The 2000 Ridley Scott film starring Russell Crowe that won the Academy Award for Best Picture is Gladiator.
Crowe plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general betrayed by Commodus, the emperor's son, and forced into slavery before becoming a gladiator. The film combines fictional characters with a broadly Roman historical setting, rather than presenting a strictly accurate account of ancient Rome.
Gladiator premiered in May 2000 and became one of the year's biggest films. At the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001, it won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Ridley Scott was nominated for Best Director but did not win.
A common mix-up is Ben-Hur, another famous Roman-era epic that won Best Picture, but its most celebrated version was released in 1959. Spartacus is a 1960 film, while Troy was released in 2004 and was not a Best Picture winner.