To believe this series one would have to believe that the Roman army were not very good in battle. Yet they conquered half the known world of their time. Were the Roman army over estimated by historians as this all powerful military force?
shareTrue, but Spartacus et al did kick their arses up and down Italy for 2yrs in several battles?
Hannibal whacked them about in three huge battles as well, then roamed around Italy at will for the next 15yrs!
The show made a point to show that the Roman armies were stretched very thin. If they sent their full army, Spartacus would have been finished after the season premiere of season 2.
GO SIXERS!!!
Phillies
Fly Eagles Fly
Exactly. or if they weren't busy fighting 3 different fronts during this revolt they "could" have sent more.
shareI have no idea how true it is but the show tried to make the point that the strength of Rome was the Legion and not the individual fighting prowess of each soldier. 1 v. 1 a gladiator might have been a better fighter than a soldier that coupled with Sparatcus' strategic prowess let the gladiators hang with Rome for as long as they did until Rome sent the full force of their military against them.
shareThis is based on the real story about Spartacus, although obviously fictionalized. He and his rebels end up get defeated in battle by the Roman army. According to Wikipedia Spartacus and other leaders of the 3rd Slave Rebellion were originally mercenary soldiers for the Roman Empire but for some unknown reasons (in the show they mention his Roman superior wanted him to attack other tribes not originally accorded to, which is possible) he ends up enslaved as Gladiator, so he had internal tactical knowledge which he taught others. They fight but not to attack but to escape, so they flee to a volcano and from above they have advantage and defeat several Roman soldiers in surprise daring attacks.
One of the main reasons they don't get defeated immediately is because the Roman authorities underestimated them and handled them as a local police matter and didn't want to use their military resources that were being used in conquest battles in other countries. Finally they recognize the error and rectify it by sending one of their Roman heroes and defeat all of them.
The story is well described by contemporary historians. At the begining the rebel was a local riot caused by the enslaved former soldiers. At least Spartacus and probably Crixus were former legionaries from auxiliary foreign squad. The riot ended with a national slave uprising, so the first rank military commanders decided to involve. For a long time I was not able to accept the style the show depicts Roman times. To be true, the most shocking details are probably the most accurate.
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