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I was just watching Spartacus. He came so close to defeating Rome. What do you think would have been the consequences for the world, if he had have defeated Rome?

By singwell-is off researching a lot Asked Mar 23 2007 4:24AM
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by Stormarm on Jun 26, 2009 at 11:27 am Permalink

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1. Movies aren't history, and movies like Spartacus, Quo Vadis, Cleopatra, or Gladiator make all Roman historians either cringe or laugh. (If you want to see the only movie that does a fair job of capturing life and society in ancient Rome, watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ... but then its story and characters are actually a compillation of 3 Roman plays by Plautus.)

2. Spartacus had no chance of defeating Rome, nor did he come close. His early military successes were due simply to 2 factors:
a) all of Romes experienced troops and best commanders were off fighting wars in Spain and Asia when he got started.
b) the backbone of his army were Samnite guerillas -former Roman auxilliaries, veterans of the Italian Social War, who'd been living in hiding for 10 years since their defeat, and were the only trained army in Italy at the time.

As soon as Pompey and Lucullus got back it was all over.

"Winning" for Spartacus would have been simply escaping from Italy. But even if he'd succeeded, there would have been no place to hide. The few parts of the Mediterranean they didn't rule directly, were ruled by their client kings, and the Romans of the Republic were notoriously and absolutely relentless in avenging Rome's "honor" - as one would expect from a cartel of Mafia families with the resources of an empire behind them, which is essentially what Rome was.

But, if something had happened to break Roman power circa 70 BC, and break it so completely that it never recovered, then the Parthian Empire probably would have taken the hegemony of the Eastern Mediterranean, while the Gauls of Germans would have taken over Western Europe - as they eventually did anyway.
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Avatar Hyperion is back in China Jun, 26 2009 at 11:43 AM
+4 Excellent answer. One other possibility is that Carthage may have made a resurgence in the region. But as you say, Spartacus was intent on escape not on toppling the empire.

Answer 2 out of 4

by baulan on Mar 23, 2007 at 6:40 am Permalink

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For one thing Spanish wouldn't be the most spread language of the world...
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Avatar Barcaluv 67 Mar, 23 2007 at 01:14 PM
Yes. Thanks singwell.
Avatar sloth2008 May, 14 2009 at 07:32 AM
but its not the most wide spread english is lol
Avatar Barcaluv 67 May, 14 2009 at 08:03 AM
Yes, I guess the point is moot anyway : )

Answer 3 out of 4

by Nice Guy In Bay Area on Jun 26, 2009 at 11:32 am Permalink

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Well, we could of had EEC 2000 years earlier.
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Answer 4 out of 4

by sloth2008 on May 14, 2009 at 2:29 pm Permalink

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had he of beat rome then a think that what happened after the colapse of the roman empire would have happend alot earler thats all
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I was just watching Spartacus. He came so close to defeating Rome. What do you think would have been the consequences for the world, if he had have defeated Rome?

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