Editing 73 BC (section)

== Events==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===

==== Roman Republic ====
* [[Third Servile War]]: [[Spartacus]], a Thracian gladiator, escapes with around 70 [[Gladiator|slave-gladiator]]s from a gladiator school at [[Capua]]. They defeat a small Roman force and equip themselves with captured military equipment as well with gladiatorial weapons. Spartacus and his band of gladiators [[Looting|plunder]] the region surrounding Capua and retire to a defensible position on [[Mount Vesuvius]].<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html#116 1:116]; Florus, ''Epitome'', [[Wikisource:Epitome of Roman History/Book 2#8|2.8]]; - Florus and Appian make the claim that the slaves withdrew to Mount Vesuvius, while Plutarch only mentions "a hill" in the account of Glaber's siege of the slave's encampment.</ref>
* [[Battle of Mount Vesuvius]]: Spartacus defeats a Roman [[militia]] force (3,000 men) under [[Gaius Claudius Glaber]]. The rebel slaves spend the winter of 73–72 BC training, arming and equipping their new recruits, as well as expanding their raiding territory, which includes the towns of [[Nola]], [[Nocera Inferiore|Nuceria]], [[Thurii]] and [[Metapontum]].
* On the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (part of the [[Roman Republic]]) rebel leader [[Quintus Sertorius]] is [[Assassination|assassinated]] by some of his own lieutenants (lead by [[Marcus Perperna Veiento|Marcus Perperna]]).{{efn|the year of his assassination is disputed – the debate is whether he was assassinated in 73 or 72 BCE}} Perperna takes command of the rebel army.