The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
Slavery in Rome.
Slaves existed at Rome in the earliest times of which we have any record; but they do not appear to have been numerous under the kings and in the earliest ages of the Republic. The different trades and the mechanic arts were chiefly carried on by the clients of the patricians; and the small farms in the country were cultivated for the most part by the labors of the proprietor and of his family. But as the territories of the Roman state were extended, the patricians obtained possession of large estates out of the public domain; since it was a practice of the Romans to deprive a conquered people of a part of their lands. These estates required a larger number of hands for their cultivation than could readily be obtained among the free population, and since the freemen were constantly liable to be called away from their work to serve in the armies, the lands began to be cultivated almost entirely by slave labor. Through war and commerce, slaves could be obtained easily, and at a cheap rate, and their numbers soon became so great, that the poorer class of freemen was thrown almost entirely out of employment. This state of things was one of the chief arguments used by Licinius and the Gracchi for limiting the quantity of public land which a person might possess. In the Licinian Rogations there was a provision that a certain number of freemen should be employed on every estate. This regulation, however, was of little avail, as the lands still continued to be cultivated almost exclusively by slaves. The elder Gracchus, in traveling through Italy, was led to observe the evils which slavery inflicted upon the provinces of his country. The great body of the people were impoverished. Instead of little farms studding the country with their pleasant aspect, and nursing an independent race, he beheld nearly all the lands of Italy monopolized by large proprietors; and the plow was in the hands of slaves. This was one hundred and thirty-four years before the Christian era. The palaces of the wealthy towered in solitary grandeur: the freemen hici themselves in miserable hovels. Deprived of the dignity of proprietors, they were compelled to labor in competition with slaves Excepting with the immensely rich, and the feeble and decreasing class of independent husbandmen, poverty was extreme. This state of things existed at a time when Home was considered mistress of the world, and the rulers of Egypt had exalted the Romans above the immortal god. .
In the latest times of the republic, we find that Julius Caesar attempted a remedy, to some extent, by enacting that of those persons who attended to cattle, a third, at least, should be freemen. In Sicily, which supplied Rome with so great a quantity of corn, the number of agricultural slaves was immense. The oppressions to which they were exposed, drove them twice to rebellion, and their numbers enabled them to defy, for a time, the Roman power. The first of these servile wars began in B. C. 134, and lasted two years; the second commenced thirty years later, and lasted four years. The Sicilians treated their slaves with extraordinary rigor, branding them like cattle, and compelling them to toil incessantly for their masters. The history of the revolt offers numerous points of resemblance to that of Chios, already related; though Eunus, the leader of the Sicilian slaves, cannot be compared with Driniacos, either for character or abilities. Eunus, by visions and pretended prophecies, excited the slaves to insurrection; and his conduct, and that of his followers, when they took possession of the city of Euna, presented a striking contrast to the moderation of the Chian slaves. They pillaged the houses, and, without distinction of age or sex, slaughtered the inhabitants, plucking infants from their mother's breasts, and dashing them on the ground. The number of the insurgents at one time amounted to 60,000 men, who, armed with axes, slings, 6takes, and cooking spits, defeated several armies. Pursuing them, however, without relaxation, the state at length prevailed, utterly crushed the insurrection, and carried Eunus a prisoner to Rome, where, according to Plutarch, he was devoured by vermin.
Long after it had become the custom to employ large gangs of slaves in the cultivation of the land, the number of those who served as personal attendants was very small. Persons in good circumstances seem usually to have had only one to wait upon them, who was generally called by the name of the master. But during the latter times of the republic and under the empire, the number of domestic slaves greatly increased, and in every family of importance there were separate slaves to attend to all the duties of domestic life. It was considered a reproach to a man not to keep a considerable number of slaves. The first question asked respecting a person's fortune, was an inquiry as to the number of his slaves. Horace seems to speak of ten slaves as the lowest number which a person in tolerable circumstances ought to keep. The immense number of prisoners taken in the constant wars of the republic, and the increase of wealth and luxury, augmented the number of slaves to a prodigious extent. The statement of Athenæus that very many Romans possessed 10,000 and 20,000 slaves, and even more, is probably an exaggeration; but a freedman under Augustus, who had lost much property in the civil wars, left at his death as many as 4,116.[1] Two hundred was no uncommon number for a person to keep.[2]
The mechanic arts, which were formerly in the hands of the clients, were now entirely exercised by slaves:[3] a natural growth of things, for where slaves perform certain labors, such labor will be thought degrading to freemen. The games of the amphitheatre required an immense number of slaves trained for the purpose. Like the slaves in Sicily, the Gladiators of Italy rose in rebellion against their oppressors,[4] and under the able generalship of Spartacus, defeated a Roman consular army, and were not subdued until after a struggle of two years, and when 60,000 of them had fallen in battle.
