Slavery and Rebellion in Second-Century BC Sicily

Peter Morton is a teacher of Social Studies and Latin at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. His research areas include Roman slavery, the history of slave revolts, and ancient historiography, especially Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheke.

• AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsList of IllustrationsIntroduction: The Problem with ‘the Sicilian Slave Wars’Part 1: The Wars in Sicily Reassessed1. The Coinage of King Antiochus: The War in Sicily of 136–132 BC through Rebel Eyes2. The Slave-Owner Narratives of the ‘First Sicilian Slave War’: Eunus and his Rebels3. The Creation of an Alternate State: Reassessing the Rebels in the War of 104–100 BCPart 2: Slave Revolts in Ancient Historiography and the Wider Historical Context4. The Slave Revolt topos: Thinking with Servile Unrest in Ancient Historiography5. How to Define Revolt? Ancient Slave Rebellions in the Global ContextConclusion: The Romano-Sicilian Wars in ContextAppendix 1: The ΦΙΛΙΠΗΙΟΝ Gold CoinageBibliographyIndex

A compelling exploration of the revolts that broke out in Sicily in the late second century BCE. Morton combines a thorough scrutiny of the ancient evidence with an unprecedentedly robust engagement with the historiography on slave resistance. The debate on these conflicts and their role in late Republican history is placed on a new footing.