Crassus was rising steadily up the political ladder (see
cursus honorum) when ordinary Roman politics was interrupted by two events - firstly, the
Third Mithridatic War, and secondly, the
Third Servile War, which was the organized two-year rebellion of many Roman slaves under the leadership of
Spartacus. Rome's best general
Lucius Licinius Lucullus (consul in 74 BC) was sent to defeat Mithridates, followed shortly by his brother Varro Lucullus (consul in 73 BC). Pompey had been sent to
Hispania to defeat
Quintus Sertorius, the last effective Marian general, and had nearly failed in that effort. (Pompey succeeded only when and because Sertorius was assassinated by one of his own commanders).
The Senate did not initially take the slave rebellion seriously, until it became clear that Rome itself was under threat. Crassus offered to equip, train, and lead new troops, at his own expense, after several legions had been defeated and their commanders killed in battle or taken prisoner. Finally, Crassus was sent into battle against
Spartacus by the Senate. Initially, Crassus had trouble both in anticipating Spartacus's moves and in inspiring his army. For the latter, he employed the tactic of
decimation, in a legion that had retreated from battle. This tactic, although effective in inspiring (or persuading) the rest of the men, did not win him love from his soldiers or respect from the Roman populace.
Crassus tried to pen up Spartacus in the extreme south of Italy, by building a wall across the boot of Italy. However, Spartacus and his army broke out, by employing subterfuge (in a tactic borrowed from Hannibal, who had been similarly penned up by
Fabius Maximus). Some time later, when Roman armies led by Pompey and Varro Lucullus were recalled to Italy and about to land, Spartacus decided to fight rather than find himself and his army trapped between three Roman armies, two of them blooded overseas. In this last battle, Crassus gained a decisive victory, and captured six thousand slaves alive. Spartacus himself was killed in the battle. The six thousand captured slaves who had rebelled under Spartacus were crucified along the
Via Appia by Crassus's orders. Also, under his orders, the bodies of the slaves were not taken down afterwards but remained rotting along Rome's principal route to the South. This was intended as an object lesson to anyone that might think of revolting against Rome in the future.
Crassus won the Third Servile War, but his rival Pompey would steal his victory with a letter to the Senate claiming credit for ending the war. (This caused much strife between Pompey and Crassus, which would later be mended by Caesar). Crassus was only honored with an
ovation (lesser than a triumph) although the danger to Rome and the destruction to Roman lives and property much greater. Crassus's animosity towards the upstart Pompey increased as a result.
Soon afterwards, Crassus was nevertheless elected
consul with Pompey for
70 BC. In that year, he displayed his wealth by entertaining the populace at 10,000 tables and distributing sufficient grain to last each family three months.
