Slavery and Society at Rome

Key Themes in Ancient History

by Keith Bradley

This book is about the life of the slave in classical Roman society and the importance of the institution of slavery in Roman civilization generally. Its main purpose is to communicate, particularly to an undergraduate audience, the harshness of the institution, and to convey what the experience of being a slave at Rome was like from a slave's point of view. The book's importance lies in the fact that it deals with a subject of great interest and is the only comprehensive treatment of Roman slavery currently available.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Classics, Ancient History, Roman History, School

202 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1994

Reviews

[Kiara Van Hout]

A profoundly humanising account.

[Zenne Luna]

(read chapter 1-5 +9, used chapter 5 + 9 for uni)

[Robert Kidd]

This is one of those modest, unsung pieces of scholarship that truly help the contemporary reader to understand the mores, morality and culture of past civilizations. Bradley’s research has been meticulous and painstaking, evidenced by the breadth of classical sources quoted, from court records of criminal cases to information gleaned from funeral epitaphs.
Some of the facts revealed are shocking. From about 50 BC to AD 150, more than 500,000 new slaves were required each year to service the requirements of the Roman empire. Contrast this with the peak average of 60,000 at the height of the African slave trade.
The numbers alone are staggering, and call into question the motives for Roman expansionist conquest. Enslaving a vanquished enemy ‘en masse’ was a matter of course for Roman armies, and in the footsteps of the legions came the merchants, offering bargain deals on wine for slaves. It has been claimed that Julius Caesar alone enslaved a million people during his conquest of Gaul.
Rome was a slave society, but it must be said that people smuggling was endemic throughout Europe, north Africa and the middle east. Aegean pirates and marauding Galatians in Africa were just as merciless as their Roman counterparts. The fantasy of the urban slave in Rome, spending their days in the household of some benign patrician, copying letters and waiting to be freed in old age is swept aside by the harsh realities of the ‘familia rustica,’ slaving away on an agricultural estate in Campania, or the death sentence of working in a stone quarry.
I have never before described a book as a ‘must read,’ but in this case I’m willing to make an exception.

[Mira O'Hart]

I really enjoyed this book. My own work involves slavery in a fictionalized world I've created. I am researching the subject, specifically Roman slavery to help build pieces of my world. The book was detailed and had such lovely, fascinating tidbits of information that typical history books don't touch on. I'll be what I learned in this book about manumission in my third novel, currently in progress.

[Grace Lindquist]

I found that this booked offered a really helpful overview of enslavement in Rome.

[David S]

Part of the Key Themes in Ancient History series, Keith Bradley's Slavery and Society at Rome provides an in-depth introduction to the institution of slavery during the central period (200 BC - AD 200) of the Roman Republic/Empire. Bradley doesn't dig too deeply into any given theme, but he touches on a variety of important topics from the slave supply chain to quality of life to the overall purpose slavery played in Roman society. Bradley's writing is generally efficient and engaging, though I found myself skimming through chapters 7 and 8 ("Change and continuity" and "Slavery and progress"). Despite the complete lack of contemporary accounts of slavery from the perspective of a an enslaved person, Bradley makes a valiant effort to try to fill in the gaps using accounts from slavery in the Americas. Some of this may stretch a bit too far into the realm of conjecture, but it is still a worthwhile exercise to try to provide a counterpoint to the primary source accounts written from the perspective of the Roman political establishment and the elite slaveholder. Overall, I would recommend Bradley's book to those who have an interest in the history of Rome, Roman society, and slavery as a social institution.

[Nicholas]

Surprisingly accessible considering how specialised a topic this is. Bradley's book is a fairly thorough examination of slavery at Rome, including the functions slaves fulfilled, the sources from which the Romans got their slaves and discussion of the ethical position of slaves in Roman society, among other things. A lot of information is delivered in the relatively short space of this book, but despite this Bradley manages to keep things interesting and fresh. The scope of the book, however, is very broad, and as a result Bradley has made a lot of generalises statements that will not necessarily hold true if you intend to study slavery in a particular period of Roman history. All in all this is a good basic work to use as a spring-board for focussed study, yet still informative enough to be of great use to those who are merely casually interested.

[Cate]

A look at slavery in Ancient Rome. A fairly well written account that goes deeper into the subject than a textbook would. A good read if you are looking at comparing slave societies.

[Ned]

I could see them use this for the HBO series, which also isn't bad

[Imogen Herrad]

Excellently written and researched. Sheds light on a hugely important facet of Roman society much neglected and overlooked by most other writers of both nonfiction and fiction.

[Samantha]

Read for Roman Slavery university class