Vesuvius.

They feel that they've got
Spartacus cornered

and they merely have
to wait for him to try

to foolishly fight his way out
or to starve to death.

Spartacus has his men
fashion ropes of vines

that they find growing
on Mount Vesuvius.

And launch a surprise attack
on the Romans.

By choosing to stand,
by choosing to fight

and coming up with
a military solution,

Spartacus is showing
what kind of man he is.

Rome is rapidly expanding as it
seeks to dominate the ancient world.

But some are rising up
to fight back.

The defeat at Vesuvius was a
complete surprise to the Romans,

they weren't expecting
to be ambushed.

They thought they were
dealing with fugitives

and the fugitives would run rather than that
the fugitives would take the fight to them.

Best part about this,
they're brothers!

Kill him.

Do it!

Kill him!

Or I'll bury you
both alive.

Go to your commanders.

Tell them what
you've seen here today. Go!

No more.

We are better than this.

We've got as many swords
as we can carry.

Now we need to head
north to freedom.

Before Rome
unleashes hell on us.

Spartacus isn't looking
to start a war.

He's searching
for a way home.

Thrace is 700 miles away
through hostile territory.

His target is
the Cisalpine pass,

a break in the Alps leading to the
homelands the barbarians left behind.

Word of Spartacus' victory
at Vesuvius spreads.

Barbarian slaves
from across the Republic

flee their masters to join the man
they believe will set them free.

He's reminiscent of
other people in history.

Abraham Lincoln never expected to be
leading an army engaged in a great civil war.

Nelson Mandela didn't expect that he would
become the head of a revolutionary movement.

And yet these people,
like Spartacus,

show that it is possible
to rise to the occasion.

The whole society
functions using slaves.

So if there is an uprising,

this is gonna really strike at the
core of how the Republic works.

Rome's plan to bring the
barbarians within its border

is starting to backfire.

We need to get rid of the Romans.
Wipe 'em out.

Not just free ourselves.
Yes, but here?

In their own country?

That's a death wish.

I don't care how many
there are of us.

There will always be
more of them.

But in our homelands, in Gaul,
in Thrace, it is possible.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But what we can do is
we can damage them, badly.

I say we go South to Sicily.

Kill as many of 'em
as we can along the way.

Crixus,
you are a warrior.

You will die in battle,
that I know.

If we were an army, Crixus,
I would turn and fight,

but look around you.

These people
are not warriors.

They're farmers,
nurse maids, artisans.

Yes, more's the pity.

They want to live!
They've a right to live.

We are near the mountains.

And beyond the mountains, are the roads,
North to Gaul, East to Thrace.

Now you do what you will.

You die a warrior's death.

My greatest shame
is that I was captured.

Mine, too.

We valued our lives
above our freedom.

Would you make
that choice again?

No.

Then I'll see you
in the next life.

Spartacus and Crixus
divide their forces.

Crixus and 3,000 fighters
splinter off

and move South to confront
the Romans head on.

He's set out to buy
Spartacus and his followers,

now numbering more than 12,000,
time to escape North.

Crixus' split from Spartacus
gives Rome a major problem.

Now they have two very capable and very
mobile enemies that they have to deal with,

and they have to deal
with them piecemeal.

While Spartacus
marches for the Alps,

Roman citizens
flee in fear.

But first,
they ensure the slaves they leave behind

won't be able
to join the rebellion.

They blind them and lame
them so they cannot run.

You.

You are Spartacus?

I am.

No!

You bow to no one.

All I wanted was to escape
that hellhole Capua

and get back to Thrace.

I know
you didn't want it,

but the people
now look to you.

They see you
as salvation.

And where do they
expect this to end?

What do they think
I can do?

When a leader achieves success and
others start flocking to your standard,

then that responsibility
takes over yourself, also.

And, "How do I handle this?"
"What do I do with it?"

"How do I take care
of my people

"and wield them into
a force of maximum power?"

And this is one of the great
problems of Spartacus.

By the autumn
of 73 BC,

Spartacus' flock is growing at
the rate of hundreds a day.

Rome is now
expanding faster than ever.

But its growth depends
on enslavement,

the latest weapon in the 300-year
war to crush the barbarians.

