The institution of slavery in ancient Rome made many people non-persons before their legal system. Stripped of even the ability to marry, they were the property of their owners, although their rights and ability to file grievances against their master did increase over time. Even after manumission, or manimissio, a freed slave lacked many of the rights and privileges of Roman citizens. Uprisings such as that of the late 70s BC were harshly dealt with. It is estimated that over 25% of the population of Ancient Rome was enslaved.^[1][2] Slave redirects here. ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... Manumission is the act of freeing a slave, done at the will of the owner. ... A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Treatment

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Cato the Elder expelled his old and sick slaves out of house and home. Hadrian, one of the most humane of the Roman Emperors, destroyed the eye of one of his slaves with a stylus during a rage. Roman ladies punished their maids with sharp iron instruments for the most trifling offenses. Marcus Porcius Cato (Latin: M·PORCIVS·M·F·CATO[1]) (234 BC, Tusculum–149 BC) was a Roman statesman, surnamed the Censor (Censorius), Sapiens, Priscus, or the Elder (Major), to distinguish him from Cato the Younger (his great-grandson). ... Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 –– July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from 117 A.D. to 138 A.D., as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. ... This is a list of Roman Emperors with the dates they controlled the Roman Empire. ... For the online music and film magazine, see Stylus Magazine. ...

The Roman writer Seneca held the view that a slave who was treated well would perform a better job than a poorly treated slave. He also believed a slave shouldn't be subjected to viewing his family at a banquet when many slaves had access only to poor food. Seneca may refer to: Roman figures (any links to Seneca in Roman pages should be relinked to one of these two) Marcus (or Lucius) Annaeus Seneca also called rhetor, Roman orator and father of Seneca the philosopher and dramatist. ...

The proverb "As many enemies as slaves," prevailed in the Roman Empire. As a result, there was a constant danger of servile insurrections, which more than once brought the republic to the brink of ruin ^[3]and seemed to justify the severest measures in self-defense — including the law of collective responsibility: if a slave killed his master, the authorities put all of the slaves in the household to death. Slaves who misbehaved got beaten, bashed, burnt with an iron or sometimes murdered. Cases like these occurred often, even to children. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ...

Prevalence

Estimates for the prevalence of slavery in the Roman Empire vary. Some estimate that the slave population in the 1st century consisted of approximately 30% of the total.^[4] The Roman economy was certainly heavily dependent on slavery, but was not (as is sometimes mistakenly stated) the most slave-dependent culture in the history of the world. That distinction probably belongs to the Spartans, with helots (the Spartan term for slave) outnumbering the Spartans around seven to one (Herodotus; book IX, 10). The actual proportion may have been less than 20% for the whole Empire, 12 million people, but we cannot 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. For the history of Earth which includes the time before human existence, see History of Earth. ... Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ...

Protection

Augustus punished a wealthy Roman, one Vedius Pollio, for feeding clumsy slaves to his eels and there followed laws increasingly restricting the power of masters over their slaves and children. However, how well-enforced these laws were is not known. Claudius ruled that if a master abandoned an old or sick slave, the slave became free^{[citation needed]}. Under Nero, slaves were given the right to complain against their masters in court. Under Antoninus Pius, a slave could claim his freedom if treated cruelly, and a master who killed his slave without just cause could be tried for homicide. At the same time, it became more difficult for a person to fall into slavery under Roman law. By the time of Diocletian, free men could not sell their children or even themselves into slavery and creditors could not claim insolvent debtors as slaves. Publius Vedius Pollio (d. ... For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius (September 19, 86–March 7, 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. ... Homicide (Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (c. ...

Emancipation

Freedmen and freedwomen, called liberti, formed a separate class in Roman society at all periods. They had the Phrygian cap as their symbol. These people were not numerous, but Rome needed to demonstrate at times the great frank spirit of this "civitas," so the freed slaves were made famous, as hopeful examples. poop. ... A Phrygian cap The Phrygian cap or Bonnet Phrygien is a soft, red, conical cap with the top pulled forward, worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. ...

Freed people suffered some minor legal disabilities that show in fact how otherwise open the society was to them—they could not hold certain high offices and they could not marry into the senatorial classes. Even those who grew rich and influential might still be looked down on by members of the traditional aristocracy as vulgar nouveaux riches, for which the fictional character Trimalchio serves as best-known example. Their children had no prohibitions. The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... For the band Nouveau Riche, see Nouveau Riche (band). ... Trimalchio is a character in the Roman novel The Satyricon by Petronius. ...

