They dressed slaves in Samnite armor and forced them to ... century B.C. Throughout the last centuries B.C. in Rome, the number of gladiator fights at funerals increased steadily.

In ancient Rome, gladiators took part in one of the most bloodthirsty spectacles known to history. Depicted in Ridley Scott's epic films, the armed combatants engaged in violent public battles ...

A few gladiators rose to prominence—like Spartacus, who led a slave rebellion against the republic—but most of these men were ...