by Jerry Toner
Naturally, the senate and the Roman people grew anxious that they would no longer be able to call upon enough Italian troops and that this great body of slaves would destroy their masters. But they could also see that it would be neither easy nor equitable to take these huge estates away from their owners, since they had been in their possession now for generations. How do you dispossess a man of a tree that his grandfather planted with his own hand? Some of the tribunes of the people brought in laws to try to limit the size of such estates and force the great landowners to employ a certain proportion of free men. But no one took any notice of these laws. As to the threat of slaves, the worry was not so much that they would revolt, but that they would eradicate the freeborn peasant, on whom the Roman elite relied to serve in the army and keep them in power. So it was decreed that no citizen over twenty years of age and under forty should serve in the army outside of Italy for more than three years at a time in order to give them a chance to keep control of their smallholdings at home.
Thankfully, the slave owner today need not trouble himself with such concerns. The army is now professional and it is many, many years since there has been a great slave revolt. Today’s slave owner needs to worry only about keeping control of his own household. These are matters that I picked up at my father’s knee. As a lad, I learnt to command authority, issuing my string of attendants with their orders: ‘Bring me my cloak!’, ‘Wash my hands!’, ‘Serve me my breakfast, boy!’ were the commands that punctuated my daily life. And as a callow youth, my father taught me how to instil respect into even the most recalcitrant slave.
The household is the cornerstone of society and, indeed, all human life. No kind of civilised existence is possible at all without the acquisition of the basic necessities that the household provides. But a household is just a house if it has no slaves. To be sure, a family needs a wife and children. Indeed, we can profit from their work. But it is the slaves who provide the bulk of the services. This is particularly beneficial because it means the master of the household does not have to rely on outsiders to provide those services. We all know how degrading it is to have to ask others for help and how tiresome to bring in external contractors to do jobs for us. They never turn up when instructed to, take liberties with their fees, and, taking little pride in their work, carry out their tasks shoddily. With slaves, however, we can be sure that work will be carried out in just the way that we want it to be done. The slaves, therefore, turn the family unit into a much more significant unit, that is to say, the household.
The household is like a miniature version of the state itself, with its own structure, hierarchy and leadership and its own sense of community. Husband/wife, father/son, master/slave are the basic building blocks of social life. As such, slavery is one of the key principles of social organisation. The slave is at the complete disposal of the master of the household, in the same way that the citizen must obey the commands of the state. But slavery is a state of absolute subjection. The slave has no kin, he cannot assume the rights and obligations of marriage, his very identity is imposed by the owner, who gives him his name. Slavery is the same as social death in this respect. Complete submission is expected. Regrettably, slaves sometimes have to be coerced and worn down into obedience. Their spirit has to be broken. It is for this reason that some of the prouder tribes refuse ever to surrender when defeated in battle. The Cantabri in Spain, for example, killed themselves after the failure of their revolt rather than suffer enslavement.
All slaves share the same lack of legal rights. But we should not assume that they only perform tasks that are beneath the free man. In fact, as we shall also see, many slaves have acquired positions of influence on account of the power of their masters. Equally, many poor free men have to carry out the most loathsome tasks in order to put bread before their families. Slaves are also used to carry out a bewildering array of tasks. Whether it is the old retainer keeping watch on the front door, or the young boy serving water at table, or the comely slave girl attending in the bed-chamber, slaves carry out a wide variety of jobs within a large household that minister to the master’s every need.
My father taught me what slaves were also for – showing off! Slaves may be morally worthless, mere things and possessions, but despite this they confer high status upon their owners. In the same way that a fine horse reflects well upon its rider, so a well-mannered and deferential slave highlights the merits of its owner. And if there are four hundred of them in the household, then how much greater is the glory which is displayed! Who but the highest in society can afford to maintain so impressive and prestigious a retinue?
For slaves might be dullards but they serve the noblest. If you want to learn how you too should treat those slaves who accrue to you as your good fortune grows, then read on. For however much the practice of your own times is at variance with the principles of the ancient world, that should not discourage you from learning from them. For in the works of the ancients far more is to be found to merit your approval than your rejection. Read and learn.
COMMENTARY
The story that the Alan tribe did not have slaves shows how remarkable such a fact was to a Roman writer. The fourth-century AD historian Ammianus felt it was worth recording precisely because it would have struck his Roman audience as curious at best. There are no examples of Romans arguing that slavery should be abolished. It was a simple fact of social life, in the same way that owning a car or a cat is today. Wealthy Romans saw slaves as being necessary for a high standard of living, just as we view modern domestic appliances. Slaves did all the things that you would not want to do yourself – washing, cleaning, even wiping your backside – as well as providing a whole range of other services. But not all slaves were alike. There was a big difference between domestic slaves in the city and the slaves working in the fields. Urban slaves were as much about status as efficiency, in much the same way as are many modern household possessions (do we really need that 100-inch plasma TV?). Even country slaves may not always have been kept primarily for economic reasons, even though their roles were crucial, especially in the large estates of the rich.
