Slavery in ancient Rome
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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]
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[edit] 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.
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.
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.
One of the most famous role of slaves played was the role of the Gladiator. The poor treatment of slaves led to one of the biggest slave rebellions led by the gladiator Spartacus.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
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 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.
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. In addition the master of the house might have children by his slaves. Such children could be well educated and freed when they became adults.
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.
[edit] 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: It has been said that one of the more important Roman stoics, Epictetus, spent his youth as a slave. However, many historians dispute this statement and believe he was born minor royalty with his fellow slave AD.
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]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ BBC - History - Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome
- ^ Slavery in Ancient Rome
- ^ [Naerebout and Singor, "De Oudheid", p. 296]
- ^ Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to History
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia Slavery and Christianity
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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