Freedmen In The Early Roman Empire

Freedmen occupied a complex and often problematic place in Roman society between slaves on the one hand and freeborn citizens on the other. Playing an extremely important role in the economic life of the Roman world, they were also a key instrument for replenishing and even increasing the size of the citizen body. This book presents an original synthesis, for the first time covering both Republic and Empire in a single volume. While providing up-to-date discussions of most significant aspects of the phenomenon, the book also offers a new understanding of the practice of manumission, its role in the organisation of slave labour and the Roman economy, as well as the deep-seated ideological concerns to which it gave rise. It locates the freedman in a broader social and economic context, explaining the remarkable popularity of manumission in the Roman world.

Building on recent dynamic visual, literary and archaeological work on Roman freedmen, this book examines the impact of freed slaves on Roman society and culture.

How did freed slaves reinvent themselves after the shackles of slavery had been lifted? How were they reintegrated into society, and what was their social position and status? What contributions did they make to the society that had once - sometimes brutally - repressed them? This collection builds on recent dynamic work on Roman freedmen, the contributors drawing upon a rich and varied body of evidence - visual, literary, epigraphic and archaeological - to elucidate the impact of freed slaves on Roman society and culture amid the shadow of their former servitude. The contributions span the period between the first century BC and the early third century AD and survey the territories of the Roman Republic and Empire, while focusing on Italy and Rome.

Enormous numbers of slaves were absorbed into Roman society from the third century B.C. onwards. Mainly enslaved prisoners of war, they transformed the quality of life in the Roman Empire beyond recognition. In this anthology the author offers a complete collection of Greek and Latin sources in an English translation which deal with the great slave rebellions in the second and first centuries B.C. In a postscript Zvi Yavetz surveys the controversy on slaves and slavery from the French Revolution to our own days, with an emphasis on the debate between Marxists and non-Marxists. The book is intended for specialists and generalists alike, including those who have had no previous classical education, but could after delving in sources concern themselves with one of the most intriguing problems in world history. Zvi Yavetz holds the Lessing Chair of Roman History at Tel Aviv University, Israel, and is distinguished visiting professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. He is the author of many books in Hebrew, French and German on Roman history among which are Julius Caesar and His Public Image and Plebs and Princips.