Spartacus' followers
now number 25,000,

with hundreds more joining
the cause every day.

Spartacus knows that the Romans
will be bent on his destruction.

He has no choice but to not only lead,
but to train an army.

No!

To create an elite force,

you're talking an investment
of two to three years minimum.

Hit me.

He doesn't have
the luxury of years

to create a well-trained
cohesive army,

he has months at best.

He had
this great mass of people

that could be slaughtered
if they fought as individuals.

So, he took that time that
he had during the winter

to train his forces and to turn
them into an army themselves,

that could meet the Romans on the field
of battle with a good chance of success.

When Spring
finally arrives,

Spartacus and his newly trained army,
now numbering 50,000,

continue their journey home.

Every slave owner is thinking,
"Will my slaves be next?"

"Will they join Spartacus?"

"Just how far is this going to go?"
It's an enormous threat.

Rome responds, dispatching four
legions to crush the uprising.

The estimates are
that at this point,

Crixus has about 20,000 Germans
and Gauls with him, um,

Spartacus presumably has
about 50,000 people with him

and there is a real danger
at this point

that the rebellion actually
spreads beyond just slaves.

The plan is
to intercept the rebels

using a classic Roman military
tactic called the Pincer Movement,

a simultaneous attack
on the enemy from two sides.

The first army,
under Consul Gellius,

has orders to go South
to wipe out Crixus,

then circle back to attack
Spartacus and his rebels.

The second army
targets Spartacus head on,

to cut off his escape
to the North,

and push his forces south into
the jaws of Consul Gellius.

Spartacus!

Tell me.

The Romans
are coming.

How many?

Two legions.

Crixus...

Dead?

Not one
was left alive.

You see how scared
they are of us.

Not one was left alive.

For more
than a century,

Rome has been the dominant
power in the ancient world.

But now,
a growing slave rebellion

threatens to take it down
from within.

Spartacus! Spartacus!
Spartacus!

Spartacus! Spartacus!
Spartacus!

Spartacus!

When the massive slave army

defeats the first two legions
sent to destroy them,

they're just miles from their
escape route through the mountains.

But two more legions
are still in pursuit.

We did
the impossible today.

And the murderers of Crixus
are only half a day away.

You'd stay and wait for them?
Why wait?

Spartacus.

Spartacus, we are home.

This is our escape.

The door is open.

It is.

Brothers.

Sisters.

Warriors.

The Romans outnumber us
but they only fight for money.

They have no answer
for our courage...

...and our thirst for freedom.

The men who murdered our brother
Crixus have come to meet us here.

Do we run from them?
No!

Do we let them come
for us like wolves?

We are warriors.
We're free to fight

and free to die if need be,
the way we choose, on our terms.

We can make Rome bleed.

We can make her weak
the way she made us.

If we can take Sicily, we can starve
Rome and bring her to her knees.

Let's avenge
our fallen brothers!

You know, one of the great
mysteries of Spartacus is why

having come within sight
of the Alps

does he turn around and
decide to stay in Italy.

And we can only speculate.

He's become more than
an individual.

He's become the leader
of an army.

There's so much vengeance
to wreak upon the Romans.

Why give up now?

Spartacus turns
his army around,

and marches straight
into a collision

with Consul Gellius
and his 20,000 men.

When their armies meet,
Spartacus scores a critical victory.

Consul Gellius' legions are
the last viable defense force

standing between the rebel army and the
vital strategic territory of Sicily.

A province that provides
most of Rome's food supply.

If Spartacus can take the island,
he'll have Rome by the throat.

Sicily is of immense geostrategic
importance for Rome.

It's almost a dagger pointed at
the toe of the Italian boot.

Whoever controls Sicily
controls access to Italy.

The Roman Senate moves quickly
to crush the barbarian threat.

They hand over supreme control
of the military to one man.

General Marcus Crassus.

Rich and ruthless,

he uses his fortune to raise an army
of 30,000 men to take on Spartacus.

Power that few men within Rome
have ever been given before.

Crassus knows that
putting this rebellion down

despite the fact that it is
ostensibly an army of slaves,

is going to make him appear
to be the savior of Rome.

