Former gladiator Spartacus leads a slave revolt back in Rome and initially defeats many Roman military forays at him.

Roman legions are brought home from abroad to deal with the insurgency.

After Spartacus is defeated and his army surrenders, all the insurgents are executed (crucified), with the 6,000 corpse–laden crucifixes lined–up along the Appian Way.

The Romans justify the execution of the surrendered army with the (spurious) assertion that “since the slaves had violated their employment contracts, they were liable for the death penalty.”

67 BCE:  HYRCANUS II MARCHES

Hyrcanus II reigns as king of northern Judea from

67 to 63 BCE.

Allied with Aretas, King of the Nabataeans, he marches on Jerusalem—the stronghold of his adversary Aristobulus. Both Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus were from wings of the Maccabeean dynasty.

During the siege of Jerusalem, the forces of Hyrcanus II commit two interrelated acts that incense the majority of the Jews and brand him forever:

1)   The besieged forces in Jerusalem (under Aristobulus) had need of pascal lambs for the Passover rites, and negotiated the purchase of  one* from the besieging forces—apparently for the huge sum of 1,000 drachmas. However, instead of