Slavery in ancient Rome
Encyclopedia
The institution of slavery
in ancient Rome
played an important role in society and the Roman economy. Besides manual labor on farms and in mines, slaves performed many domestic services and a variety of other tasks, such as accounting. Although the exact status of slaves varied between the founding of Rome
and its eventual decline
, they were considered property under Roman law
and had fewer rights than citizens. Over time, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. After manimissio
, a freed slave was known as a libertus and any future children of a freedman would be born with full citizenship. As the slave supply dried up around the dawn of the Roman empire
, legal restrictions on freeing slaves were put into place. Escaped slaves would be caught and returned (often for a reward). Slave uprisings
such as the Servile Wars were put down by the Roman military.
In addition, people could sell their children into slavery and creditors could claim insolvent debtors as slaves. However, it was illegal for people to sell themselves into slavery as this could provide scope to commit fraud. Children abandoned at birth were also usually collected and made slaves.
The 1st century Greek rhetorician and historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus
indicates that the Roman institution of slavery began with Romulus giving Roman fathers the right to sell their own children into slavery, and kept growing with the expansion of the Roman state
. Slave ownership was most widespread throughout the Roman citizenry from the second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) through the 4th century AD. The Greek historian Strabo
(63/64 BC – ca. AD 24) records how an enormous slave trade resulted due to the collapse of the Seleucid Empire
(100 - 63 BC). Delos in the eastern Mediterranean was made a free port in 166 BC and became one of the main market venues for slaves. Multitudes of slaves who found their way to Italy were purchased by wealthy landowners in need of large numbers of slaves to labor on their estates. Historian Keith Hopkins noted that it was land investment and agricultural production which enabled great wealth in Italy, and considered that Rome's military conquests and the subsequent introduction of incredible wealth and slaves into Italy had effects like that of widespread and rapid technological innovations.
Slaves were drawn from all over Europe and the Mediterranean, particularly among Celts, Germans, Thracians, Carthaginians and eastern Mediterraneans. By the 1st century BC there was a custom against enslaving Roman citizens or Italians living in Gallia Cisalpina, but prior to then, many southern and central Italians had been enslaved after defeat.
once sold the entire population of a conquered region in Gaul
, no less than 53,000 people, to slave dealers on the spot.
Within the empire, slaves were sold at public auction or sometimes in shops, or by private sale for more valuable slaves. Slave dealing was overseen by the Roman fiscal officials called Quaestor
s.
Sometimes slaves stood on revolving stands, and around each slave for sale hung a type of plaque describing his origin, health, character, intelligence, education, and other information pertinent to purchasers. Prices varied with age and quality, with the most valuable slaves fetching prices equivalent to thousands of today's dollars. Because the Romans wanted to know exactly what they were buying, slaves were presented naked. The dealer was required to take a slave back within six months if the slave had defects that were not manifest at the sale, or make good the buyer's loss. Slaves to be sold with no guarantee were made to wear a cap at the auction.
Free parents sometimes sold their children into slavery, and the children of slaves (called vernae) were the property of the master and could be sold.
There are reports of abuse by Romans, but there is little information to indicate how widespread such harsh treatment was. Cato the Elder
was recorded as expelling his old or sick slaves from his house.
Seneca
held the view that a slave who was treated well would perform a better job than a poorly treated slave. Slaves that were well educated were highly valued by the Romans, and they could serve as accountants, doctors, tutors, etc. They could also manage shops while the owner focused on making new business.
There was a constant danger of servile insurrection, which had more than once seriously threatened the republic.
Moses Finley remarked, "fugitive slaves are almost an obsession in the sources". Rome forbade the harbouring of fugitive slaves, and professional slave-catchers were hired to hunt down runaways. Advertisements were posted which provided precise descriptions of escaped slaves, and offered rewards. If caught, fugitives could be punished by being whipped, burnt with iron, or killed. Those who lived were branded on the forehead with the letter F, for fugitivus. Sometimes slaves had a metal collar riveted around the neck. One such collar was preserved at Rome and states in Latin, "I have run away. Catch me. If you take me back to my master Zoninus, you'll be rewarded."
