Barbarians Rising: Spartacus' Rebellion (S1, E2) | Full Episode | History

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(YELLING) NARRATOR: Previously on Barbarians Rising... The ancient world divides in two. (YELLING) Rome is ambitious. Ruthless. Built on blood and glory. These are Rome's lands now. NARRATOR: The barbarians unite to challenge its growing power. HANNIBAL: On Roman soil, we are finally ready to fight! (ARMY CHEERING) ...is a fight for our freedom. NARRATOR: Now, Rome spreads tyranny as it storms across the continent, plundering the people, as the barbarians step up the fight. AUGUSTUS: Those inbreds are still resisting. We must bring them to heel. NARRATOR: But the larger Rome grows, the more enemies it brings on the inside. The vast barbarian army, waiting for a leader to rise. (PEOPLE CHANTING) (THEME MUSIC PLAYING) NARRATOR: Rome is now the supreme power in the ancient world, stretching across Italy, to North Africa, through Hispania and into Gaul. The Roman fighting machine was, um, GENERAL W: incredibly disciplined and organized, and it moved with a rhythm, and with a power that would break apart a less disciplined and well-trained force. These were professionals. (THUNDER RUMBLING) NARRATOR: The people beyond the borders of the Republic, who Rome calls barbarians, become targets in a new phase of domination. Rome wants a number of things from the territories it conquers. It wants wealth. It wants glory. And it wants human capital. It wants slaves. NARRATOR: Rome builds its power by enslaving people from the lands it conquers, transporting them into the Roman provinces where they're sold, to farm its fields and fight in its armies. An estimated 20% of the Roman population, as many as one million people, are barbarian slaves living on Roman soil. STRAUSS: Slavery is nothing new to the ancient world. What's different is the scale of Roman slavery. This is slavery on a massive scale. NARRATOR: The fiercest men among them are forced to fight for sport, competing in the arena as gladiators. (CHEERING) ARYA: We think immediately about the Colosseum, we think about this huge arena, 50,000 to 60,000 spectators egging on their favorite competitors fighting to the death. But the reality in the Republic was very different. This scale was much more modest. STEVE KERSHAW: In the provincial amphitheaters, you're talking about local events that are dirty and sordid and grubby and violent. (BLOWS LANDING) (MAN GROANING) (WHEEZING) (PANTING) (GROANING) (SPITS) (GASPING) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) (GROANING) (CONTINUES GROANING) (SCREAMING) (THUNDER RUMBLING) (SCREAMING) COLONEL KEVIN W. FARRELL: Gladiators were subject to every type of abuse imaginable, both physical and sexual. (DOOR OPENING) (MAN WHIMPERING) (MAN SCREAMING) (GRUNTS) (GASPS) (CHEERING) (GRUNTS) (BOTH GRUNTING) (SHOUTS) Most gladiators died in their 20s or 30s. Uh, it's a very, very dangerous job and life expectancy is not long. (GRUNTING) (SWORDS CLASHING) (GROANING) (FAINT CHEERING) Spartacus. My name is Spartacus. KERSHAW: Spartacus is a bit of an enigma to us. It seems that he came from Thrace. He may have been from a noble background because the name Spartacus itself could be an aristocratic name from that region. It's a place known for, uh, great fighters. So much so that the Romans incorporate those fighters into their military. But ultimately, he is sold into slavery, and he ends up in a Gladiatorial school in Capua. (GRUNTING) CROWD: (CHANTING) Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! (CROWD CONTINUES CHANTING) One thing worse than slavery is to adjust to it. And because it's painful and violent, most people adjust. (CROWD CONTINUES CHEERING) Spartacus? Spartacus, the invincible. King of the shit house! (LAUGHING) No man would want to be in that situation, and if there was any opportunity to get out of it, you would. (MAN COUGHING) (DOOR OPENING) I want to give you something to remember me by. (PANTING) No. No. No. (SCREAMING) NARRATOR: Rome tightens its grip on the Mediterranean, and as it grows, the future that Hannibal envisioned 140 years earlier is now coming true. The Republic is making slaves of the barbarians. But one man, Spartacus, is making a break for freedom. (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING AND STRUGGLING) Let's get out of this shithole. (LAUGHING) (PANTING) Crixus, no! (MEN GRUNTING, YELLING) (PANTING) Swords! Now we have two swords. Now we have two dead soldiers and an army sure to follow. (SPITS) NARRATOR: Spartacus and a group of 60 barbarian slaves seize the opportunity to escape, but they break out of Capua without a plan. He wants to get away from Capua. Put distance between himself and his former captives. By the same token, he needs food, he needs shelter and he needs weapons. When they get over that wall, they gotta hit the ground running. Law enforcement's gonna be right behind 'em, once they figure out, you know, they're gone. NARRATOR: The clock is ticking as the fugitives move south. Rome responds by dispatching a small militia to track them down. Freedom is what's motivating these individuals to stay out there and again, they'll fight their