Spendius

Spendius was a former slave and one of the principal rebel commanders in the Mercenary War against Carthage. He helped turn a pay dispute into a major uprising and took part in a conflict noted for cruelty on both sides before being captured and executed.

Gustave Flaubert’s Salammbo is set after Carthage’s defeat in the First Punic War. Unpaid mercenary soldiers turn against the city and the conflict becomes a brutal struggle for survival.