The Latin poet Horace, the son of a freedman, served as a military officer in the army of Marcus Junius Brutus and seemed headed for a political career before the defeat of Brutus by Octavian and Mark Antony. Though Horace may have been an exceptional case, freedmen were an important part of Roman administrative functions. Freedmen of the Imperial families often were the main functionaries in the Imperial administration. Some rose to positions of great power and influence, for example Narcissus, a freedman of the Emperor Claudius. For other people named Horace, see Horace (disambiguation). ... Marcus Junius Brutus (85–42 BC), or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, was a Roman senator of the late Roman Republic. ... The famous statue of Octavian at the Prima Porta Caesar Augustus (Latin:IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS) ¹ (23 September 63 BC–19 August AD 14), known to modern historians as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, is considered the first and one of the most... Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) ( January 14 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. ... Tiberius Claudius Narcissus ( 1st century AD) was one of the freedmen who formed the core of the civil service under the Roman emperor Claudius. ... For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ...

Usually, educated or experienced slaves were freed the most often. Eventually the practice became so common that Emperor Augustus passed a law proclaiming that no Roman slave could be freed before age 30.

Slaves were freed for a variety of reasons, ranging from a particularly good deed toward his/her master, or as a sign of friendship or respect. Sometimes, slaves who had enough money could buy their 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 own money. Slaves were also freed as a result of the master's death by a statement in his-or-her will, but Emperor Augustus also proclaimed that no more than a hundred slaves, fewer in a small household, could be so freed.

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 slave was touched on the head with a staff and he was free to go. Simpler methods were sometimes used, usually with the master proclaiming a slave's freedom in front of friends and family, or just a simple invitation to recline with the family at dinner. After a slave was freed, the freedman was free to make his own way in life, even become an important member in his community.

While freedmen had undoubtedly more rights than a slave, he received 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 visit his master regularly to pay his respects, usually in the morning. Although a freedman had some restrictions, his children would enjoy the full privileges of Roman citizenship. Some freedmen still did the work for their masters that they had previously done as slaves, or they could become very rich and powerful, such as the Vettii, who were believed to be freedmen brothers, who owned a house in Pompeii that was one of the biggest and most magnificent in the town. A freedman also designed the amphitheater in Pompeii, where all plays were held.

Influence

The Stoics taught that all men were manifestations of the same universal spirit, and thus by nature equal. At the same time, however, Stoicism held that external circumstances (such as being enslaved) did not truly impede a person from practicing the Stoic ideal of inner self-mastery: one of the more important Roman stoics, Epictetus, spent his youth as a slave. Many historians dispute this statement and believe he was born minor royalty with his fellow slave AD. Epictetus (Greek: Επίκτητος; ca. ...

Both the Stoics and the early Christians opposed the ill-treatment of slaves, rather than slavery itself. Keith R. Bradley argues, indeed, that the influence of such texts as "obey your masters...with fear and trembling" may have made beatings more common in late Antiquity. Many Christian leaders (such as Gregory of Nyssa and John Chrysostom) often called for good treatment for slaves and condemned slavery. In fact, tradition describes Pope Clement I (term c. 92 - 99), Pope Pius I (term c. 158 - 167) and Pope Callixtus I (term c. 217 - 222) as former slaves. ^[5] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ... Gregory of Nyssa ( 335 – after 394) was a Christian bishop and saint. ... John Chrysostom (349– ca. ... Saint Clement I was the Bishop of Rome, and thus pope, from 88 to 99 AD. Also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, he was the fourth pope, according to Catholic tradition. ... This article is about the year 92. ... For other uses, see number 99. ... Pope Pius I was pope, perhaps from 140 to 154, though the Vaticans 2003 Annuario Pontificio lists 142 or 146 to 157 or 161. ... Events Change of era name from Yongshou to Yangxi of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Deaths Categories: 158 ... Events Germanic tribe Marcomanni waged war against the Romans at Aquileia Change of era name from Yanxi to Yongkang of the Chinese Han Dynasty King Chogo of Baekje waged war against Silla in Korean peninsula. ... Callixtus I (also Callistus I) was pope from about 217 to 222, during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. ... Events Macrinus becomes Roman Emperor on the death of Caracalla. ... This article is about the year 222. ...

See also

• History of slavery
• Slavery in antiquity

The history of slavery covers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout human history. ... Slavery as an institution in Mediterranean cultures of the ancient world comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war. ...

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-slavery.php

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Category:Slavery in Ancient Rome

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