Slavery and Rebellion in Second-Century BC Sicily

from Bellum Servile to Sicilia Capta

Morton, Peter

This is the first book-length study in English dedicated to an exploration of the events traditionally known as the two Sicilian Slave Wars. The second-century BC revolts are commonly included among the largest slave uprisings in world history and are considered key milestones in the timeline of Roman slavery. This book offers a re-examination of the so-called Slave Wars from the perspectives of the rebels and argues that these occurrences should be understood not as slave revolts but as rebellions ignited by the socio-economic and political difficulties caused by the Roman-backed status quo on Sicily.
Analysing a diverse range of sources and material evidence, the book champions the perspectives of the rebels over those of the Graeco-Roman elite expressed in much later configurations of the events and provides radically new assessments of these elite histories while focusing on their status as slave-owner narratives. Opening a new window into the Sicilian rebellions, this book enables the contextualisation of these ancient revolts through uprisings in more recent times in the USA, Brazil and the Caribbean and offers a unique opportunity not only to study how the Roman Empire was formed and challenged but also to reconfigure our modern understanding of rebellions involving the enslaved.