Spartacus The Gladiator

The first of two epic novels which tell the story of one of the most charismatic heroes history has ever known - Spartacus, the gladiator slave who took on and nearly defeated the might of Rome, during the years 73-71 BC. Historically very little is known about Spartacus. We know that he came from Thrace, a land north of Greece, that he once fought in the Roman legions and that, during two fateful years, he led a slave army which nearly brought Rome to its knees. In Ben Kane's brilliant novel, we meet Spartacus as he returns to Thrace, ready to settle down after a decade away. But a new king has usurped the throne. Treacherous and violent, he immediately seizes Spartacus and sells him to a Roman slave trader looking for new gladiators. The odyssey has begun which will see Spartacus become one of the greatest legends of history, the hero of revolutionaries from Karl Marx to Che Guevara, immortalised on screen, and now brought to life in Ben Kane's great bestseller - a novel which takes the story to its halfway point and is continued in Spartacus: Rebellion. Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine and University College, Dublin, but after that he travelled the world extensively, indulging in his passion for ancient history. He lives in North Somerset with his wife and two young children.

This book describes the fighting of Spartacus and his slave army in their rebellion against the Romans.

This title tells the story of one of the most charismatic heroes history has ever known - Spartacus, the gladiator slave who took on and nearly defeated the might of Rome, during the years 73-71 BC.

FREE from slavery, Marcus is determined to find and save his kidnapped mother. Meanwhile, his master Julius Caesar wants Marcus to help destroy the bands of rebel slaves and their leader Brixus, who plans to unite a slave army and resurrect the cause of Spartacus. But Marcus and Brixus are old allies who share a life-threatening secret. Marcus is torn between his friend and master. Can he convince Brixus now is not the time for a deadly revolt - and ask Caesar to negotiate a slave surrender before more carnage and bloodshed? ** From the #1 bestselling adult author Simon Scarrow - over 1 million copies sold. ** The perfect introduction to Roman history and gladiators for young readers - great for fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter. ** Book 3 in the series.

Spartacus, a Thracian whose early life is hidden in the mists of history, is one of the most infamous figures of antiquity. Perhaps the most famous gladiator of all, parts of Spartacus' story inspired elements of the award-winning film Gladiator (2000).

“Separate[s] the man from the myth. . . . Both the newcomer and the experienced Roman historian will find a wealth of entertainment and information.” (Publishers Weekly) Spartacus (109?–71 bce) has been a source of endless fascination, the subject of myth-making in his own time, and of movie-making in ours. In this riveting, compact account, Aldo Schiavone rescues Spartacus from the murky regions of legend and brings him squarely into the arena of serious history. Schiavone transports us to Italy of the first century bce, where we encounter Spartacus, who is enslaved after deserting from the Roman army to avoid fighting against his native Thrace. Imprisoned in Capua and trained as a gladiator, he leads an uprising that will shake the empire to its foundations. While the grandeur of the Spartacus story has always been apparent, its political significance has been less clear. Often depicted as the leader of a class rebellion, Spartacus emerges here in a very different light: the commander of an army whose aim was to incite Italy to revolt against Rome and to strike at the very heart of the imperial system. Surprising, persuasive, and highly original, Spartacus challenges the lore and illuminates the reality of a figure whose achievements, and whose ultimate defeat, are more extraordinary and moving than the fictions we make from them. “A highly readable, interesting inquiry into a man and a movement.” —Booklist “You've seen the movie: now get the straight dope.” —Maclean’s magazine “[A] thought-provoking discussion of Spartacus and of first-century slavery.” —The Wall Street Journal “An intelligent, learned, and challenging account.” —New York Review of Books

The best-selling novel about a slave revolt in ancient Rome and the basis for the popular motion picture.

An authoritative account from an expert author: The Spartacus War is the first popular history of the revolt in English. The Spartacus War is the extraordinary story of the most famous slave rebellion in the ancient world, the fascinating true story behind a legend that has been the inspiration for novelists, filmmakers, and revolutionaries for 2,000 years. Starting with only seventy-four men, a gladiator named Spartacus incited a rebellion that threatened Rome itself. With his fellow gladiators, Spartacus built an army of 60,000 soldiers and controlled the southern Italian countryside. A charismatic leader, he used religion to win support. An ex-soldier in the Roman army, Spartacus excelled in combat. He defeated nine Roman armies and kept Rome at bay for two years before he was defeated. After his final battle, 6,000 of his followers were captured and crucified along Rome's main southern highway. The Spartacus War is the dramatic and factual account of one of history's great rebellions. Spartacus was beaten by a Roman general, Crassus, who had learned how to defeat an insurgency. But the rebels were partly to blame for their failure. Their army was large and often undisciplined; the many ethnic groups within it frequently quarreled over leadership. No single leader, not even Spartacus, could keep them all in line. And when faced with a choice between escaping to freedom and looting, the rebels chose wealth over liberty, risking an eventual confrontation with Rome's most powerful forces. The result of years of research, The Spartacus War is based not only on written documents but also on archaeological evidence, historical reconstruction, and the author's extensive travels in the Italian countryside that Spartacus once conquered.