way out, they'll kill somebody, they'll kill themselves, they'll do whatever it takes, because, uh, you know, give me freedom or give me death. NARRATOR: Nearly every Roman household in the area holds barbarian slaves. (WHIP CRACKING) (WHIMPERING) (EXHALES) (PANTING) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) (PANTING) Spartacus' escape quickly becomes a real problem for the wealthy estate owners of Campania. Uh, first of all, he and his men are trained killers. Secondly, they begin attracting other slaves to them. (WOMAN SCREAMS) (MAN LAUGHING) Look what I found. (SCREAMING) Let's go. Let's get to higher ground, where we can see what's coming for us. Here, they'll round us up like sheep. Vesuvius? (SCOFFS) Demons live there. No. They live here. Up there, we can see for 50 miles in all directions, we can bide our time. (CRYING) You do what you want, Spartacus. I'm going to enjoy my freedom. (WOMAN SOBBING) Fine. And when the Romans roast you like the pig you are, you tell them we're going East, back to Thrace. (WOMAN CRYING) If you come with us, you'll likely die. If I don't, then I'll die for sure. Very quickly, we see Spartacus evolve. He frees other slaves, there's strength in numbers. He secures equipment. Most significantly, he decides to head toward Vesuvius, his high ground, if you will. When were you taken from Thrace? I think maybe it was 10 years ago. I've lost count. SPARTACUS: They dragged us from our homes. Burned our towns. To my great shame, I fell into their hands... (SIGHS) ...and, well, you know the rest. (DEEP SIGH) The others are getting anxious. Tell them to enjoy their freedom. We've got an army snapping at our feet, my friend. Spartacus is invincible. I know that, we all know that. He has got a plan. I've seen a giant fade to nothing before my eyes. (YELLING, GRUNTING) (PANTING) (GRUNTING) SPARTACUS: He wasn't even hurt. He laughed at me, as if to say, "Is that the best you can do?" (SLOW HEARTBEATS) I knew I had killed him. And then he knew. (PANTING) So, you are invincible then. DR. CLARENCE B. JONES: People like Spartacus, like some of the slave revolts in our country, they made a decision that they'd rather make the effort, to be free and risk their lives than to spend one more day as a slave in captivity. AQUILINA: Soldiers! Roman soldiers! CRIXUS: (PANTING) How many? (PANTING) 200. Maybe three. And we're 60. Maybe we shouldn't wait for them. If we don't meet them here, we'll have to meet them somewhere else. Let's show them who we are. NARRATOR: Three miles up the slopes of Vesuvius, Spartacus holds his position on the high ground. In the valley below, 300 Roman soldiers make camp. There's only one road up and down Vesuvius. They feel that they've got Spartacus cornered and they merely have to wait for him to try to foolishly fight his way out or to starve to death. ARYA: Spartacus has his men fashion ropes of vines that they find growing on Mount Vesuvius. And launch a surprise attack on the Romans. ARYA: By choosing to stand, by choosing to fight and coming up with a military solution, Spartacus is showing what kind of man he is. (GROANS) (MEN SCREAMING) (SWORDS CLANKING) (ALL GRUNTING AND YELLING) NARRATOR: Rome is rapidly expanding as it seeks to dominate the ancient world. (GRUNTING) NARRATOR: But some are rising up to fight back. (YELLS) The defeat at Vesuvius was a complete surprise to the Romans, they weren't expecting to be ambushed. They thought they were dealing with fugitives and the fugitives would run rather than that the fugitives would take the fight to them. Best part about this, they're brothers! (LAUGHS) (CHUCKLING) (BOTH GRUNTING) (GROANS) Kill him. (SHOUTS) Do it! Kill him! Or I'll bury you both alive. (GRUNTS) (GRUNTS) Go to your commanders. Tell them what you've seen here today. Go! No more. We are better than this. We've got as many swords as we can carry. Now we need to head north to freedom. Before Rome unleashes hell on us. NARRATOR: Spartacus isn't looking to start a war. He's searching for a way home. Thrace is 700 miles away through hostile territory. His target is the Cisalpine pass, a break in the Alps leading to the homelands the barbarians left behind. Word of Spartacus' victory at Vesuvius spreads. Barbarian slaves from across the Republic flee their masters to join the man they believe will set them free. He's reminiscent of other people in history. Abraham Lincoln never expected to be leading an army engaged in a great civil war. Nelson Mandela didn't expect that he would become the head of a revolutionary movement. And yet these people, like Spartacus, show that it is possible to rise to the occasion. ARYA: The whole society functions using slaves. So if there is an uprising, this is gonna really strike at the core of how the Republic works. NARRATOR: Rome's plan to bring the barbarians within its border is starting to backfire. (CROWS CAWING) (FOOTSTEPS) We need to get rid of the Romans. Wipe 'em out. Not just free ourselves. Yes, but here? In their own country? That's a death wish. I don't care how many there are of us. There will always be more of them. But in our homelands, in Gaul, in Thrace, it is possible. Maybe. Maybe not. But what we