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Little is known about the early life of one of history’s greatest heroes. The Thracians did not keep much in the way of written records, and they certainly did not keep any records of who could possibly have been a rather inconsequential young man who was born among them. He may have been from the Maedi tribe, a Thracian group known for their nomadic ways. It is vaguely possible that he may have been of royal blood; however, it is more likely that he lived like the majority of the other Thracians had been doing for centuries: in a rural village, roaming the vast plains and rocky crags of his country, tending to livestock.
Even Spartacus’ birth year is utterly unknown, although we know he was still a fairly young and definitely very physically capable man when he died in 71 BCE. The estimate most generally accepted for his birth year is 111 BCE, which would have made him about forty when he died.
But that death was a long way away—and practically unimaginable—for the young Spartacus who lived in the land of his ancestors. Roman oppression was as rife in Thrace as anywhere, and as he grew, the young man became more and more aware of what was happening to his people. Just as the Romans were unable to make the crags of the Balkans bow down to them, there was something in the spirit of the Thracians that conquering armies could not extinguish. And it was nowhere stronger than in the heart of Spartacus.
Still, there was little he could do about it, no matter how much it chafed at him that the Romans dictated how his people lived and hired thousands of them to fight their wars. Young and unsure of his future, Spartacus did what most young Thracian men were doing at the time: he joined the Roman military.
There are no records to indicate where Spartacus served or even in which capacity, although due to his lack of Roman citizenship, he would not have served as a legionary. Classical sources mention only the fact that he was a Roman soldier; he was more than likely a mercenary, as most Thracians were, serving in the Auxilia (the auxiliary troops that complemented the much-famed Roman legions). Just as the Greeks had hired the light-footed Thracians to complement their lumbering hoplites, the Romans found these fleet and agile soldiers useful when partnered with their slow legions. Still, one can surmise that Spartacus was a fairly gifted young warrior and that he may have been given some form of command. It was in the Roman army—the army that had conquered vast swathes of the known world—that Spartacus began to learn the art of war. And he learned it well. Thrace had taught him how to fight—warrior’s blood coursed through the veins of all young Thracian men—and Rome put that fighting to good work. Spartacus got his first taste of the thrill of hot blood and cold steel meeting, and he also began to learn how to command a group of men, if only by observing how he himself was being commanded. He learned much, and the knowledge would later serve him well. But Roman discipline did not sit well with the Thracian fire in Spartacus’ blood.
While Spartacus tried to learn how to balance both fire and steel, hundreds of miles away in Rome, a young man named Marcus Licinius Crassus watched as his family shattered around him.
The political climate of Rome in the early 80s BCE was a stormy one. The Republic of Rome was dying in the childbirth of the Roman Empire. Its unique system of government had served it well for hundreds of years, but the bloated territory was growing too vast to be controlled by consuls. It needed a single, unifying leader whose word was law, but it would still be decades before Julius Caesar became that leader. For now, political intrigue and violence, frequently bordering on civil war, would become rife.
Marcus Licinius Crassus, whether he liked it or not, had been dragged into the mess of Roman politics. Born in 115 BCE, Crassus was raised simply but with an abundant awareness of the power surrounding him. His parents lived in a small home with only a few slaves and no ostentatious displays of power, yet power was something with which the family was very familiar. Crassus’ father, Publius Licinius Crassus Dives, was one of Rome’s most important figures and a leading military commander, as well as a highly capable and respected politician. When Marcus was only eighteen, Publius had become consul, the highest position that could be held in the Roman Republic; he also served as a commander in modern-day Spain. As Marcus entered adulthood, and despite Publius’ and his mother’s attempts to raise him thriftily, he learned more than just an acquaintance with power. He learned arrogance.
Marcus’ pride would come before a fall. In 88 and 87 BCE, when he was in his late twenties, Rome experienced an upheaval that would change Crassus’ life.
From 91 to 88 BCE, Rome had experienced yet another civil war, known as the Social War, when governor Marcus Livius Drusus the Younger intended to grant Roman citizenship to Roman allies living in Italy, which would have tipped the balance of power harshly away from the Roman nobility. His assassination caused the Roman Republic to erupt into civil war. Gaius Marius, who had been a consul six times and was one of the most ambitious men in Rome, intended to lead the fight against Italy; however, the Senate saw fit to send Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix instead. Sulla proved to be an outstanding commander, who led Rome to a brisk victory against Italy, and as much as Marius was on the winning side, the victory to him felt more like a defeat. Sulla had proven himself to be Rome’s darling, and Marius felt his power was being threatened.
Thus, the battle cries of the Social War of 91-88 BCE had barely begun to fade when they began anew, this time in Sulla’s War, which lasted between 88 and 87 BCE. Sulla was determined to grab more power, as his military command had naturally led into a political career. Marius, on the other hand, was extravagantly ambitious, and it is perhaps fitting with Publius’ personality that he chose to back Sulla instead. Marcus Crassus joined his father in supporting Sulla, and for a few months, it appeared that they had made the right choice. Marius, then holding more political power, had Sulla kicked out of Rome. However, the slighted general returned with several well-disciplined legions of his own and did the unthinkable: he marched within the city’s bounds and meant to attack Rome itself. In all the civil wars the Roman Republic had faced, this move was considered to be unspeakably cruel. Marius had not expected his adversary to deal him so low a blow. He had only a ragtag bunch of gladiators to defend the city, and they fell before Sulla’s legions. Sulla took power and became a Roman consul, sending Marius fleeing for his life.
But Marius did not stay down for long. Finding refuge only as far away as distant North Africa, where he fought in the Jugurthine War between Rome and Numidia (modern-day Algeria), Marius began to drum up support thanks to his victory, and it was not a difficult task. Sulla’s unethical decision to attack the city of Rome had shaken even his supporters, although Publius and Crassus remained loyal. Driven by a long-ago prophecy that he would become a consul of Rome seven times, Marius was determined to return to Rome and receive his grandiose fate. He was able to put together a more powerful army and marched on Rome just as Sulla had done—and he was even more brutal in his treatment of Sulla’s supporters. Over a hundred Roman nobles were butchered for their loyalty to Sulla, and their heads were paraded around the Roman Forum for all to see.
For Rome, this was another wound inflicted on their Republic that was fast being torn apart. For Publius and Crassus, it was a life-changing disaster. Crassus had known little other than stability throughout his young life; now, all of that was going to be uprooted. Publius was found to have supported Sulla, and he was forced to kill himself. Crassus’ brother was simply killed. And Crassus had no choice: he had to flee, or he would suffer a similar fate.
His family killed, his home life stripped away from him, and even his pride trampled under the marching feet of Marius’ army, Crassus fled like a kicked dog. The only place he could think to go was back to Spain, a long and grueling journey for a young man who had never known want, but at least there he found people who had been his father’s allies during his governorship there. They took him in, finding a hiding place for him in a cave by the sea.
So, this was how the 80s BCE found two young men who would someday become the bloodiest of enemies. One, fleet-footed young Spartacus of Thrace, serving in the Roman army and getting his first taste of battle. The other, arrogant Marcus Licinius Crassus of Rome, hiding in a cave overlooking the beating waves. And as Spartacus grew to dislike the Roman legions that had persecuted his people more and more, Crassus gazed out over the foaming sea, alone and afraid. And bitterness grew thick and black in both their hearts.
