The ancient sources agree that Spartacus was a native
Thracian who had served as an
auxiliary in the
Roman army, but was disgraced and sold into slavery.
Plutarch describes him as "a Thracian of nomadic stock";
[2] Appian says he was "a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator";
[3] and
Florus says he was "a mercenary Thracian [who] had become a Roman soldier, of a soldier a deserter and robber, and afterwards, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator";
[4] However, "Thracian" was a style of gladiatorial combat in which the gladiator fought with a round shield and a short sword or dagger,
[5] and it has been argued that this may have confused the sources about his geographical origins,
[citation needed] although no alternative origin is attested.
The name "Spartacus" is otherwise attested in the
Black Sea region: kings of
Cimmerian Bosporus[6] and
Pontus[7] are known to have borne it, and a Thracian "Spardacus"
[8] or "Sparadokos",
[9] father of
Seuthes I of the
Odrysae, is also known.