The evidence that we mainly look at is the early imperial period, the first, second, third century a d. For this period, we have very good evidence. So i's about 400 years rough, which is say, half the time we have for roman history. But where we start in the sixth seventh, seven, sixth century, it's very little that we really know that slaves did. This starts later. They capture these er great number of slaves, and it coincides with an economic development. We come back to that probably later as well.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the role of slavery in the Roman world, from its early conquests to the fall of the Western Empire.
The system became so entrenched that no-one appeared to question it, following Aristotle's view that slavery was a natural state. Whole populations could be marched into slavery after military conquests, and the freedom that Roman citizens prized for themselves, even in poverty, was partly defined by how it contrasted with enslavement. Slaves could be killed or tortured with impunity, yet they could be given great responsibility and, once freed, use their contacts to earn fortunes. The relationship between slave and master informed early Christian ideas of how the faithful related to God, informing debate for centuries.
With
Neville Morley
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter
Ulrike Roth
Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh
And
Myles Lavan
Senior lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St Andrews
Producer: Simon Tillotson.