can do is we can damage them, badly. I say we go South to Sicily. Kill as many of 'em as we can along the way. Crixus, you are a warrior. You will die in battle, that I know. If we were an army, Crixus, I would turn and fight, but look around you. These people are not warriors. They're farmers, nurse maids, artisans. Yes, more's the pity. They want to live! They've a right to live. We are near the mountains. And beyond the mountains, are the roads, North to Gaul, East to Thrace. Now you do what you will. You die a warrior's death. My greatest shame is that I was captured. Mine, too. We valued our lives above our freedom. Would you make that choice again? No. Then I'll see you in the next life. NARRATOR: Spartacus and Crixus divide their forces. Crixus and 3,000 fighters splinter off and move South to confront the Romans head on. He's set out to buy Spartacus and his followers, now numbering more than 12,000, time to escape North. KERSHAW: Crixus' split from Spartacus gives Rome a major problem. Now they have two very capable and very mobile enemies that they have to deal with, and they have to deal with them piecemeal. NARRATOR: While Spartacus marches for the Alps, Roman citizens flee in fear. But first, they ensure the slaves they leave behind won't be able to join the rebellion. (MEN SHOUTING) (FLIES BUZZING) (BABY CRYING) They blind them and lame them so they cannot run. You. You are Spartacus? I am. No! You bow to no one. All I wanted was to escape that hellhole Capua and get back to Thrace. AQUILINA: I know you didn't want it, but the people now look to you. They see you as salvation. And where do they expect this to end? What do they think I can do? When a leader achieves success and others start flocking to your standard, then that responsibility takes over yourself, also. And, "How do I handle this?" "What do I do with it?" "How do I take care of my people "and wield them into a force of maximum power?" And this is one of the great problems of Spartacus. NARRATOR: By the autumn of 73 BC, Spartacus' flock is growing at the rate of hundreds a day. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) NARRATOR: Rome is now expanding faster than ever. But its growth depends on enslavement, the latest weapon in the 300-year war to crush the barbarians. Spartacus' followers now number 25,000, with hundreds more joining the cause every day. Spartacus knows that the Romans will be bent on his destruction. He has no choice but to not only lead, but to train an army. No! (GRUNTING) COLONEL FARRELL: To create an elite force, you're talking an investment of two to three years minimum. (SWORDS CLASHING) Hit me. (GRUNTS) COLONEL FARRELL: He doesn't have the luxury of years to create a well-trained cohesive army, he has months at best. ERIC L. HANEY: He had this great mass of people that could be slaughtered if they fought as individuals. So, he took that time that he had during the winter to train his forces and to turn them into an army themselves, that could meet the Romans on the field of battle with a good chance of success. (GRUNTS) (SWORDS CLASHING) (MEN GRUNTING) NARRATOR: When Spring finally arrives, Spartacus and his newly trained army, now numbering 50,000, continue their journey home. Every slave owner is thinking, "Will my slaves be next?" "Will they join Spartacus?" "Just how far is this going to go?" It's an enormous threat. NARRATOR: Rome responds, dispatching four legions to crush the uprising. DR. CAMPBELL: The estimates are that at this point, Crixus has about 20,000 Germans and Gauls with him, um, Spartacus presumably has about 50,000 people with him and there is a real danger at this point that the rebellion actually spreads beyond just slaves. NARRATOR: The plan is to intercept the rebels using a classic Roman military tactic called the Pincer Movement, a simultaneous attack on the enemy from two sides. The first army, under Consul Gellius, has orders to go South to wipe out Crixus, then circle back to attack Spartacus and his rebels. The second army targets Spartacus head on, to cut off his escape to the North, and push his forces south into the jaws of Consul Gellius. Spartacus! (PANTING) Tell me. HUGO: The Romans are coming. How many? HUGO: Two legions. Crixus... Dead? Not one was left alive. You see how scared they are of us. Not one was left alive. (RUSTLING) (MEN SCREAMING) NARRATOR: For more than a century, Rome has been the dominant power in the ancient world. But now, a growing slave rebellion threatens to take it down from within. (MEN YELLING) (MEN GRUNTING) (GASPING) (HORSE NEIGHING) CROWD: (CHANTING) Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus! (SHOUTING) CROWD: (CHANTING) Spartacus! Spartacus! AQUILINA: Spartacus! (SCREAMING) (SHOUTS) Spartacus! (MEN GROANING) NARRATOR: When the massive slave army defeats the first two legions sent to destroy them, they're just miles from their escape route through the mountains. But two more legions are still in pursuit. We did the impossible today. And the murderers of Crixus are only half a day away. You'd stay and wait for them? Why wait? Spartacus. Spartacus, we are home. This is our escape. The door is open. It is. Brothers. Sisters. Warriors. The