Spartacus (died 71 BC)

Roman slave and gladiator, and leader of a famous slave

revolt. He has become a modern-day inspirational figure.

Little is known of the early years of Spartacus. He is thought

to have been born in Thrace (modern day Balkan region)
and it has been suggested he was in the Roman army. He
was sold into slavery and trained at the gladiatorial school in
Capua, north of Naples.

Spartacus escaped in 73 BC and took refuge on nearby Mount

Vesuvius, where large numbers of other escaped slaves joined
him. Their insurrection came to be known as the Third
Servile War, or the Gladiators’ War. Leading his army of
runaway slaves, which has been estimated to have
reached 100,000 men, Spartacus defeated a series of Roman
attacks using tactics which would now be called guerrilla
warfare.

In 72 BC Spartacus and his army marched north towards Gaul

(the Roman term for a region covering France, the Low
Countries and northern Italy). They fought off a series of
attacks from Roman forces, but then turned south. By the end
of 72 BC, they were camped at Rhenium, (now Reggio di
Calabria) probably intending to go on to Sicily.

The administration in Rome now began to take the threat from

Spartacus seriously and the Roman politician and general
Marcus Licinius Crassus led an army south. The slaves
managed to break through the fortifications that Crassus had
built to trap them, but were pursued to Lucania where the
rebel army was destroyed. Spartacus is thought to have
been killed in the battle. Around 6,000 of his followers who
escaped were hunted down and crucified. Thousands of
others were killed by the army of the Roman general
Pompey, who then claimed the credit for suppressing the
rebellion.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/spartacus.shtml