Liberti (freedmen) were former slaves who had been granted their freedom by manumission
or emancipation
.
During Saturnalia
, the slave and the master ceremonially "switched places", though in practice this was a thinly veiled pretense that was carefully circumscribed.
For slaves, assignment to mines was often a sentence of death. Farm slaves (familia rustica) would generally fare better, while household slaves of rich families in Rome (familia urbana) likely enjoyed the highest standard of living among Roman slaves next to publicly owned slaves who were not subject to the whims of a single master. Though their room and board would be of a significantly lower quality than that of the free members of the familia, it may have been comparable to that of many free but poor Romans. Domestic slaves could be found working as barbers, butlers, cooks, hairdressers, maids, nurses, teachers, secretaries, and seamstresses. Slaves with more education and intelligence could even work in professions such as accounting, education, and medicine.
In the Late Republic, about half the gladiator
s who fought in Roman arenas were slaves, though the most skilled were often free volunteers. Successful gladiators were occasionally rewarded with freedom. However, gladiators, being trained warriors and having access to weapons, were potentially the most dangerous slaves. At an earlier time, many gladiators had been soldiers taken captive in war. Spartacus
, who led the great slave rebellion of 73-71 BCE
, was a rebel gladiator.
During the period of Roman imperial expansion, the increase of wealth amongst the Roman elite and the substantial growth of slavery transformed the economy. According to modern day calculations, there were upwards of two to three million slaves in Italy by the end of the 1st century BC, about 35% to 40% of Italy’s population. Indeed, one of the main uses for slavery was to supply the agricultural labor required by the Roman elite.
The 1st century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
wrote that slaves sometimes banded together to plot revolt. He chronicled the
three major slave rebellions: in 135–132 BC (the First Servile War
), in 104-100 BC (the Second Servile War
), and in 73-71 BC (the Third Servile War
).
Several emperors began to grant more rights to slaves as the empire grew. It became prevalent throughout the mid to late 2nd century CE to allow slaves to complain of cruel or unfair treatment by their owners. Claudius
announced that if a slave was abandoned by his master, he became free. Nero
granted slaves the right to complain against their masters in a court. And under Antoninus Pius
, a master could no longer execute a slave without just cause, or else the master could be tried for homicide. Legal protection of slaves continued to grow as the empire expanded.
The exact number of slaves in a particular region of Rome at any given time remains unknown. The Twelve Tables
have brief legal references to slavery, and several playwrights express seemingly general opinions about slaves in Rome.
. Public slaves worked in temples
and other public buildings both in Rome and in the municipalities
. Most performed general, basic tasks as servants to the College of Pontiffs
, magistrates, and other officials. Some well-qualified public slaves did skilled office work such as accounting and secretarial services. They were permitted to earn money for their personal use. Because they had an opportunity to prove their merit, they could acquire a reputation and influence, and were sometimes deemed eligible for manumission. During the Republic
, a public slave could be freed by a magistrate's declaration, with the prior authorization of the senate
; in the Imperial era
, liberty would be granted by the emperor
. Municipal public slaves could be freed by the municipal council.
ns, with helots
(the Spartan term for slave) outnumbering the Spartans by about seven to one (Herodotus
; book IX, 10).
The actual proportion may have been less than 20% for the whole Empire, 18 million people, but nobody can be sure. Since there was a labor shortage in the Roman Empire, there was a constant need to find slaves to tie down the labor supply in various regions of the Empire. In the later Empire
, emperors tried to tie people into hereditary occupations to secure vital services as the supply of slaves dried up.
A felt cap called the Pileus
was given to the former slave as symbol of manumission.
Slaves were freed for a variety of reasons; for a particularly good deed toward the slave's owner, or out of friendship or respect. Sometimes, a slave who had enough money could buy his freedom and the freedom of a fellow slave, frequently a spouse. However, few slaves had enough money to do so, and many slaves were not allowed to hold money. Slaves were also freed through testamentary manumission, by a provision in an owner's will at his death. The Emperor Augustus
restricted such manumissions to at most a hundred slaves, and fewer in a small household.