Romans outnumber us but they only fight for money. They have no answer for our courage... (MEN CHEERING) ...and our thirst for freedom. The men who murdered our brother Crixus have come to meet us here. Do we run from them? MEN: No! Do we let them come for us like wolves? We are warriors. We're free to fight and free to die if need be, the way we choose, on our terms. We can make Rome bleed. We can make her weak the way she made us. If we can take Sicily, we can starve Rome and bring her to her knees. Let's avenge our fallen brothers! You know, one of the great mysteries of Spartacus is why having come within sight of the Alps does he turn around and decide to stay in Italy. And we can only speculate. He's become more than an individual. He's become the leader of an army. There's so much vengeance to wreak upon the Romans. Why give up now? NARRATOR: Spartacus turns his army around, and marches straight into a collision with Consul Gellius and his 20,000 men. (ALL GRUNTING) (SWORDS CLANKING) When their armies meet, Spartacus scores a critical victory. Consul Gellius' legions are the last viable defense force standing between the rebel army and the vital strategic territory of Sicily. A province that provides most of Rome's food supply. If Spartacus can take the island, he'll have Rome by the throat. Sicily is of immense geostrategic importance for Rome. It's almost a dagger pointed at the toe of the Italian boot. Whoever controls Sicily controls access to Italy. NARRATOR: The Roman Senate moves quickly to crush the barbarian threat. They hand over supreme control of the military to one man. General Marcus Crassus. Rich and ruthless, he uses his fortune to raise an army of 30,000 men to take on Spartacus. Power that few men within Rome have ever been given before. DR. CAMPBELL: Crassus knows that putting this rebellion down despite the fact that it is ostensibly an army of slaves, is going to make him appear to be the savior of Rome. We're here. Sicily is here. And we need to be there. NARRATOR: Spartacus plans to bribe pirates and merchants to ferry his army across the sea to Sicily. Go now, the three of you. Race ahead, and make the deal. Tell them that for every man, woman and child they carry, there will be five pieces of gold. Go. (GRUNTIN NARRATOR: Spartacus' rebellion has been the greatest threat to Roman supremacy in a century. Now he's aiming to crush the enemy by cutting off their food supply from Sicily. But General Crassus bribes the Sicilian pirates with Roman gold before Spartacus ever reaches the coast. NARRATOR: Spartacus has beaten the odds for two years. But now, just 19 miles from his goal, he's left with only one option. (MARCHING) Turn and face his enemy. (SOLDIERS SHOUTING) Can you hear me, Spartacus? Can you see this cage? I'm going to take you back to Rome in this cage. Don't let them take you. I won't. And don't be afraid of death. (SOLDIERS YELL WAR CRY) (SWORDS CLASHING) (GRUNTING) (MEN SCREAMING) (SOLDIERS CONTINUE YELLING) (GROANS) SOLDIER: Kill him! (LOUD GROAN) (SOLDIERS GRUNTING) (SCREAMS) No! (GRUNTING) (STABBING) (GASPS) (GRUNTING) What better way for him to die than to die fighting, to die as a warrior, to die staying true to his guiding principles? NARRATOR: 40,000 barbarians fall at Messina. Those who survive the battle face a more gruesome fate. (SCREAMING) (SCREAMS) (PANTING) NARRATOR: Crassus parades the captured slaves through the streets of Rome, and crucifies all 6,000 along the Appian Way. Rome's warning is clear. Rise against us and you will pay with blood. Though Spartacus fails to overthrow the Republic, his uprising reveals a weakness at the core of its plan to dominate the barbarians. It tells us that Roman society has tremendous vulnerabilities and that the Roman system is not nearly as strong as the Romans thought it was. As Rome expands its frontier, it encounters more and more resistance. Military glory becomes the quickest path to power. Rome descends into chaos as a handful of men fight for control. The death of the Republic really comes with one-man-rule, and that one man is Julius Caesar. He is the perpetual dictator. And it's his successor, Augustus, that takes it even further. LINDSAY POWELL: Augustus was the legal heir of Julius Caesar. The hand-picked successor of the great dictator. He has the control of nearly all of the Roman army, and with that, he's able to do pretty much what he wants. NARRATOR: Augustus succeeds where Caesar fails and perfects the art of empire building. Forty-five million people, 15% of the world's population, are now under Roman control. Augustus doubles the size of the empire during his reign, pushing its borders deep into barbarian territory, completing the conquest of Gaul and Spain, and setting his sights on a new prize to the north. Germania. A vast, untamed wilderness that will be the new front in the barbarians' fight for freedom. Augustus invades in 12 BC in search of resources like cattle, amber, and leather. But above all, he wants warriors. FURLOW: The Romans viewed these warriors from the North as tall, fierce, blood thirsty warriors who, if turned into soldiers for the Empire, could protect the Empire and help it