In 73 B.C.,
a group of gladiators breaks free from the captivity
in the school where they're being trained to fight.
They're led by Spartacus, the man who'd become famous.
Within a few months,
Spartacus has rallied 120,000 slaves to his cause.
This is the biggest slave rebellion in Roman history.
Spartacus is a Thracian.
Thrace is roughly modern Bulgaria.
The Thracians were famous warriors,
they were famously fierce.
So he was a soldier.
He knew how to fight.
While little is known about him,
we can say that he was an extraordinary individual.
Charismatic and very capable leader.
NARRATOR: Spartacus can draw on a huge number
of possible recruits.
Within Italy, at this point,
scholars estimate that there may have been
as many as three million slaves.
That was somewhere between a third and 40%
of the total population.
That's roughly the same proportion
as in the American South prior to the civil war.
As Spartacus's rebellion gains steam,
all of a sudden there is an alternative to slavery.
You can go and you can join with Spartacus.
You can join with this rebellious slave army
out in the countryside.
The first two years of the rebellion
go very well for Spartacus
and very poorly for the Romans.
Two different armies that are raised
and paid for by the Senate
are completely crushed.
NARRATOR: But while Spartacus's uprising
is a crisis for Rome,
it's good news for Caesar.
As Spartacus's rebellion breaks out,
Caesar stands for his first elected role as Military Tribune
and he's successful.
The Military Tribune is an important officer
in the Roman army.
He's the equivalent of a colonel.
For Caesar, Spartacus's uprising presents an opportunity.
If Caesar can be a part
of the group that brings Spartacus down,
that gives him a profound standing
within the Roman Republic.
At some point, I will lose.
I promise, I promise.
NARRATOR: The man in charge of the Roman armies
is Marcus Licinius Crassus.
You do know gambling is illegal.
-Name? -Gaius Julius Caesar.
You won the civic crown. I've heard about you.
CAESAR: All good I hope.
We should play a real game.
Not one decided by luck.
Play well and, uh...
I might forget about this.
Marcus Licinius Crassus
is famous as the richest man in Rome.
He's kind of ancient world's Tywin Lannister.
The Senate turns to Crassuss for help because
nobody else wants the position.
Spartacus has already defeated several Roman generals.
But Crassus is ambitious.
He doesn't have the military reputation
that he wants to rise to the top of Roman politics.
He's very eager to have a military success.
Crassus also has the personal wealth
to be able to build and maintain the army himself.
NARRATOR: Caesar now has an opportunity
to form a relationship with one of Rome's most powerful men.
Your turn.
♪♪♪
Bold move.
Aggression is the key to winning any battle,
including our war with the gladiators.
Our gladiators are extremely well-trained.
They'll beat you in a contest of aggression.
There is more than one way to defeat an enemy.
You see, we Romans have an advantage.
We're the best engineers in the world.
Why fight in open battle when you don't have to?
Why take on a strong enemy when you can weaken them first?
One of the most impressive things about the Romans
was their military engineering ability.
Crassus will drive Spartacus down to the toe of Italy
and across that toe,
Crassus will build a 40-mile wall.
♪♪♪
Crassus hopes to either starve the army,
get them to surrender,
or enable him to fight them when they're weak and hungry.
Eventually, Spartacus's provisions run out.
But then fate intervenes.
There's a storm and snow fills up the trenches
so that Spartacus and his men are able to escape the walls
and make one desperate last stand against the Romans.
♪♪♪
NARRATOR: But Crassus's force
decisively defeats the weak and hungry gladiators.
♪♪♪
It's probably during the Spartacus War
that Crassus and Caesar become allies,
perhaps even close friends.
This is a relationship that's going to last 20 years.