The Greeks held a stronger view of the nature of slaves than did the Romans. Aristotle famously argued that slaves were naturally slavish, and it was right for them to be owned by the superior Greeks. Athenian society maintained a strong divide between citizen and slave, which made it difficult for slaves to be assimilated into society even when they were freed. A completely different model operated in Rome, where large numbers of outsiders were habitually assimilated into its ranks of citizens. One of the main reasons for Rome’s great success was its ability to incorporate all manner of foreigners and their gods. This allowed it to expand its pool of manpower along with its territory. In such a society, it made no sense to exclude slaves permanently from becoming Roman. Instead it seemed more sensible to think of slavery as a temporary state, after which, if the right attitude had been shown, a slave could achieve Roman citizenship. Somewhat surprisingly, Roman slavery was as much about social mobility as structural rigidity.
Slaves had few legal rights in Roman law but this was not adhered to rigorously, especially in urban households. It was usual for city slaves to be allowed to own money and possessions, even if this peculium legally remained the property of the owner. Although slaves could not marry, in practice they were often allowed to form partnerships. They acquired more legal rights during the empire: for example they could appeal to the emperor’s statue for sanctuary from an abusive master. But this increased level of imperial interest did not mean that the emperors wanted to improve slaves’ conditions. As supreme leaders, they simply came to interfere in all kinds of issues. People looked to them to provide guidance and rulings about what was legally acceptable in all manner of domestic matters.
Numbers regarding the quantity of slaves in the Roman world need to be treated with caution. They are informed guesses at best. The surviving evidence is poor and also pretty thin. You can find discussion of the numbe
rs and degree of social mobility of slaves in Roman Italy in Walter Scheidel’s ‘Human Mobility in Roman Italy, II: The Slave Population’, in the Journal of Roman Studies, 95 (2005), 64–79, and ‘The slave population of Roman Italy: speculation and constraints’, in Topoi, 9 (1999), 129–44.
For the story that the Alans were notable for not having any slaves, see Ammianus Marcellinus 31.2.25. Seneca complains that owners who get angry are too quick to punish their slaves with whippings and by having their legs broken for very minor offences such as answering back or giving them cheeky looks: see On Anger 3.24 and 32. The explanation for Marcus’s aims of this book is based on the preface of Columella’s work, On Agriculture. The legal status of slaves can be found in the Digest 1.5. Aristotle Politics 1.2 contains the discussion about the household, slaves as tools, and whether slaves are so by nature. For the ancient analysis of why slave numbers increased in Italy, see Appian, Civil Wars, 1.1; this can be usefully compared with the modern analysis of Keith Hopkins in the first chapter of his Conquerors and Slaves.
CHAPTER I
HOW TO BUY A SLAVE
IF A SCULPTOR WISHES to make a great work of art he begins by searching out the piece of stone that most perfectly suits his purpose. So too the slave owner must realise that it is only from the right kind of human material that he can ever hope to fashion slaves who display the desirable characteristics of cheerfulness, hard work and obedience. It is vital that he takes the greatest care in selecting the best slaves in the market, ensuring that they are free from defects, whether physical, mental or moral. Here I shall instruct you how best to go about the difficult task of buying a slave.
Firstly, the where. Many will tell you to go to the Roman forum, behind the temple of Castor, but you would do well to ignore their advice. Only the lowest and roughest sorts of slave are offered for sale there. Far better are those to be found from the slave traders who operate in the Saepta Julia, close by the Pantheon. This is particularly so if you are seeking to buy a soft boy, or something from one of the more exotic regions of the empire or even beyond, from such places as Ethiopia. All of these are to be found among the traders there, although you must be sure to ask them directly if they have anything special tucked away in the back of their shops. They always keep their best hidden from public view so as to retain them for their premium customers. You will have no trouble finding a castrated boy there too, if that is your desire, even though the law in theory prohibits such a trade.
Legally speaking, slaves are either captives from war or descended from female slaves but in reality there are other avenues into servitude. Some of the destitute illegally sell themselves into slavery to clear debts, or they might sell one of their children to help feed the remaining offspring. It is common practice for people to abandon unwanted babies at the rubbish dump on the edge of town and people sometimes raise these abandoned infants as their own slaves, even though such children technically remain freeborn. It is also to be suspected that slave dealers often buy their wares from traders who have simply kidnapped their goods, using pirate raids to snatch adults and children from far-flung coastal regions.
There is no doubt at all, however, concerning the legitimacy of those whom our armies have captured in war. These individuals owe their very lives to the mercy of our soldiers who chose, in the flush of victory, not to massacre them but spare their miserable lives so that they might provide us with services as payback for their military resistance. Captives from the wealthiest families might be given back to them after the payment of a satisfactory ransom. The rest pay for their lives through slavery.