expand. (MEN YELLING) NARRATOR: Defeating these tribes won't be easy. The Empire ignites a storm of resistance from the moment it sets foot in Germania. (SOLDIERS YELLING) (SWORDS CLASHING) NARRATOR: The campaign drags on for 30 long years. The Roman army spent huge amounts of money in order to conquer all of Germania. NARRATOR: But still, the Germans refuse to fall. Leading the resistance are the Arivarii and the Cherusci, who fight to keep Rome at bay. Segimerus is Chief of the Cherusci, who grooms his sons, Arminius and Flavus, to one day take his place and lead their people. But before his oldest son, Arminius, can claim his birthright, the Empire steps up its assault on his tribe, unleashing a new weapon from its arsenal of tyranny. (ARMINIUS GRUNTING AND SHOUTING) NARRATOR: The Roman Empire is the ancient world's undisputed superpower. (MARCHING) It spans 2.5 million square miles of territory from Hispania to Syria, a dominion built on barbarian blood. And still the Empire grows. It sets out to conquer Germania. (MEN YELLING) But unable to defeat the barbarians by force, Rome once again resorts to a familiar strategy. It begins to negotiate deals with the rebels, promising gold and peace in exchange for surrender. One by one, battle-weary Germanic tribes accept Rome's terms. But this time, the Empire requires something more. To secure their loyalty, Rome forces the tribes to surrender their sons to the Empire. A generation of heirs born to be the next leaders of Germania become Romans instead. These sons will now be raised and accustomed to Roman ways. And ideally, they would see themselves as more Roman, than as Germanic barbarians. (CLAMORING IN DISTANCE) (ARMINIUS GRUNTING) ARMINIUS: Help! Help! Let... Let go! Father, stop them! (GRUNTING) Thusnelda! Take this. (SHOUTS) Help! You can't do this! My father's the chief! He's the chief! Let go! (GRUNTING) Arminius! ARMINIUS: Uncle! Uncle! Remember who you are. Cherusci. Always. ARMINIUS: Always. NARRATOR: This policy is called Romanization and is largely successful, but it depends on the obedience and loyalty of the barbarians being brought inside the walls of Rome. This is messing around with people's sense of themselves, their sense of identity, their sense of the landscape and their sense of family and that is when the stakes get dangerously high. Brother. I have heard good things of both of you. Thank you, sir. Flavus, you have distinguished yourself as a servant of Rome. And as reward, I will grant you a promotion. You will serve under General Germanicus in the east. Prove yourself in the theater of war, Flavus, and you will rise in the ranks just like your brother. Congratulations on making the rank of Equestrian. Our most trusted officers. Well done, Arminius. A remarkable feat for, uh, a barbarian. You will be posted to Germania. Governor Varus will continue to monitor the borders of the Rhine and I will send auxiliaries for you to aid the garrison of the North. Those inbreds are still resisting, we must bring them to heel. You return to your homeland not as a barbarian, but as a son, a son of Rome. FLAVUS: He's our Emperor. Can you show some respect? ARMINIUS: He's no God, Flavus, even though you think him to be one. You are just angry that they're sending you back to Germany, away from your villas and privilege, back to the rain and filth. Remember what you are. Where you're from. I remember enough. I remember that I hated it. It was our home, Flavus. That was 15 years ago, brother. And for 15 years I have dreamt of the Rhine, to taste the waters again. This is our home now. Our father surrendered us to Rome. To bring peace to our tribe. To bring gold, Arminius. Our noble father surrendered his sons and his weapons for Roman gold. NARRATOR: Rome's 400-year march toward total domination of the ancient world comes north to Germania where the barbarians' fiercest resistance yet is keeping the Emperor from claiming his ultimate prize. (GRUNTING) Born to the Cherusci tribe but captured and raised by the Empire, Arminius returns to his homeland as one of the highest ranking barbarians in the Roman army, with orders to crush the uprising. FURLOW: Arminius would have been greatly conflicted. In all likelihood, he would have burned villages. Slaughtered whole peoples. And then as he stands at the Rhine, looking eastwards towards his own homeland he would have been thinking, "I may be called upon to do "the same thing for Rome to my own people." Arminius! Remember who you are. Cherusci. Always. NARRATOR: Arminius will be under the command of the Emperor's most notorious enforcer, General Varus. Quintilianus Varus had a reputation for using raw Roman power to deter rebellions and to put them down fiercely whenever they occurred. NARRATOR: Dispatched to crush the barbarian resistance once and for all, Varus intensifies the efforts to round up children for surrender to Rome. And imposes harsh taxes on the tribes, to be paid under penalty of death. Take me to Varus. VARUS: Any more skirmishes, and I want them pacified again. Well, what are you waiting for? I can't drink this filth for much longer. Arminius. The boy hostaged by his tribe to Rome. The boy who rose through the