We're here.

Sicily is here.

And we need to be there.

Spartacus plans
to bribe pirates and merchants

to ferry his army
across the sea to Sicily.

Go now,
the three of you.

Race ahead,
and make the deal.

Tell them that for every man,
woman and child they carry,

there will be
five pieces of gold.

Go.

Spartacus' rebellion
has been the greatest threat

to Roman supremacy
in a century.

Now he's aiming to crush the enemy by
cutting off their food supply from Sicily.

But General Crassus bribes the
Sicilian pirates with Roman gold

before Spartacus
ever reaches the coast.

Spartacus has beaten
the odds for two years.

But now, just 19 miles
from his goal,

he's left
with only one option.

Turn and face his enemy.

Can you hear me,
Spartacus?

Can you see this cage?

I'm going to take you
back to Rome in this cage.

Don't let them
take you.

I won't.

And don't be
afraid of death.

Kill him!

No!

What better way for him to die than
to die fighting, to die as a warrior,

to die staying true
to his guiding principles?

40,000 barbarians
fall at Messina.

Those who survive the battle
face a more gruesome fate.

Crassus parades the captured slaves
through the streets of Rome,

and crucifies all 6,000
along the Appian Way.

Rome's warning is clear.

Rise against us
and you will pay with blood.

Though Spartacus fails
to overthrow the Republic,

his uprising reveals
a weakness at the core

of its plan to dominate
the barbarians.

It tells us that Roman society
has tremendous vulnerabilities

and that the Roman system is not nearly
as strong as the Romans thought it was.

As Rome expands its frontier,
it encounters more and more resistance.

Military glory becomes
the quickest path to power.

Rome descends into chaos as a
handful of men fight for control.

The death of the Republic
really comes with one-man-rule,

and that one man
is Julius Caesar.

He is the perpetual dictator.

And it's his successor, Augustus,
that takes it even further.

Augustus was the legal heir
of Julius Caesar.

The hand-picked successor
of the great dictator.

He has the control of nearly
all of the Roman army,

and with that, he's able to do
pretty much what he wants.

Augustus succeeds
where Caesar fails

and perfects the art
of empire building.

Forty-five million people, 15% of the world's
population, are now under Roman control.

Augustus doubles the size of
the empire during his reign,

pushing its borders deep
into barbarian territory,

completing the conquest
of Gaul and Spain,

and setting his sights on a new
prize to the north. Germania.

A vast, untamed wilderness
that will be the new front

in the barbarians' fight
for freedom.

Augustus invades in 12 BC

in search of resources like cattle,
amber, and leather.

But above all,
he wants warriors.

The Romans viewed
these warriors from the North

as tall, fierce,
blood thirsty warriors who,

if turned into soldiers for the Empire,
could protect the Empire and help it expand.

Defeating these tribes
won't be easy.

The Empire ignites a storm of resistance
from the moment it sets foot in Germania.

The campaign drags on
for 30 long years.

The Roman army spent huge amounts of
money in order to conquer all of Germania.

But still,
the Germans refuse to fall.

Leading the resistance are the
Arivarii and the Cherusci,

who fight to keep
Rome at bay.

Segimerus is Chief
of the Cherusci,

who grooms his sons,
Arminius and Flavus,

to one day take his place
and lead their people.

But before his oldest son,
Arminius, can claim his birthright,

the Empire steps up
its assault on his tribe,

unleashing a new weapon
from its arsenal of tyranny.

The Roman Empire is the ancient
world's undisputed superpower.

It spans 2.5 million
square miles of territory

from Hispania to Syria,
a dominion built on barbarian blood.

And still the Empire grows.

It sets out
to conquer Germania.

But unable to defeat
the barbarians by force,

Rome once again resorts
to a familiar strategy.

It begins to negotiate
deals with the rebels,

promising gold and peace
in exchange for surrender.

One by one, battle-weary Germanic
tribes accept Rome's terms.

But this time,
the Empire requires something more.

To secure their loyalty,
Rome forces the tribes

to surrender their sons
to the Empire.

A generation of heirs born to
be the next leaders of Germania

become Romans instead.

These sons will now be raised
and accustomed to Roman ways.

