The Second Servile War was an unsuccessful slave uprising against the Roman Republic on the island of Sicily. The war lasted from 104 BC until 100 BC. It was one of three Servile Wars, spaced approximately 30 years apart.
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👉 Second Servile War in the context of Manius Aquillius (consul 101 BC)
Manius Aquillius (died 88 BC) was a Roman politician and general during the late Roman Republic. He was a member of the ancient Roman gens Aquillia, probably a son of Manius Aquillius, consul in 129 BC. Aquillius served as Consul of Rome with Gaius Marius in 101 BC. Before his consulship, during the Cimbrian War, he had served as a legate under Marius in Gaul. He played a pivotal role during the Battle of Aquae Sextiae where he surprised the Teutones by attacking them from behind. As consul he crushed a slave revolt in Sicily by defeating Athenion of Cilicia in single combat, a victory that was commemorated by Aquillius's family by coinage issued decades later. At the start of the First Mithridatic War he was defeated and captured by Mithridates VI of Pontus who had him executed by pouring molten gold down his throat.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Second Servile War
- 👉 Second Servile War in the context of Manius Aquillius (consul 101 BC)
- Second Servile War in the context of Sicilia (Roman province)
- Second Servile War in the context of Servile Wars
- Second Servile War in the context of Aquillia gens
- Second Servile War in the context of Athenion of Cilicia
Second Servile War in the context of Sicilia (Roman province)
Sicilia (/sɪˈsɪliə/; Classical Latin: [sɪˈkɪ.li.a]; Ancient Greek: Σικελία, romanized: Sikelía) was the first province acquired by the Roman Republic, encompassing the island of Sicily. The western part of the island was brought under Roman control in 241 BC at the conclusion of the First Punic War with Carthage. A praetor was regularly assigned to the island from c. 227 BC. The Kingdom of Syracuse under Hieron II remained an independent ally of Rome until its defeat in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. Thereafter the province included the whole of the island of Sicily, the island of Malta, and the smaller island groups (the Egadi islands, the Lipari islands, Ustica, and Pantelleria).
During the Roman Republic, the island was the main source of grain for the city of Rome. Extraction was heavy, provoking armed uprisings known as the First and Second Servile Wars in the second century BC. In the first century, the Roman governor, Verres, was famously prosecuted for his corruption by Cicero. In the civil wars which brought the Roman Republic to an end, Sicily was controlled by Sextus Pompey in opposition to the Second Triumvirate. When the island finally came under the control of Augustus in 36 BC, it was substantially reorganised, with large Roman colonies being established in several major cities.
Second Servile War in the context of Servile Wars
The Servile Wars were a series of three slave revolts ("servile" is derived from servus, Latin for "slave") in the late Roman Republic:
- First Servile War (135−132 BC) — in Sicily, led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a prophet, and Cleon from Cilicia.
- Second Servile War (104−100 BC) — in Sicily, led by Athenion and Tryphon.
- Third Servile War (73−71 BC) — on mainland Italy, led by Spartacus.
Second Servile War in the context of Aquillia gens
The gens Aquillia or Aquilia was a plebeian family of great antiquity at ancient Rome. Two of the Aquillii are mentioned among the Roman nobles who conspired to bring back the Tarquins, and a member of the house, Gaius Aquillius Tuscus, was consul in 487 BC.
Second Servile War in the context of Athenion of Cilicia
Athenion (Ancient Greek: Ἀθηνίων) was a man of ancient Cilicia who was a major figure in the Second Servile War in Sicily, and had a career similar to that of the Cilician Cleon.
Athenion had been a herdsman or leader of bandits (or both) in Cilicia, and was captured there and sold into slavery, and shipped off to Sicily.