The Great Roman Empire was no stranger to rebellions, but who were the rebels behind these lost causes, and what fueled their brazen plights?

Despite their many differences, the rebels of the Roman Empire had one thing in common: all were Romans, or onetime Roman allies, who attempted to overthrow Roman rule within the bounds of the Roman Empire. Many of these rebels succeeded in humbling Rome, for a time. But in the end, Rome always prevailed, occasionally through the ineptitude of the rebels, but more often through the skills of Roman generals who rose to the occasion after others had failed.

Rome’s greatest rebels took on many forms—including royalty, enslaved people, foreigners serving in the Roman army, over-ambitious Roman governors, a handful of genuine freedom fighters—but all had the courage and audacity to oppose the greatest empire the world had known to that time. These are their stories . .