Already educated or experienced slaves were freed the most often. Eventually the practice became so common that Emperor Augustus decreed that no Roman slave could be freed before age 30. In addition, a master might have children by his slaves. Such children could be well educated and freed when they became adults.
After emancipation, the former slave was free to make his or her own way in life. Some even became rich or powerful.
Freed slaves were called liberti
, and formed a separate class in Roman society at all periods. The number of liberti was not large, but Rome needed to demonstrate at times the great frank spirit of this civitas, so the freed slaves were made famous, as hopeful examples.
A former slave enjoyed few of the privileges of a true Roman citizen. He could not be a candidate in public elections and could not rise to a high rank in the Roman military. He still had to work for his former master a fixed number of days each year, becoming a client and visiting his master regularly to pay his respects, usually in the morning. Some freedmen still did the work for their masters that they had previously done as slaves. Also, freedmen could not marry into the senatorial
class.
Some freedmen became very powerful. Many freedmen had important roles in the Roman government. Freedmen of the Imperial families often were the main functionaries in the Imperial administration. Some rose to positions of great influence, such as Narcissus
, a former slave of the Emperor Claudius
.
Other freedmen became wealthy. The House of the Vettii
, brothers believed to have been freedmen, was one of the biggest and most magnificent houses in Pompeii
. A freedman designed the amphitheater in Pompeii, where all plays were held.
But even a freedman who became rich and influential might still be looked down on by the traditional aristocracy as a vulgar nouveau riche
. Trimalchio
, a character in the Satyricon
, is a caricature of such a freedman.
The children of former slaves enjoyed the full privileges of Roman citizenship without restrictions. The Latin poet Horace
was the son of a freedman. He was an officer in the army of Marcus Junius Brutus
and seemed headed for a political career until Brutus was defeated by Octavian and Mark Antony
.
, spent his youth as a slave.
Both the Stoics and the early Christians
opposed the ill-treatment of slaves, rather than slavery itself. Advocates of these philosophies saw them as ways to live within human societies as they were, rather than to overthrow entrenched institutions. In the Christian scriptures equal pay and fair treatment of slaves was enjoined upon slave masters (as they also had a Master in Heaven), and slaves were advised to obey their Earthly masters and lawfully obtain freedom if possible .
Certain senior Christian leaders (such as Gregory of Nyssa
and John Chrysostom
) called for good treatment for slaves and condemned slavery, while others supported it. Christianity gave slaves an equal place within the religion, allowing them to participate in the liturgy. In addition, Christianity had a place for labor. In fact, tradition describes Pope Clement I
(term c. AD92
- 99
), Pope Pius I
(term c. AD 158
- 167
) and Pope Callixtus I
(term c. AD 217
- 222
) as former slaves.
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
played an important role in society and the Roman economy. Besides manual labor on farms and in mines, slaves performed many domestic services and a variety of other tasks, such as accounting. Although the exact status of slaves varied between the founding of Rome
Founding of Rome
The founding of Rome is reported by many legends, which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by scientific reconstructions.- Development of the city :...
and its eventual decline
Decline of the Roman Empire
The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the...
, they were considered property under Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
and had fewer rights than citizens. Over time, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. After manimissio
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
, a freed slave was known as a libertus and any future children of a freedman would be born with full citizenship. As the slave supply dried up around the dawn of the Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, legal restrictions on freeing slaves were put into place. Escaped slaves would be caught and returned (often for a reward). Slave uprisings
Slave rebellion
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves. Slave rebellions have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery, and are amongst the most feared events for slaveholders...
such as the Servile Wars were put down by the Roman military.
Origins
Most slaves in ancient Rome were acquired through warfare, with Roman armies bringing captives back as part of the reward. Turning defeated soldiers into slaves brought much income, and would also serve as an alternative to imprisoning or killing them.In addition, people could sell their children into slavery and creditors could claim insolvent debtors as slaves. However, it was illegal for people to sell themselves into slavery as this could provide scope to commit fraud. Children abandoned at birth were also usually collected and made slaves.