ranks to become Equestrian, in our great and mighty army. What an abomination. I need an enforcer, someone capable of enlisting warriors and capturing tax evaders. Can you do that? Yes, sir. And how would you do that? I know how the Germans think. Of course you do. That's what you are. A Roman hero with a barbarian soul. We need more men for our armies. For some reason, the Emperor wants these uncultured savages. Most of the tribal leaders will fall in line and give up their sons without much resistance. Like your father did. Those that don't will answer to you. Arminius. I do not have to question your loyalties here, do I? You know who you belong to now. For the Emperor. For the Empire. VARUS: Your once proud nation. This is what you left behind, Arminius. Germans selling Germans, for nothing more than trinkets. Is that what I am, is it? A trinket of Rome? What else are you? You climb to the highest rank of any barbarian in the Roman army, and yet the Emperor sends you back here? Who am I to question the Emperors wisdom? After all, you crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels in the Syrian uprising, and the Emperor saw it fit to send you here. Sir. (CHUCKLES) Careful, Arminius, I'm beginning to like you. (CLICKS TONGUE) (GROANING) Why haven't you not paid your taxes, Emsger? I have. VARUS: Not all. I'll take her instead. (SCREAMING) (GRUNTING) Take the boys. They would be more useful, no? (GRUNTING) (SPEAKING GERMAN) VARUS: What did he say? He called me a traitor. Very well. Do not mistake my leniency for weakness, Emsger. The Emperor will have his payment, one way or another. The sons of the Arivarii will cover your debt. I'll kill you! (EMSGER SCREAMING) (GROANING) You are Cherusci tribe, yes? Yes. You will go and collect their unpaid taxes. Show them we are no longer in a position of striking deals. Yes, sir. Come down hard on them, Arminius. They must fear you. (BOYS SOBBING) No negotiations, grain, soldiers, and silver. That is all. NARRATOR: Arminius's people, the Cherusci, live in small tribal groups scattered across North-Western Germania, united by alliances forged in war and steeped in a tradition that reveres its ancestors. ARMINIUS: Wait here. (SOBBING) (CRYING) (WAILING) When Arminius sees the reality of Roman imperial domination and what it means to his people, he's faced with difficult choices. What does he do? Is he going to be the enforcer of Rome's Empire that he's been trained to be? Is he going to turn back to his own society and lead resistance to Rome? And if he does decide to take that path, will anyone believe him? At last. Our favorite son has returned. An Equestrian, no less. Your father would have been very proud. As am I. I see you've taken my family home? When your father died, I only did as was expected of me. The bones of our ancestors lay scattered and plundered. My own father's grave defiled. Yet you do nothing. Your countrymen take taxes. Yet, you have still defaulted, Segestes? With our favorite son rising to Equestrian, I hoped we could renegotiate? That we could have a special favor. Rome favors no one but itself. Bring me the harvest, or its value in silver, or you will be in contempt. Where is Iguiomerus? I would stay away from him if I were you. Your uncle is very much like your father. Wants nothing but trouble. Where is he? Where he always is. Thusnelda? (PANTING) No! I am not what you think me to be. I heard you were back. From Emsger. I'm not one of them. Your actions will decide that. So... Who are you? I'm Cherusci. Like you. Cherusci are not in the habit of abducting their friend's children. I had to save his girl. I can get his boys to freedom later. I had no choice. Your father was devastated. Surrendering his sons to Rome. You, putting on that uniform. Not knowing what you would become. Drove him to his grave. His son, the Roman. But that's not who I am. So you say. I was just a boy, Uncle. It was not my choice to go to their hateful city. I did what I had to do to survive. I did what I did to protect my brother. I have done horrible things in their armies, things that I will never be able to forgive, but I will do them no more. I must atone. How? By doing what you and he did. I must fight. You are a Roman now. I am Roman. And that's why I can beat them. They will never suspect me, Arminius, the Equestrian. I know their movements, how they fight, their weaknesses. If we can gather enough men, we can beat Varus and his legions. Drive Rome from our lands. We can be free again. Why would anyone trust you, the Roman? You will vouch for me, Uncle. Why would I do that? Because I am my father's son. REVEREND JACKSON: Out of the crucible, of unfreedom emerges somebody with an extra dose of will and sacrifice and becomes leader. NARRATOR: Arminius' uncle, Iguiomerus, travels to all the Western tribes, seeking allies. As word spreads, it awakens a sleeping giant. Roman imperial domination challenged something that lies at the heart of everything that we're told about Germanic society. That it's all about political independence. It's all about political freedom and faced with a challenge to those ideological traditions, I think a lot of Germanic warriors felt they had no choice but to fight. Arminius acts as a catalyst to bring everyone together. And that makes him dangerous, much more dangerous than Rome could ever imagine. NARRATOR: Arminius knows Rome's plans and tactics. Intelligence he'll use to take them down. He's devising a battle plan that combines the barbarians' guerilla tactics with the scale and precision of a Roman attack. Arminius is uniting the Germanic tribes under one leader for the first time. NARRATOR: To guard against betrayal, Arminius decides that tribal leaders must join, or die. Those who resist, give him the perfect cover. