During the Roman Republic's the **[Third Servile War][1]** (73–71 BC), a gladiator named **[Spartacus][2]** lead an army of escaped slaves in Revolt against Rome.   Spartacus was a Thracian from an area in Eastern and South-eastern Europe.

[![enter image description here][3]][3]

This revolt lasted for nearly 3 years inside Rome's home territory of Italia.  The Revolt ended when the Roman senate sent 8 legions under Marcus Crassus against Spartacus which eventually trapped his army and defeated it in Southern Italy.

Plutarch in the Life of Crassus claims the motivation for the "War of Spartacus" escape from captivity.  If we look at the path of Spartacus's army:

[![enter image description here][4]][4]

We see that in the second year of the revolt Spartacus reached his northern most point, the Roman town of Mutina.  Here Spartacus was confronted by by an army of 10,000 soldiers, lead by **[Gaius Cassius Longinus][5]** who were attempting to block his path north.  Spartacus defeated this army but then turned south anyway.

>**My Question:**  Why did the Spartacus turn South at Mutina?  Wouldn't it have been more logical for Spartacus to continue North towards Thrace and relative safety? 


  [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Servile_War
  [2]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus
  [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/KaOJg.png
  [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/E2Prs.jpg
  [5]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Cassius_Longinus