And ideally,
they would see themselves as more Roman,

than as Germanic barbarians.

Help! Help!

Let... Let go!

Father, stop them!

Thusnelda!
Take this.

Help!

You can't do this!
My father's the chief!

He's the chief!

Let go!

Arminius!
Uncle!

Uncle!

Remember who you are.

Cherusci. Always.

Always.

This policy
is called Romanization

and is largely successful,

but it depends on
the obedience and loyalty

of the barbarians being brought
inside the walls of Rome.

This is messing around with people's sense
of themselves, their sense of identity,

their sense of the landscape

and their sense of family

and that is when the stakes
get dangerously high.

Brother.

I have heard
good things of both of you.

Thank you, sir.
Flavus,

you have distinguished
yourself as a servant of Rome.

And as reward,
I will grant you a promotion.

You will serve under

General Germanicus
in the east.

Prove yourself in the theater of war,
Flavus,

and you will rise
in the ranks

just like your brother.

Congratulations on making
the rank of Equestrian.

Our most trusted officers.

Well done, Arminius.

A remarkable feat
for, uh,

a barbarian.

You will be posted
to Germania.

Governor Varus
will continue

to monitor the borders
of the Rhine

and I will send
auxiliaries for you

to aid the garrison
of the North.

Those inbreds
are still resisting,

we must bring them
to heel.

You return to your homeland
not as a barbarian,

but as a son,

a son of Rome.

He's our Emperor.

Can you show
some respect?

He's no God, Flavus,

even though you
think him to be one.

You are just angry that they're
sending you back to Germany,

away from your villas and privilege,
back to the rain and filth.

Remember what you are.

Where you're from.
I remember enough.

I remember
that I hated it.

It was our home, Flavus.

That was 15 years ago,
brother.

And for 15 years I have dreamt of the
Rhine, to taste the waters again.

This is our home now.

Our father surrendered us to Rome.
To bring peace to our tribe.

To bring gold, Arminius.

Our noble father surrendered
his sons and his weapons

for Roman gold.

Rome's 400-year march toward total
domination of the ancient world

comes north to Germania

where the barbarians'
fiercest resistance yet

is keeping the Emperor from
claiming his ultimate prize.

Born to the Cherusci tribe but
captured and raised by the Empire,

Arminius returns
to his homeland

as one of the highest ranking
barbarians in the Roman army,

with orders to
crush the uprising.

Arminius would have been
greatly conflicted.

In all likelihood,
he would have burned villages.

Slaughtered whole peoples.

And then as he stands
at the Rhine,

looking eastwards
towards his own homeland

he would have been thinking,
"I may be called upon to do

"the same thing for Rome
to my own people."

Arminius!
Remember who you are.

Cherusci. Always.

Arminius will be
under the command

of the Emperor's most
notorious enforcer,

General Varus.

Quintilianus Varus had a reputation
for using raw Roman power

to deter rebellions and to put them
down fiercely whenever they occurred.

Dispatched to crush the barbarian
resistance once and for all,

Varus intensifies the efforts to round
up children for surrender to Rome.

And imposes harsh taxes on the tribes,
to be paid under penalty of death.

Take me to Varus.

Any more skirmishes,
and I want them pacified again.

Well, what are you
waiting for?

I can't drink this filth
for much longer.

Arminius.

The boy hostaged
by his tribe to Rome.

The boy who rose through the
ranks to become Equestrian,

in our great
and mighty army.

What an abomination.

I need an enforcer,

someone capable of enlisting
warriors and capturing tax evaders.

Can you do that?

Yes, sir.

And how would you
do that?

I know how
the Germans think.

Of course you do.

That's what you are.

A Roman hero
with a barbarian soul.

We need more men
for our armies.

For some reason, the Emperor
wants these uncultured savages.

Most of the tribal leaders will
fall in line and give up their sons

without much resistance.

Like your father did.

Those that don't
will answer to you.

Arminius.

I do not have to question
your loyalties here, do I?

You know
who you belong to now.

For the Emperor.

For the Empire.

Your once proud nation.

This is what you left behind,
Arminius.

Germans selling Germans,
for nothing more than trinkets.

