Tiberius Claudius Eumenes, freedman of the emperor (erected this monument) to himself and to Claudia Phoebe and Fadia Tethis, his daughters, and Claudius Phoebus, his son, and Iulia Heuresis, his wife, and their childrenĬonsequently, the Roman cemetery of Portus, Isola Sacra, contains many in scriptions of freed slaves, and in Ostia there is a horrea ot the brothers Epagathiana and Epaphroditiana, two freedmen. Pirates who were defeated were usually sentenced to the galleys.įigure 4: Tomb inscription of a freedman 7. However, unskilled slaves, or slaves sentenced to slavery for punishment, usually worked on farms, in mines and in mills. In particular, slaves of Greek descent could be highly educated. Accountants and doctors were often slaves. Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services and could perform highly skilled jobs and professions. In fact, slavery played an important role in society and economy in ancient Rome. However, slaves did get more legal protection in later time, including the right to file complaints against their masters. Also under Roman law, slaves had no legal personality and, unlike Roman citizens, could be subjected to corporal punishment and even summary execution. Of course, the basis was exactly the same. Many slaves could regain their freedom through meritorious behaviour ( manumissio) or, over time, be given the opportunity to buy themselves free, after which they often managed to rise to great heights professionally and socially. The above slogan, written on a stone near the temple of Feronia 6 in Terracina (Latium, Italy), immediately shows one aspect in which the concept of slavery among the Romans clearly differed from our current idea of slavery. " "Let deserving slaves sit down so that they may stand up free."."įigure 3: Reconstruction of temple complex at Terracina 5. After all, slaves were transported from port to port as merchandise and, moreover, as slaves or as freedmen (former slaves), they performed many of the daily tasks in and around the ports Rome sailed on.įigure 2: Mosaic showing slaves boarding an African elephant. Therefore, I think this is a good time to delve into the slavery past, as well as the slave trade of the Roman Empire. In our previous article on the port city of Massalia, I also recalled that Gaul was already supplying slaves to Rome at the time of the Roman republic. The question then quickly arises to what extent Roman slavery can be compared to 17th-century African slavery? One could even say that, in quantity, the slavery of the Western Roman Empire over a period of eight centuries, across three continents with tens of millions of slaves was the precursor to the Trans-Atlantic slavery of the 17th century. Slavery in any form has existed for as long as humans have existed. The mostly Christian conscience was appeased with the deep-rooted line of thought that 'an African could not be considered a full human being and therefore should not be treated as such' 2. Economic opportunism, cheap labour and the white man's sense of superiority was the major driving force here. Nowadays, when we talk about slaves, we generally think about the black African population.Ĭurrently, in many countries, and not least in the Netherlands, much attention is drawn to the 17th century slavery past in the countries concerned. I recently received a 2018 article by a certain Arienne King titled 'The Roman Empire in West Africa' in which, among other things, she focuses on the slave trade in Africa as well as the relatively small group of African slaves 1, mostly children, who were transported to Rome. Figure 1: Roman chains found on a skeleton in England (3rd century AD)
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