The Battle of Metapontum was fought in 72 BC during the Third Servile War, when Spartacus' slave rebels annihilated two Roman legions at the city of Metapontum in the south. The Roman general Commodius and 19,000 of his men were lost in the catastrophe.
Background[]
In the winter of 73-72 BC, Spartacus' rebel slave army swelled to 70,000 warriors as the escaped slaves, shepherds, and herdsmen of southern Italy flocked to his cause. The rebels trained, armed, and equipped their new recruits as they continued their seven-month march from Capua to Brundisium in the aftermath of the Battle of Mount Vesuvius; they intended to meet a Cilician pirate fleet of 500 ships and escape Italy. During this time, they raided the areas around Nola, Nuceria, Thurii, and Metapontum, continuing to amass stolen wealth from the local patrician estates.
The Roman Senate was confounded as to how to deal with the rebel threat. Senator Gracchus pointed out that, by 72 BC, Rome was at war in both Hispania and Cilicia,Egyptian pirates had cut off Rome's grain supply, half of Rome's precincts were starving, and Spartacus' army continued to terrorize southern Italy. In response, Gracchus convinced the Senate to do two things: to name Julius Caesar as the permanent commander of the Rome garrison and to dispatch two legions to intercept and destroy Spartacus' army at the city of Metapontum.
Battle[]
The slaves looting Metapontum
The two Roman legions faced a numerically-superior army of well-equipped rebels, many of whom were former gladiators who had retained their gladiatorial armor and weapons; most of the rebels were equipped with Roman weapons and shields looted from dead legionaries. The slave rebels overwhelmed the two legions, and Commodius and 19,000 of his men (including all of his officers) were lost in the ensuing disaster. The rebels proceeded to loot the patrician estates and publicly humiliate the patricians.
Aftermath[]
The loss of two legions - each of which took five years to train - was another humiliating setback for Rome. The Senate prepared eight legions to defeat Spartacus, and they ultimately decided to invite the retired Crassus to take command of them. Crassus demanded his election as First Consul, command of all the legions of Italy, and the removal of all Senatorial authority over the courts. While Crassus' terms were initially unacceptable, Crassus plotted to ensure that Spartacus would be forced to march towards Rome so that the Senate would be frightened enough to agree to Crassus' dictatorship. Gracchus secretly made a deal with the Cilician pirates, promising that the Romans would take no action against them if they were to evacuate Spartacus' slave army and thus allow it to disperse to its home regions. Julius Caesar, disgusted by Gracchus' side dealings, went over to Crassus and informed him of Gracchus' plan, causing Gracchus to be proscribed and the Cilician pirates to be bribed to abandon Spartacus.