Is that what I am, is it?
A trinket of Rome?

What else are you?

You climb to the highest rank of
any barbarian in the Roman army,

and yet the Emperor
sends you back here?

Who am I to question
the Emperors wisdom?

After all,

you crucified 2,000 Jewish
rebels in the Syrian uprising,

and the Emperor saw it
fit to send you here.

Sir.

Careful, Arminius,
I'm beginning to like you.

Why haven't you not paid
your taxes, Emsger?

I have.

Not all.

I'll take her instead.

Take the boys.

They would be
more useful, no?

What did he say?

He called me a traitor.

Very well.

Do not mistake my leniency
for weakness, Emsger.

The Emperor will
have his payment,

one way or another.

The sons of the Arivarii

will cover your debt.

I'll kill you!

You are Cherusci tribe, yes?
Yes.

You will go and collect
their unpaid taxes.

Show them we are no longer in
a position of striking deals.

Yes, sir.

Come down hard
on them, Arminius.

They must fear you.

No negotiations,
grain, soldiers,

and silver.
That is all.

Arminius's people, the Cherusci,
live in small tribal groups

scattered across
North-Western Germania,

united by alliances
forged in war

and steeped in a tradition
that reveres its ancestors.

Wait here.

When Arminius sees the reality
of Roman imperial domination

and what it means to his people,
he's faced

with difficult choices.

What does he do?

Is he going to be the enforcer of Rome's
Empire that he's been trained to be?

Is he going to turn back to his own
society and lead resistance to Rome?

And if he does decide to take that path,
will anyone believe him?

At last.

Our favorite son
has returned.

An Equestrian,
no less.

Your father would
have been very proud.

As am I.

I see you've taken
my family home?

When your father died,
I only did as was expected of me.

The bones of our ancestors
lay scattered and plundered.

My own father's
grave defiled.

Yet you do nothing.

Your countrymen take taxes.

Yet, you have still
defaulted, Segestes?

With our favorite son
rising to Equestrian,

I hoped
we could renegotiate?

That we could have
a special favor.

Rome favors
no one but itself.

Bring me the harvest, or its value in
silver, or you will be in contempt.

Where is Iguiomerus?

I would stay away
from him if I were you.

Your uncle is very much
like your father.

Wants nothing but trouble.

Where is he?

Where he always is.

Thusnelda?

No!

I am not what
you think me to be.

I heard you were back.

From Emsger.

I'm not one of them.

Your actions
will decide that.

So...

Who are you?

I'm Cherusci.

Like you.

Cherusci are not in the habit of
abducting their friend's children.

I had to save his girl.
I can get his boys to freedom later.

I had no choice.

Your father
was devastated.

Surrendering his sons
to Rome.

You, putting on
that uniform.

Not knowing
what you would become.

Drove him to his grave.

His son,

the Roman.

But that's not who I am.

So you say.

I was just a boy, Uncle.

It was not my choice
to go to their hateful city.

I did what I had
to do to survive.

I did what I did
to protect my brother.

I have done horrible things
in their armies,

things that I will never be able to
forgive, but I will do them no more.

I must atone.

How?

By doing what you and he did.

I must fight.

You are a Roman now.

I am Roman.

And that's why
I can beat them.

They will never suspect me,

Arminius, the Equestrian.

I know their movements,

how they fight,

their weaknesses.

If we can gather
enough men,

we can beat Varus
and his legions.

Drive Rome from our lands.

We can be free again.

Why would anyone trust you,

the Roman?

You will vouch for me, Uncle.

Why would I do that?

Because I am
my father's son.

Out of the crucible,

of unfreedom emerges somebody with
an extra dose of will and sacrifice

and becomes leader.

Arminius' uncle,
Iguiomerus,

travels to all the Western tribes,
seeking allies.

As word spreads,
it awakens a sleeping giant.

Roman imperial domination challenged
something that lies at the heart of everything

that we're told
about Germanic society.

That it's all about
political independence.

It's all about
political freedom

and faced with a challenge to
those ideological traditions,

I think a lot of Germanic warriors
felt they had no choice but to fight.

Arminius acts as a catalyst
to bring everyone together.

