Draba (died 73 BC) was an Ethiopian gladiator during the 1st century BC. Owned by Lentulus Batiatus, he wielded a trident in gladiatorial combat, and, in 73 BC, Lady Claudia Maria chose Draba as her champion, seeing him as "beautiful" and calling him "the big black one". Draba fought against Spartacus in the arena, and, while Draba disarmed Spartacus and was in a position to slay him, he refused to follow Helena Glabra's orders to kill Spartacus, instead throwing his trident at the wealthy Roman aristocrats on the balcony. He then attempted to climb the balcony to attack the aristocrats, but he was wounded in the back by a javelin and then stabbed with a dagger in the back of the neck by Marcus Licinius Crassus. His body was hung upside-down in the gladiatorial barracks as a message to the other gladiators.
Gallery[]