I myself once took part in the sack of a small city in the border region with the Persian empire. After initial attempts to persuade the inhabitants to surrender peacefully in return for their lives had failed, we attacked vigorously and quickly broke through the city wall with our battering rams. Gaining control of the suburbs, we began to slaughter anyone we came across, whether man, woman or child. Most of the inhabitants fled into the old part of the city, in the centre, from where they sent out ambassadors in order to try to save their lives. What fools they had been not to accept our generous offer before. It was agreed that those who could pay the equivalent of 2,000 sesterces could go free, and fourteen thousand were in a position to do that. The rest, who amounted to some thirteen thousand, as well as all the other booty we could obtain, were sold.
Our commander was generous enough to distribute half of the slaves to us as a reward for our loyal service during the campaign. The rest he sold for the benefit of the state, to pay for the erection of a small votive shrine in gratitude to the gods for our victory, and for his own financial gain. The numbers involved here were, of course, nothing in comparison to the great booties which the likes of Julius Caesar acquired from his conquests. He is reputed to have taken one million slaves captive in Gaul. Or the mass enslavements which took place after the capture of Jerusalem, when it seemed that nearly the entire Jewish race fell into servitude, or in Dacia, when the great Trajan subjugated that warlike people. No, ours was small beer by comparison.
Once a slave has become a slave, by no matter which route, if he is to be sold he will in time find himself in one of the aforementioned slave-dealer shops. There the slaves will generally be stood on a raised platform to ensure that prospective buyers are able to have a good look at them. Those who are newly imported have their feet chalked white. Other information, regarding his or her place of birth and personal characteristics, will be found on a label hung round the slave’s neck.
The sale of slaves is regulated by the relevant sections of the Curule Aediles’ Edict. The purpose of this is to ensure that the prospective buyer is able to ascertain all the facts about a slave, so that he is able to discover any diseases or defects he may have; whether he is likely to try to run away or loiter about aimlessly; or whether the slave is free from any legal liability for a claim for damages. Those who sell slaves must state the origin of birth of each slave they offer for sale. You should pay particular heed to this. For the origin of a slave frequently determines whether or not they will become a good slave, with some tribes having a far better reputation than others. One would not, for instance, consider using a nasty little Briton as a personal servant, given their rough manners and demeanour. By contrast, young Egyptian boys make for excellent pets.
Opinions differ as to what is the best source for slaves. One thing all agree about, however, is that it is abhorrent to use fellow Roman citizens as slaves, as might otherwise happen if they have perhaps fallen into heavy debt. Instead, these poor cases should be sold abroad so they should not create unease among their owners, who would otherwise have to give instructions for menial tasks to those who had once been part of the proudest race of people in the world. For it is wrong that those who have been born as free Romans should end up in servitude. Even the German barbarians refuse to use their own people in this way. You may be surprised to learn that this dour race are fanatical gamblers, to such an extent that they will risk everything, including their freedom, to win one last throw of the dice. If they lose they will submit to being led away in chains. They claim it is because their honour is at stake but to me it seems like simple obstinacy. But the winner will always ensure that he sells such an enslaved free man abroad, in order that they should not on a daily basis have to feel ashamed at having caused such a downfall by seeing the loser working in their neighbourhood.
The great philosopher Seneca thought that home-bred slaves were best because they knew no other life and so were less likely to champ at the bit, as it were. Cicero’s friend Atticus was so fussy that he would only use home-breds for domestic slaves. In his view, home-born slaves are far more likely to remain loyal to their master, seeing him almost as a father, nor do they bear any grudge against him for their enslavement. The problem with this is, as we shall see, that breeding slaves is both expensive and time-consuming.
And, in any case, there are many who argue that a new slave is like wet clay, capable
of being moulded into whatever shape the master wishes. Like puppies, they can be trained quickly to perform their tasks in a certain fashion, rather than be brought up over long years to achieve the same end. Newly captured barbarians will obviously need to be broken in. And when buying one, it is important to remember that it will take them some time to grow accustomed to their new, much reduced station in life. We should show them some leniency in these early days and even some sympathy. For how can we not pity someone who tries to hold on to some vestige of his former status and is less than enthusiastic at performing the sordid tasks we assign to him? Do not punish him too hard if he has grown unfit during transportation and imprisonment and is unable to keep up with your horse on foot. Or if he is not used to having to be on his toes all day, awaiting his master’s call, and keeps falling asleep. Similarly, second-hand slaves cannot be expected to adapt to their new roles seamlessly. If they have come from an easy life in Rome, with all the holidays and gentle household jobs that entails, then they are going to find life in the country exhausting.
One point of special caution is not to buy too many slaves from the same background or nationality. While it may seem superficially appealing to have slaves who are able to work together and co-operate easily, on account of the fact that they speak the same language, this can generate great problems. At best, the slaves will conspire among themselves to work lazily, sit about chatting, and steal from you; at worst, they will argue, fight and plot to escape or even murder you. It is far better to source your slaves from a range of nationalities. Then they will be unable to converse with each other. Not only will this prevent servile collusion in shirking their work, but it will also force them to acquire the rudiments of Latin. This will in time enable you to issue orders to them more freely and for you to overhear the contents of their conversations and gossip.