The 1st century Greek rhetorician and historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
indicates that the Roman institution of slavery began with Romulus giving Roman fathers the right to sell their own children into slavery, and kept growing with the expansion of the Roman state
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. Slave ownership was most widespread throughout the Roman citizenry from the second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) through the 4th century AD. The Greek historian Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
(63/64 BC – ca. AD 24) records how an enormous slave trade resulted due to the collapse of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
(100 - 63 BC). Delos in the eastern Mediterranean was made a free port in 166 BC and became one of the main market venues for slaves. Multitudes of slaves who found their way to Italy were purchased by wealthy landowners in need of large numbers of slaves to labor on their estates. Historian Keith Hopkins noted that it was land investment and agricultural production which enabled great wealth in Italy, and considered that Rome's military conquests and the subsequent introduction of incredible wealth and slaves into Italy had effects like that of widespread and rapid technological innovations.
Slaves were drawn from all over Europe and the Mediterranean, particularly among Celts, Germans, Thracians, Carthaginians and eastern Mediterraneans. By the 1st century BC there was a custom against enslaving Roman citizens or Italians living in Gallia Cisalpina, but prior to then, many southern and central Italians had been enslaved after defeat.
Sale of slaves
New slaves were primarily acquired by wholesale dealers who followed the Roman armies. Many people who bought slaves wanted strong slaves, mostly men. Child slaves cost less than an adult although other sources state their price as higher. Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
once sold the entire population of a conquered region in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, no less than 53,000 people, to slave dealers on the spot.
Within the empire, slaves were sold at public auction or sometimes in shops, or by private sale for more valuable slaves. Slave dealing was overseen by the Roman fiscal officials called Quaestor
Quaestor
A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
s.
Sometimes slaves stood on revolving stands, and around each slave for sale hung a type of plaque describing his origin, health, character, intelligence, education, and other information pertinent to purchasers. Prices varied with age and quality, with the most valuable slaves fetching prices equivalent to thousands of today's dollars. Because the Romans wanted to know exactly what they were buying, slaves were presented naked. The dealer was required to take a slave back within six months if the slave had defects that were not manifest at the sale, or make good the buyer's loss. Slaves to be sold with no guarantee were made to wear a cap at the auction.
Free parents sometimes sold their children into slavery, and the children of slaves (called vernae) were the property of the master and could be sold.
Treatment
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
was recorded as expelling his old or sick slaves from his house.
Seneca
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
held the view that a slave who was treated well would perform a better job than a poorly treated slave. Slaves that were well educated were highly valued by the Romans, and they could serve as accountants, doctors, tutors, etc. They could also manage shops while the owner focused on making new business.
There was a constant danger of servile insurrection, which had more than once seriously threatened the republic.
Moses Finley remarked, "fugitive slaves are almost an obsession in the sources". Rome forbade the harbouring of fugitive slaves, and professional slave-catchers were hired to hunt down runaways. Advertisements were posted which provided precise descriptions of escaped slaves, and offered rewards. If caught, fugitives could be punished by being whipped, burnt with iron, or killed. Those who lived were branded on the forehead with the letter F, for fugitivus. Sometimes slaves had a metal collar riveted around the neck. One such collar was preserved at Rome and states in Latin, "I have run away. Catch me. If you take me back to my master Zoninus, you'll be rewarded."
Liberti (freedmen) were former slaves who had been granted their freedom by manumission
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
or emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
.
During Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
, the slave and the master ceremonially "switched places", though in practice this was a thinly veiled pretense that was carefully circumscribed.
For slaves, assignment to mines was often a sentence of death. Farm slaves (familia rustica) would generally fare better, while household slaves of rich families in Rome (familia urbana) likely enjoyed the highest standard of living among Roman slaves next to publicly owned slaves who were not subject to the whims of a single master. Though their room and board would be of a significantly lower quality than that of the free members of the familia, it may have been comparable to that of many free but poor Romans. Domestic slaves could be found working as barbers, butlers, cooks, hairdressers, maids, nurses, teachers, secretaries, and seamstresses. Slaves with more education and intelligence could even work in professions such as accounting, education, and medicine.