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) This one wouldn't pay his taxes. (SCOFFS) Food supplies are low, and I tire of this rat-hole. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. We move South for our winter camp in seven days. Or does that not agree with you? I will make sure the tribes have made their contributions before then. (INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS) The plan has changed. We have seven days. tribes of Germania Nn are uniting to fight for their freedom from the Roman Empire. Leading them is Arminius, a son of Germania, who was raised as a Roman, an enemy on the inside, with a plan to defeat the Empire using its own battle plans, combined with a barbarian guerilla tactics. (GRUNTS) (BOTH GRUNTING) Where are my boys? Where are they? (BOTH GRUNTING) Where are they? (PANTING) They've been taken to Rome. Then they're dead, you bastard! When they get word of your rebellion in Rome, they will kill them. They were dead anyway. They would have been taken next year as fodder. At least this way they have a chance. Your daughter did not. You must trust me, Emsger, as I trust you. (GRUNTS) It's all right. You do as you must. But hear me out. I need you and the Arivarii to join with me, with us. Our tribes have always been allies. Varus marches South in seven days. And we need to gather as many men as we can. Varus commands three legions, around 20,000 men. We will be slaughtered. We cannot beat them on open ground. We know that, our scars are proof. We force them into the Teutoburg Forest. Varus is no fool, he will never take his army through the forest. Then we make him! Varus believes this whole area is under his control. So we make him believe there is a rebellion brewing in the East. And we give him no choice but to take the forest. Arminius, we can't... We can! And we will! I have fought with them long enough, I know their weaknesses. Without their formations, they cannot fight. And I know our strengths. How do we hide an army? IGUIOMERUS: We build ramparts along the tree-line. We've done it before. It'll be too late before they see us. We can slaughter them all. (SIGHS) NARRATOR: Arminius has designed a complex battle plan that depends on luring Varus and his legions into the Teutoburg Forest. There, the tribes have hand-built a primitive rampart, two miles long, concealed by the dense woodland. He cuts through terrain that's perfect for an ambush, a thin track with a steep bank on one side and marshland on the other. He aims to funnel the Roman legions into the kill zone. Where 15,000 Germanic warriors will stream from behind their fortifications, and slaughter the Romans where they stand. NARRATOR: Now, more than ever, secrecy is critical. But as the tribes grow more desperate under the occupation, it becomes impossible to maintain. HEATHER: There's plenty of opportunity for divide and rule. You only have to offer a not massively advantageous set of terms to one Germanic group and they will fight their neighbors. What's even more incredible is that there's a member of his own tribe in the end who will sell him out. (INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS) Find Arminius. Now. Never underestimate your enemy. Always think the other guy's stronger, smarter, better than you are, because it keeps you hungry. (HORSE GALLOPING) We are betrayed. Varus knows. Her father sold us out for gold and favor. Varus has sent riders to get you. Get her to safety. East, to the Elbe River. Where are you going? Segestes condemns us all to the blade. I need to find a way to reason with Varus. Varus will cut your heart out, boy. The Empire has already cut my heart out. Arminius is under an enormous amount of pressure, he's really riding both sides of the fence and on the one hand, he's preparing the ambush, preparing those troops, getting ready for this slaughter, and on the other hand, he's gotta perform his normal functions as a Roman military man. And all the while, Varus is becoming suspicious. