Slavery - Manumission Flashcards
What was the manumission rate like in the ancient world?
Relatively high manumission rate in the ancient world compared with other societies (best evidence in the Roman Empire)
Was there a limit on the number of slaves that could be manumitted in the Roman Empire?
“The law prescribes that no one shall have the right to manumit more than a hundred” (Gaius, Institutes, 1.42-5)
Lex Fufia Caninia (2 BC) established a limit on the manumission of slaves in a will
What are Roman freedmen and how much agency do they have?
Freedpersons take the name of their owner’s family and are connected to their owner’s familia even after being freed. They are important as agents, managers, administrators in more wealthy families
Freedmen of the Emperors act similarly, though are unique because of the power of their masters. They act as administrators of the empire at the highest level and have genuinely notable power because of this
Could slaves own property or earn money in Rome?
Slaves could formally take custodial power over property (called a peculium). This legally belonged to their master but formerly belonged to them (though not protected in law)
They could earn money from their peculium (also considered part of the peculium and buy their freedom
Can be considered in certain circumstance as something like a reward, in other circumstances essentially a business loan
Could Roman freedmen acquire wealth?
Freedmen could (and sometimes did) become very wealthy
Pliny, Natural History, 33.47
Manumitted imperial slaves under Claudius - Pallas, Callistus, Narcissus
Freedman C. Caecilius Claudius Idisorus left behind 4,016 slaves and 60,000,000 sesterces when he died
What were elite attitudes towards wealthy freemen vs the reality?
Roman satirists such as Juvenal, Martial and Petronius mocked the displays of wealth by rich freedmen as gaudy and tasteless, as well as morally bankrupt
In reality, very few freedmen accumulated anything close to the wealth of Rome’s political class
Attitudes towards freedmen probably speak more to elite’s concern with freedmen encroaching on their status
Freedperson’s displays of wealth and identity in monuments, however, are very different from elites
When was Eurysaces’ tomb built and what was inscribed on it?
50-20 BC
Inscription - “This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces”
Facades show industrial work - the various stages of making bread, probably a manager in a bakery
What was the monument to Aulus Caprilius Timothy?
Grave stele found in Amphipolis (northern Greece) in the 1st century AD
Very rare depiction of the slave trade and of someone identifying as a slave trader
Gets across the huge differences between slave experiences
Epitaph reads: “Aulus Caprilius Timothy, freedman of Aulus”
Could be a derogatory association with ancient slavery due to its closeness with piracy
What evidence is there for the professions of freedmen in Rome?
Tomb to Philonicus and Demetrius (30-10 BC)
Depicts them surrounded by the toils of their trade (a coin maker and a carpenter)
What were the differences between freeborn and freedmen monuments?
Monuments to freeborn elite emphasise ancestry, political office
Freedmen monuments, contrastingly, emphasis occupation and commercial success
Tasteless and immoral like elite satirists claimed?
More likely to represent their own claim to success in Rome’s society (i.e. the acquisition of wealth and the ability to have a family), since freedmen were denied claims to honour utilised by the political class of ancient Rome
Were there lots of manumission inscriptions in the ancient world?
These survive in their thousands, Delphi has the biggest and most famous dossier, others include:
Thessaly - 1769 documents for 2137 slaves
Where are the Delphic manumissions and what date are they?
Most are inscribed on the retaining wall below the temple of Apollo; this had been filled up by the later 2nd c BC, and thereafter various surrounding monuments were used as inscribable surfaces
They date from between 201 BC and c. AD 100
About 99.5% follow the ‘sale to the god’ formula
Of these, about a quarter mention paramone
What is ‘sale to the god’?
Slave cannot legally purchase own freedom - entrusts money to a third party who transacts with the owner to achieve manumission
Slave entrusts that money to the god Apollo who then ‘buys’ the slave - they then become free as a consequence of a transfer of cash
Essentially, the god buys their freedom
What are the legal facets of ‘sale to the god’?
New status of apeleutheros/apeleuthera and cannot be claimed by another, including their former owner, freedom of choice and of movement
Free individuals witness the manumission procedure and guarantee its validity
‘Set in stone’ on the sanctuary wall
What are paramone obligations?
Freed through sale to the god BUT must remain and serve the previous master for the rest of the master’s life - paramenein from ‘remain’