In the Late Republic, about half the gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s who fought in Roman arenas were slaves, though the most skilled were often free volunteers. Successful gladiators were occasionally rewarded with freedom. However, gladiators, being trained warriors and having access to weapons, were potentially the most dangerous slaves. At an earlier time, many gladiators had been soldiers taken captive in war. Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
, who led the great slave rebellion of 73-71 BCE
Third Servile War
The Third Servile War , also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Roman Servile Wars...
, was a rebel gladiator.
During the period of Roman imperial expansion, the increase of wealth amongst the Roman elite and the substantial growth of slavery transformed the economy. According to modern day calculations, there were upwards of two to three million slaves in Italy by the end of the 1st century BC, about 35% to 40% of Italy’s population. Indeed, one of the main uses for slavery was to supply the agricultural labor required by the Roman elite.
The 1st century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
wrote that slaves sometimes banded together to plot revolt. He chronicled the
three major slave rebellions: in 135–132 BC (the First Servile War
First Servile War
The First Servile War of 135–132 BC was an unsuccessful rebellion of slaves against the Roman Republic. The war was prompted by slave revolts in Enna on the island of Sicily. It was led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a prophet, and Cleon, a Cilician who became Eunus's military commander...
), in 104-100 BC (the Second Servile War
Second Servile War
The Second Servile War was an unsuccessful slave uprising against the Roman Republic on the island of Sicily. The war lasted from 104 BC until 100 BC....
), and in 73-71 BC (the Third Servile War
Third Servile War
The Third Servile War , also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Roman Servile Wars...
).
Several emperors began to grant more rights to slaves as the empire grew. It became prevalent throughout the mid to late 2nd century CE to allow slaves to complain of cruel or unfair treatment by their owners. Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
announced that if a slave was abandoned by his master, he became free. Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
granted slaves the right to complain against their masters in a court. And under Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
, a master could no longer execute a slave without just cause, or else the master could be tried for homicide. Legal protection of slaves continued to grow as the empire expanded.
The exact number of slaves in a particular region of Rome at any given time remains unknown. The Twelve Tables
Twelve Tables
The Law of the Twelve Tables was the ancient legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. The Law of the Twelve Tables formed the centrepiece of the constitution of the Roman Republic and the core of the mos maiorum...
have brief legal references to slavery, and several playwrights express seemingly general opinions about slaves in Rome.
Servus publicus
A servus publicus was a slave owned not by a private individual, but by the Roman peopleSPQR
SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus , referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune of Rome...
. Public slaves worked in temples
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion. The main room housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was...
and other public buildings both in Rome and in the municipalities
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
. Most performed general, basic tasks as servants to the College of Pontiffs
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs or Collegium Pontificum was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the polytheistic state religion. The college consisted of the Pontifex Maximus, the Vestal Virgins, the Rex Sacrorum, and the flamines...
, magistrates, and other officials. Some well-qualified public slaves did skilled office work such as accounting and secretarial services. They were permitted to earn money for their personal use. Because they had an opportunity to prove their merit, they could acquire a reputation and influence, and were sometimes deemed eligible for manumission. During the Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, a public slave could be freed by a magistrate's declaration, with the prior authorization of the senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
; in the Imperial era
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, liberty would be granted by the emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
. Municipal public slaves could be freed by the municipal council.
Prevalence
Estimates for the prevalence of slavery in the Roman Empire vary. Some historians estimate that approximately 30% of the population of the Empire in the 1st century was enslaved. The Roman economy was certainly heavily dependent on slavery, but it was not (as is sometimes mistakenly stated) the most slave-dependent culture in history. That distinction probably belongs to the SpartaSparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns, with helots
Helots
The helots: / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the main population of Laconia and the whole of Messenia . Their exact status was already disputed in antiquity: according to Critias, they were "especially slaves" whereas to Pollux, they occupied a status "between free men and...