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) You've been cut? Ah. Resistance from a Chauci leader. He now rots in the marshes along with his ancestors. You can never trust Germans. There are always undercurrents of deceit. Huh. Cover it. He already has a taste for barbarian flesh. Your old friend Segestes was here. And what tax concession did he barter for this time? He says there are fires of a barbarian rebellion. He says that it is you who fans the flames. That you mean to kill me. (SCOFFS) That wine will kill you quicker than I ever could. The locals piss in it. But my gut tells me the rebellion is real. I would not move South. I would hold up here for the winter, pacify any tribal uprising. Why would Segestes say such things when he knows the price of lying? I am to wed his daughter. You knew? I too have ears and eyes everywhere, Arminius. He promised her to another in order to unite their two tribes. A move that stands to make him very powerful. But he'll lose it all when I take her back to Rome. Send auxiliaries to reinforce our garrisons in the east. Protect the route to the Rhine. They piss in it, you say? Uh-huh. I'll drink to that. (CHUCKLES) Varus suspects an insurgence. The scouts will be vigilant. We still have over a mile of ramparts to build. If they suspect anything... We will be ready. If they see anything out of place, any bit of the structure, we're all dead. Look around you, Arminius, there are thousands prepared to fight. Prepared to die. They need this more than you. We will be ready. HEATHER: Just to conceive of how you get the Roman Army spread out, in a line, in terrain that will nullify all its military advantages. This is an extraordinary act of intelligence, daring and imagination. NARRATOR: Arminius builds a dam to turn the only other forest path into an impassable swamp. This will force Varus' men directly into the line of fire. Finally, Arminius lays the bait. He gets his allies, the Cimbri, to start a revolt for Varus to crush. The only way to reach the uprising, is to travel east through the Teutoburg forest. Most courageous of all, has to put himself right beside Varus and guide him, walk him into the trap personally. VARUS: Tell me of the Cimbri. A once proud tribe of the Rhine. They have no love of the Empire. Why? Your predecessor burnt their families alive. If the Cimbri are in revolt, they should be crushed before it escalates. We should make a point. And what point are we trying to make? That any disloyalty will be met by force. If we let this fester over the winter it will be out of control when we return. (SIGHS) Tomorrow we leave this camp and I lead my men through this hostile territory. They're nothing more than farmers, they wouldn't attack three marching legions. And if the tribes are aligned as Segestes says? (SIGHS) The route is open, but we lead through marshlands. Progress will be slow. But defendable. (SMACKS LIPS) I shall sleep on it. Let the Gods... ...and the wine decide. Arminius. Tomorrow, you shall ride alongside me. As you wish. Tonight, the Gods judge me. Tomorrow, they will judge us all. NARRATOR: The barbarians of ancient Germania have united for the first time, to reclaim their freedom and expel the Empire from their homeland. Their fate depends on their native son, Arminius. Varus orders his 20,000 Roman legionaries deep into the dense Teutoburg Forest. Hidden there are 15,000 Germanic warriors poised to strike. NARRATOR: When the time comes, small bands of Germanic warriors hiding in the marsh will attack on Arminius' signal. They'll launch a series of lightning strikes as a distraction, giving him the cover he needs to escape and lead his people into battle. Arminius' entire plan depends upon the success of his disinformation campaign. POWELL: He has to get Varus and his commanders and all the various other troops to go the appointed route. That's where he's laid the trap. If they go another route, the problem is at that point the whole thing is lost. The other route is also flooded. Can we cross the marsh? Not without the fork. Go around. If you value your tongue, don't even think about questioning me, boy. You dare bring an entire army to a halt? (MEN YELLING) (SWORDS CLASHING) (SOLDIERS SCREAMING) (GRUNTS) (MUFFLED WHIMPERING) I have a message for Rome. (MUFFLED SCREAM) (GRUNTS) (PANTING) (BLOOD SPLATTERS) Arminius. These are for you. They were your father's. VARUS: Arminius. (HORSE NEIGHING) The scouts are upon us. Get it covered now. We can't strike until the vanguard has passed. We wait for Varus. If we hit them too soon, they'll regroup. Do not let them get into formation. IGUIOMERUS: In the deafening silence of battle, you discover who you really are. Cherusci. NARRATOR: Next time on Barbarians Rising... (CROWD CLAMORING) (SPITS) I will kill you. Then let us begin. (SOLDIERS SHOUTING) (SCREAMS) (SCREAMS) For freedom! (SOLDIERS SHOUTING) You will regret making enemies of us! I doubt that, you filthy animal. What are you doing with our queen? (GASPS) No! Teach her some respect. (GASPING AND SCREAMING) (YELLS) (SCREAMING) (ALL SHOUTING)

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Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history channel shows, strongest man in history, barbarians rising, barbarians rising full episodes, full episodes, carthage, rome, ancient rome, roman empire, hannibal, spartacus, attila, ancient history, military history, ancient warfare, Barbarians Rising full episode, Barbarians Rising clips, watch Barbarians Rising, history channel Barbarians Rising, Barbarians Rising new season, Barbarians Rising season, Resistance, Rebellion, Spartacus leads a slave

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Length: 84min 23sec (5063 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020