Mercenaries who turn on Rome

[caesar novus]

Which famous opponents to Rome were actually in the Roman Army beforehand, pledging loyalty and benefiting from training and technology? I believe Vercingetorix and Arminius were in that category, and perhaps shouldn't be considered such spunky liberation heros in a clash of distinct cultures because they earlier submitted and pledged their life to Rome as well as being spoon fed their world-beating military secrets.

 

It seem fundamentally different than, say, Zhukov beating Hitler generals (he actually first came to prominence after an upset victory against the Japanese steamroller in Mongolia). There the Russians used tactics borne of their own culture and technology not emulating their opponents but brilliant tank innovations for example. The famous battles of Alesia and Teutonburg Forest may be more like the 1903 surprise victory of Japanese over the Russian Navy - a product of meticulous coaching by British advisors rather than the natural strength of Japanese tactics and technology.

[Centurion-Macro]

Yeah, I would have gone with Arminius off the top of my head.

 

~I also believe that Spartacus was in the Roman army and pledged loyalty, before deserting and becoming the most famous gladiator in history. But I am not sure if he counts.

[caldrail]

So was Spartacus, if the story is correct. He joined the auxillaries and deserted to become a bandit and thus condemned to the gladiator school when captured. I should point oput that Spartacus is famous for being a rebel, not a gladiator. He was never trained for professional fights (being a condemned criminal) but was due to take part in a spectacular in or near Capua shortly before he and his fellow conspirators organised their breakout.

Edited June 1, 2010 by caldrail

[Maty]

We can add Jugurtha, the Numidian king who served with the Romans in the Numantine war, and Julius Classicus and Civilis who were rebels in the aftermath of AD 69, but served with Roman army of Vitellius before that.

 

There was also the ex-auxiliary Tacfarinas who led a revolt in Mauretania during the reign of Tiberius.

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

Do the Goths count?

[Majorianus Invictus]

What abouy Ricimer? He was the so called puppet master, and he used his greed for power to usher in a line of weak, impotent emperors that had long reaching consequences.

[Centurion-Macro]

So was Spartacus, if the story is correct. He joined the auxillaries and deserted to become a bandit and thus condemned to the gladiator school when captured. I should point oput that Spartacus is famous for being a rebel, not a gladiator. He was never trained for professional fights (being a condemned criminal) but was due to take part in a spectacular in or near Capua shortly before he and his fellow conspirators organised their breakout.

Really? If he did not train as a gladiator then how was he such a good fighter?

 

Sure the axillary training would teach a lot, but I always assumed he trained as a gladiator for professional fights, and I heard somewhere he trained as a Thracian in the ring.

[caldrail]

Because he had talent to begin with. Some people do. That's one reason why the Romans considered his sentence a very apt way to pay for his crimes. There's no record of any appearances made in the arena at all, and at the time, gladiators were treated very harshly. His escape was one major reason for changes made in gladiatorial combat leading to the classic genre. I doubt many people people volunteered back then, and in any case, the 'famous celebrity' gladiator was a thing of the future.

 

Trained as a 'thracian'? He was a thracian, by birth, and that's where the confusion starts. I don't think the stories describe him as a specialist in any style although it's entirely possible his owner decided that was a suitable class for him.

 

Going back to the point of the thread, what about Anicetus? He was a freed slave who rose to command the fleet of Pontus when that kingdom became a Roman province. He remained in charge of the fleet under Roman command. When Nero died, Anicetus sided with Vitellus, and so became a pirate until local tribesmen handed him over to the Romans and executed.

Edited June 2, 2010 by caldrail

[Fulvia]

How about Sertorius? Not so much trained in the army as he was a part of it. He was kind of continuing a war that had already ended but he he certainly was a royal pain in the clunis.