(the Spartan term for slave) outnumbering the Spartans by about seven to one (Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
; book IX, 10).
The actual proportion may have been less than 20% for the whole Empire, 18 million people, but nobody can be sure. Since there was a labor shortage in the Roman Empire, there was a constant need to find slaves to tie down the labor supply in various regions of the Empire. In the later Empire
Dominate
The Dominate was the "despotic" latter phase of government in the ancient Roman Empire from the conclusion of the Third Century Crisis of 235–284 until the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire in AD 476. It followed the period known as the Principate...
, emperors tried to tie people into hereditary occupations to secure vital services as the supply of slaves dried up.
Emancipation
Freeing a slave was called manumissio, which literally means "sending out from the hand". The freeing of the slave was a public spectacle, the oldest method usually performed before some sort of public official, usually a judge. The owner touched the slave on the head with a staff and he was free to go. Simpler methods were sometimes used, usually with the owner proclaiming a slave's freedom in front of friends and family, or just a simple invitation to recline with the family at dinner.A felt cap called the Pileus
Pileus (hat)
The pileus — also pilleus or pilleum — was a cap worn by sailors in Ancient Greece and later copied by Ancient Rome. It was a brimless, felt cap, somewhat similar to a fez...
was given to the former slave as symbol of manumission.
Slaves were freed for a variety of reasons; for a particularly good deed toward the slave's owner, or out of friendship or respect. Sometimes, a slave who had enough money could buy his freedom and the freedom of a fellow slave, frequently a spouse. However, few slaves had enough money to do so, and many slaves were not allowed to hold money. Slaves were also freed through testamentary manumission, by a provision in an owner's will at his death. The Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
restricted such manumissions to at most a hundred slaves, and fewer in a small household.
Already educated or experienced slaves were freed the most often. Eventually the practice became so common that Emperor Augustus decreed that no Roman slave could be freed before age 30. In addition, a master might have children by his slaves. Such children could be well educated and freed when they became adults.
After emancipation, the former slave was free to make his or her own way in life. Some even became rich or powerful.
Freed slaves were called liberti
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
, and formed a separate class in Roman society at all periods. The number of liberti was not large, but Rome needed to demonstrate at times the great frank spirit of this civitas, so the freed slaves were made famous, as hopeful examples.
A former slave enjoyed few of the privileges of a true Roman citizen. He could not be a candidate in public elections and could not rise to a high rank in the Roman military. He still had to work for his former master a fixed number of days each year, becoming a client and visiting his master regularly to pay his respects, usually in the morning. Some freedmen still did the work for their masters that they had previously done as slaves. Also, freedmen could not marry into the senatorial
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
class.
Some freedmen became very powerful. Many freedmen had important roles in the Roman government. Freedmen of the Imperial families often were the main functionaries in the Imperial administration. Some rose to positions of great influence, such as Narcissus
Tiberius Claudius Narcissus
Tiberius Claudius Narcissus was one of the freedmen who formed the core of the imperial court under the Roman emperor Claudius. He is described as praepositus ab epistulis ....
, a former slave of the Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
.
Other freedmen became wealthy. The House of the Vettii
House of the Vettii
In Pompeii one of the most famous of the luxurious residences is the so-called House of the Vettii, preserved like the rest of the Roman city by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house is named for its owners, two successful freedmen: Aulus Vettius Conviva, an Augustalis, and Aulus Vettius...
, brothers believed to have been freedmen, was one of the biggest and most magnificent houses in Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
. A freedman designed the amphitheater in Pompeii, where all plays were held.
But even a freedman who became rich and influential might still be looked down on by the traditional aristocracy as a vulgar nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
. Trimalchio
Trimalchio
Trimalchio is a character in the Roman novel The Satyricon by Petronius. He plays a part only in the section titled Cena Trimalchionis . Trimalchio is a freedman who through hard work and perseverance has attained power and wealth...
, a character in the Satyricon
Satyricon
Satyricon is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry. It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius...