And that makes him dangerous, much more
dangerous than Rome could ever imagine.

Arminius knows
Rome's plans and tactics.

Intelligence he'll use
to take them down.

He's devising a battle plan that combines
the barbarians' guerilla tactics

with the scale and precision
of a Roman attack.

Arminius is uniting the Germanic
tribes under one leader

for the first time.

To guard
against betrayal,

Arminius decides that tribal
leaders must join, or die.

Those who resist,
give him the perfect cover.

This one wouldn't pay
his taxes.

Food supplies are low,
and I tire of this rat-hole.

I don't want to be here
any longer than I have to.

We move South
for our winter camp

in seven days.

Or does that
not agree with you?

I will make sure the tribes have made
their contributions before then.

The plan has changed.

We have seven days.

The barbarian
tribes of Germania

are uniting to fight for their
freedom from the Roman Empire.

Leading them is Arminius, a son of
Germania, who was raised as a Roman,

an enemy on the inside,

with a plan to defeat the Empire
using its own battle plans,

combined with
a barbarian guerilla tactics.

Where are my boys?
Where are they?

Where are they?

They've been taken to Rome.

Then they're dead,
you bastard!

When they get word
of your rebellion in Rome,

they will kill them.
They were dead anyway.

They would have been
taken next year as fodder.

At least this way
they have a chance.

Your daughter did not.

You must trust me,
Emsger,

as I trust you.

It's all right.

You do as you must.

But hear me out.

I need you and the Arivarii
to join with me, with us.

Our tribes have
always been allies.

Varus marches South
in seven days.

And we need to gather
as many men as we can.

Varus commands three legions,

around 20,000 men.

We will be slaughtered.

We cannot beat them
on open ground.

We know that,
our scars are proof.

We force them
into the Teutoburg Forest.

Varus is no fool, he will never
take his army through the forest.

Then we make him!

Varus believes this whole
area is under his control.

So we make him believe there is
a rebellion brewing in the East.

And we give him no choice
but to take the forest.

Arminius, we can't...

We can!
And we will!

I have fought with them
long enough,

I know their weaknesses. Without
their formations, they cannot fight.

And I know our strengths.

How do we hide an army?

We build ramparts
along the tree-line.

We've done it before.

It'll be too late
before they see us.

We can slaughter them all.

Arminius has designed
a complex battle plan

that depends on luring Varus and his
legions into the Teutoburg Forest.

There, the tribes have hand-built a
primitive rampart, two miles long,

concealed by
the dense woodland.

He cuts through terrain
that's perfect for an ambush,

a thin track with a steep bank on
one side and marshland on the other.

He aims to funnel the Roman
legions into the kill zone.

Where 15,000 Germanic warriors will
stream from behind their fortifications,

and slaughter the Romans
where they stand.

Now, more than ever,
secrecy is critical.

But as the tribes grow more
desperate under the occupation,

it becomes impossible
to maintain.

There's plenty of opportunity
for divide and rule.

You only have to offer a not
massively advantageous set of terms

to one Germanic group and they
will fight their neighbors.

What's even more incredible
is that there's

a member of his own tribe in
the end who will sell him out.

Find Arminius. Now.

Never underestimate
your enemy.

Always think
the other guy's stronger,

smarter, better than you are,
because it keeps you hungry.

We are betrayed.
Varus knows.

Her father sold us out
for gold and favor.

Varus has sent riders
to get you.

Get her to safety.
East,

to the Elbe River.

Where are you going?

Segestes condemns
us all to the blade.

I need to find a way
to reason with Varus.

Varus will cut
your heart out, boy.

The Empire has already
cut my heart out.

Arminius is under an
enormous amount of pressure,

he's really riding both sides of
the fence and on the one hand,

he's preparing the ambush,
preparing those troops,

getting ready
for this slaughter,

and on the other hand,
he's gotta perform his normal functions

as a Roman military man.

And all the while,
Varus is becoming suspicious.

You've been cut?

Ah. Resistance
from a Chauci leader.

He now rots in the marshes
along with his ancestors.

You can never trust Germans.

There are always
undercurrents of deceit.

Huh.

Cover it. He already has a
taste for barbarian flesh.

