Supervisors: Dr. Colin Adams and Dr. Graham Oliver Phone: 07595664194 Address: Room 3.02
School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
14 Abercromby Square
The University of Liverpool
Liverpool
L69 7WZ
War captives are generally thought to have comprised the main portion of the Roman slave supply d... more War captives are generally thought to have comprised the main portion of the Roman slave supply during the Republic. Likewise, the result of mass enslavement through continuous war has been interpreted as a principle factor in the agricultural evolution in Italy from the second century BC which saw a significant increase in large plantation style farming (latifundia). The misconception of a male bias in agricultural labour has put a heavy influence on the need for an external supply of slaves rather than through reproduction. However, an analysis of documentary evidence suggests that wartime enslavement was more limited. Problems in supervising, transporting, and trading large numbers of slaves, as well as competing markets elsewhere in the Mediterranean, made immediate absorption of captives as slaves into the central Italian economy problematic. Furthermore, the vast majority of wartime enslavements occurred following the capture of cities, where larger numbers of civilian prisone...
PhD thesis investigating the process of enslaving war captives by the Romans and the extent and s... more PhD thesis investigating the process of enslaving war captives by the Romans and the extent and significance of this as a means of acquiring slaves within the growing slave economy in Italy and in the context of the changing geo-political environment of the wider Mediterranean from the early to mid-Republican periods.
In 189 BC the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso took command of the Roman army stationed in Magnesia. I... more In 189 BC the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso took command of the Roman army stationed in Magnesia. In the previous year the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio had defeated Antiochus III (King of the Seleucids) in a pitched battle which ended the war. The Roman army had been led peacefully across Greece and into Asia Minor by their former enemy turned ally Phillip V of Macedon. Neither the journey nor the battle of Magnesia produced much in the way of booty or captives for the Romans, therefore when Gn. Manlius Vulso took command he decided to march his troops against a tribe of Galatians (the Tolistoboii) who had supported Antiochus (Liv. 38.24f.). This punitive action represents Rome’s first foray into the Anatolian interior and it resulted in the capture of 40,000 of the Tolistoboii (App. Syr. 42.). The capture of such a large number of captives, however, presented a substantial logistical problem and, in contrast with what is considered orthodox practice, the Tolistoboii were ransomed or sold as slaves locally. If the Romans did not return to Italy with their slaves, then where might they have ended up? This paper will analyse the various markets which may have disseminated the enslaved captives throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In demonstrating that there was a longstanding network for the trade in slaves, this paper will highlight the international nature of the ancient slave trade and it will introduce how the difficult logistics of Rome’s far-flung campaigns inhibited Rome’s acquisition of slaves through war – a factor widely overlooked in Roman warfare and slavery studies.
Accounts of Roman warfare are replete with references to the capture of prisoners of war. Despite... more Accounts of Roman warfare are replete with references to the capture of prisoners of war. Despite the common occurrence of such episodes in the Roman world, little is known of the process by which prisoners were enslaved. Few details have survived concerning the period of captivity between initial capture by soldiers and eventual disposal in the form of release, ransom, enslavement or death. The majority of ancient writers, with a few notable exceptions, were unconcerned with the plight of captives. Likewise, modern historians have tended to focus on the eventual outcome of capture. In the case of enslaved captives the impression has been that enslavement was a quick and easy transition into private ownership and a considerable contribution to the Roman slave supply. However, the process of enslavement was a complex matter that was subject to a number of limiting financial, legal and logistical factors. This paper will examine the period of captivity from the moment of capture to the point of enslavement, in which I put forward that the Roman state took a primary role in the captivity and enslavement of prisoners of war thereby limiting the profitability by the state and the proportionality of prisoners being enslaved. By examining this period we may better understand the contribution that enslavement through war made to the Roman slave supply.
War captives are generally thought to have comprised the main portion of the Roman slave supply d... more War captives are generally thought to have comprised the main portion of the Roman slave supply during the Republic. Likewise, the result of mass enslavement through continuous war has been interpreted as a principle factor in the agricultural evolution in Italy from the second century BC which saw a significant increase in large plantation style farming (latifundia). The misconception of a male bias in agricultural labour has put a heavy influence on the need for an external supply of slaves rather than through reproduction. However, an analysis of documentary evidence suggests that wartime enslavement was more limited. Problems in supervising, transporting, and trading large numbers of slaves, as well as competing markets elsewhere in the Mediterranean, made immediate absorption of captives as slaves into the central Italian economy problematic. Furthermore, the vast majority of wartime enslavements occurred following the capture of cities, where larger numbers of civilian prisone...
PhD thesis investigating the process of enslaving war captives by the Romans and the extent and s... more PhD thesis investigating the process of enslaving war captives by the Romans and the extent and significance of this as a means of acquiring slaves within the growing slave economy in Italy and in the context of the changing geo-political environment of the wider Mediterranean from the early to mid-Republican periods.
In 189 BC the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso took command of the Roman army stationed in Magnesia. I... more In 189 BC the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso took command of the Roman army stationed in Magnesia. In the previous year the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio had defeated Antiochus III (King of the Seleucids) in a pitched battle which ended the war. The Roman army had been led peacefully across Greece and into Asia Minor by their former enemy turned ally Phillip V of Macedon. Neither the journey nor the battle of Magnesia produced much in the way of booty or captives for the Romans, therefore when Gn. Manlius Vulso took command he decided to march his troops against a tribe of Galatians (the Tolistoboii) who had supported Antiochus (Liv. 38.24f.). This punitive action represents Rome’s first foray into the Anatolian interior and it resulted in the capture of 40,000 of the Tolistoboii (App. Syr. 42.). The capture of such a large number of captives, however, presented a substantial logistical problem and, in contrast with what is considered orthodox practice, the Tolistoboii were ransomed or sold as slaves locally. If the Romans did not return to Italy with their slaves, then where might they have ended up? This paper will analyse the various markets which may have disseminated the enslaved captives throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In demonstrating that there was a longstanding network for the trade in slaves, this paper will highlight the international nature of the ancient slave trade and it will introduce how the difficult logistics of Rome’s far-flung campaigns inhibited Rome’s acquisition of slaves through war – a factor widely overlooked in Roman warfare and slavery studies.
Accounts of Roman warfare are replete with references to the capture of prisoners of war. Despite... more Accounts of Roman warfare are replete with references to the capture of prisoners of war. Despite the common occurrence of such episodes in the Roman world, little is known of the process by which prisoners were enslaved. Few details have survived concerning the period of captivity between initial capture by soldiers and eventual disposal in the form of release, ransom, enslavement or death. The majority of ancient writers, with a few notable exceptions, were unconcerned with the plight of captives. Likewise, modern historians have tended to focus on the eventual outcome of capture. In the case of enslaved captives the impression has been that enslavement was a quick and easy transition into private ownership and a considerable contribution to the Roman slave supply. However, the process of enslavement was a complex matter that was subject to a number of limiting financial, legal and logistical factors. This paper will examine the period of captivity from the moment of capture to the point of enslavement, in which I put forward that the Roman state took a primary role in the captivity and enslavement of prisoners of war thereby limiting the profitability by the state and the proportionality of prisoners being enslaved. By examining this period we may better understand the contribution that enslavement through war made to the Roman slave supply.
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