, is a caricature of such a freedman.
The children of former slaves enjoyed the full privileges of Roman citizenship without restrictions. The Latin poet Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
was the son of a freedman. He was an officer in the army of Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...
and seemed headed for a political career until Brutus was defeated by Octavian and Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
.
Influence
The Stoics taught that all men were manifestations of the same universal spirit, and thus by nature equal. Stoicism also held that external circumstances (such as being enslaved) did not truly impede a person from practicing the Stoic ideal of inner self-mastery: It has been said that one of the more important Roman stoics, EpictetusEpictetus
Epictetus was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia , and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses...
, spent his youth as a slave.
Both the Stoics and the early Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
opposed the ill-treatment of slaves, rather than slavery itself. Advocates of these philosophies saw them as ways to live within human societies as they were, rather than to overthrow entrenched institutions. In the Christian scriptures equal pay and fair treatment of slaves was enjoined upon slave masters (as they also had a Master in Heaven), and slaves were advised to obey their Earthly masters and lawfully obtain freedom if possible .
Certain senior Christian leaders (such as Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa
St. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...
and John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
) called for good treatment for slaves and condemned slavery, while others supported it. Christianity gave slaves an equal place within the religion, allowing them to participate in the liturgy. In addition, Christianity had a place for labor. In fact, tradition describes Pope Clement I
Pope Clement I
Starting in the 3rd and 4th century, tradition has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians as a fellow laborer in Christ.While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor...
(term c. AD92
92
Year 92 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Saturninus...
- 99
99
Year 99 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Palma and Senecio...
), Pope Pius I
Pope Pius I
Pope Saint Pius I was Bishop of Rome, according to the Annuario Pontificio, from 142 or 146 to 157 or 161, respectively. Others suggest that his pontificate was perhaps from 140 to 154.-Early life:...
(term c. AD 158
158
Year 158 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos...
- 167
167
Year 167 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Quadratus...
) and Pope Callixtus I
Pope Callixtus I
Pope Saint Callixtus I or Callistus I was pope from about 217 to about 222, during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus...
(term c. AD 217
217
Year 217 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Praesens and Extricatus...
- 222
222
Year 222 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus...
) as former slaves.
See also
- Christianity and slaveryChristianity and slaveryChristian views on slavery are varied both regionally and historically. Slavery in different forms has been imposed by Christians for over 18 centuries. In the early years of Christianity, slavery was a normal feature of the economy and society in the Roman Empire, and this remained well into the...
- History of slaveryHistory of slaveryThe history of slavery covers slave systems in historical perspective in which one human being is legally the property of another, can be bought or sold, is not allowed to escape and must work for the owner without any choice involved...
- Islam and slaveryIslam and SlaveryIslamic views on slavery first developed out of the slavery practices of pre-Islamic Arabia. During the wars between different states/tribes in various parts of the world, prisoners/captives were either killed or enslaved...
- Sexuality in ancient RomeSexuality in Ancient RomeSexual attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome are indicated by Roman art, literature and inscriptions, and to a lesser extent by archaeological remains such as erotic artifacts and architecture...
- Slavery in ancient GreeceSlavery in Ancient GreeceSlavery was common practice and an integral component of ancient Greece throughout its rich history, as it was in other societies of the time including ancient Israel and early Christian societies. It is estimated that in Athens, the majority of citizens owned at least one slave...
- Slavery in antiquitySlavery in antiquitySlavery in the ancient world, specifically, in Mediterranean cultures, comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war....
- Slavery in medieval EuropeSlavery in medieval EuropeSlavery in early medieval Europe was relatively common. It was widespread at the end of antiquity. The etymology of the word slave comes from this period, the word sklabos meaning Slav. Slavery declined in the Middle Ages in most parts of Europe as serfdom slowly rose, but it never completely...
- The Bible and slaveryThe Bible and slaveryThe Bible contains several references to slavery. The Bible nowhere explicitly condemns slavery, but allowed a regulated practice of it, especially under the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament. Male Israelite slaves were to be offered release after six years of service, with some...