Your old friend
Segestes was here.

And what tax concession
did he barter for this time?

He says there are fires
of a barbarian rebellion.

He says that it is you
who fans the flames.

That you mean to kill me.

That wine will kill you
quicker than I ever could.

The locals piss in it.

But my gut tells me
the rebellion is real.

I would not move South.

I would hold up
here for the winter,

pacify any tribal uprising.

Why would Segestes
say such things

when he knows
the price of lying?

I am to wed
his daughter.

You knew?

I too have ears and eyes
everywhere, Arminius.

He promised her
to another

in order to unite
their two tribes.

A move that stands
to make him very powerful.

But he'll lose it all when
I take her back to Rome.

Send auxiliaries to reinforce
our garrisons in the east.

Protect the route
to the Rhine.

They piss in it, you say?

Uh-huh.

I'll drink to that.

Varus suspects an insurgence.

The scouts will be vigilant.

We still have over a mile
of ramparts to build.

If they suspect anything...

We will be ready.

If they see anything out of place,
any bit of the structure,

we're all dead.

Look around you, Arminius,

there are thousands
prepared to fight.

Prepared to die.

They need this
more than you.

We will be ready.

Just to conceive of
how you get the Roman Army

spread out, in a line,

in terrain that will nullify
all its military advantages.

This is an extraordinary act of
intelligence, daring and imagination.

Arminius builds a dam to turn
the only other forest path

into an impassable swamp.

This will force Varus'
men directly into the line of fire.

Finally,
Arminius lays the bait.

He gets his allies,
the Cimbri,

to start a revolt
for Varus to crush.

The only way
to reach the uprising,

is to travel east
through the Teutoburg forest.

Most courageous of all,
has to put himself right beside Varus

and guide him, walk him
into the trap personally.

Tell me of the Cimbri.

A once proud tribe
of the Rhine.

They have no love
of the Empire.

Why?

Your predecessor
burnt their families alive.

If the Cimbri are in revolt, they
should be crushed before it escalates.

We should make a point.

And what point
are we trying to make?

That any disloyalty
will be met by force.

If we let this fester over the winter it
will be out of control when we return.

Tomorrow we leave this camp and I lead
my men through this hostile territory.

They're nothing more than farmers, they
wouldn't attack three marching legions.

And if the tribes are aligned
as Segestes says?

The route is open,

but we lead
through marshlands.

Progress will be slow.

But defendable.

I shall sleep on it.

Let the Gods...

...and the wine decide.

Arminius.

Tomorrow, you shall ride
alongside me.

As you wish.

Tonight, the Gods judge me.

Tomorrow,
they will judge us all.

The barbarians of ancient Germania
have united for the first time,

to reclaim their freedom and expel
the Empire from their homeland.

Their fate depends
on their native son, Arminius.

Varus orders his 20,000
Roman legionaries

deep into the dense
Teutoburg Forest.

Hidden there are 15,000 Germanic
warriors poised to strike.

When the time comes,

small bands of Germanic
warriors hiding in the marsh

will attack
on Arminius' signal.

They'll launch a series of
lightning strikes as a distraction,

giving him the cover he needs to escape
and lead his people into battle.

Arminius' entire plan depends upon the
success of his disinformation campaign.

He has to get Varus
and his commanders

and all the various other troops
to go the appointed route.

That's where
he's laid the trap.

If they go another route, the problem is
at that point the whole thing is lost.

The other route
is also flooded.

Can we cross
the marsh?

Not without the fork.
Go around.

If you value your tongue,

don't even think
about questioning me, boy.

You dare bring
an entire army to a halt?

I have a message
for Rome.

Arminius.

These are for you.

They were your father's.

Arminius.

The scouts are upon us.

Get it covered now.

We can't strike until
the vanguard has passed.

We wait for Varus.

If we hit them too soon,
they'll regroup.

Do not let them
get into formation.

In the deafening silence
of battle,

you discover
who you really are.

Cherusci.

Next time
on Barbarians Rising...

I will kill you.
Then let us begin.

For freedom!

You will regret making
enemies of us!

I doubt that,
you filthy animal.

What are you doing
with our queen?

No!

Teach her some respect.