Spartacus was a Thracian by birth, and had been compelled, like other barbarians, to serve in the Roman army, from which he had deserted, and, at the head of a body of chosen companions, had carried on a partisan war against the conquerors. Being made prisoner, Spartacus was sold as a slave; and his strength and size caused him to be reserved as a gladiator. He was placed in a gladiatorial school at Capua, with two hundred other Thracian, German and Gaulish slaves, among whom a conspiracy was formed for effecting their escape. Their plot was discovered; but a small body, under Spartacus, broke out, and, having procured arms, and gained some advantages over the Roman forces sent against them, they were soon joined by the slaves and peasantry of the neighborhood, and their numbers amounted to 10,000 men. By the courage and skill of Spartacus, several considerable battles were gained; but his authority was insufficient to restrain the ferocity and licentiousness of his followers, and the cities of the south of Italy were pillaged with the most revolting atrocities. In a few months, Spartacus found himself at the head of 60,000 men; and the consuls were now sent, with two legions, against the revolted slaves. Mutual jealousies divided the leaders of the latter, and the Gauls and Germans formed a separate body under their own leaders, while the Thracians and Lucanians adhered to Spartacus. The former were defeated; but Spartacus skillfully covered their retreat, and successively defeated the two consuls. Flushed with success, his followers demanded to be led against Rome; and the city trembled before the servile forces. In this crisis, Licinius Crassus, who was afterwards a triumvir, was placed at the head of the army. His lieutenant, Mummius, whom he dispatched with two legions to watch the motions of the enemy, was defeated by a superior force, and slain. Crassus, after having made an example of the defeated legions, by executing every tenth man, surrounded Spartacus, near Rhegium, with a ditch six miles in length. Spartacus broke through the enemy by night; but Crassus, who did not doubt that he would march upon Rome, pursued him, and defeated a considerable part of his forces, who had abandoned their general from disaffection. Spartacus now retreated; but his followers compelled him to lead them against the Romans. His soldiers fought with a courage deserving success; but they were overcome, after an obstinate conflict, and Spartacus himself fell fighting on his knees, upon a heap of his slain enemies. According to the Soman statements, 60,000 rebels fell in this battle, 6000 were made prisoners, and crucified on the Appian way. A considerable number escaped, and continued the war, but were finally destroyed by Pompey.
Under the empire various enactments were made to restrain the cruelty of masters towards their slaves; but the spread of Christianity tended most t. ameliorate their condition, though the possession of them was for a long time by no means condemned as contrary to Christian justice. The Christian writers, however, inculcate the duty of acting towards them as we would be acted by; but down to the age of Theodosius, wealthy persons still continued to keep as many as two or three thousand.[5] Justinian did much to promote the ultimate extinction of slavery; but the number of slaves was again increased by the invasion of the northern barbarians, who not only brought with them their own slaves, who were chiefly Sclavonians, but also reduced many of the inhabitants of the conquered provinces to the condition of slaves. But all the various classes of slaves became merged in the course of time into the serfs of the Middle Ages.
The sources from which the Romans obtained slaves, have already been noticed. Under the republic one of the chief supplies was prisoners taken in war, who were sold by the quæstors[6] with a crown on their heads, and usually on the spot where they were taken, as the care of a large number of captives was inconvenient. Consequently, slave-dealers generally accompanied an army, and frequently after a great battle had been gained, many thousands were sold at once, when the slave-dealers obtained them for a mere trifle. In the camp of Lucullus on one occasion, slaves were sold for a sum equal to about eighty cents of our money.
The slave trade was also carried on to a great extent, and after the fall of Corinth and Carthage, Delos was the chief mart for this traffic. When the Cilician pirates had possession of the Mediterranean, as many as 10,000 slaves are said to have been imported and sold there in one day.[7] A large number came from Thrace and the countries in the north of Europe, but the chief supply was from Africa, and more especially Asia, whence we read of Phyrgians, Lycians, Cappadocians, &c., as slaves.
The trade of slave-dealers was considered disreputable, and expressly distinguished from that of merchants; but it was very lucrative, and great fortunes were made by it. The slave-dealer Thoranius, who lived in the time of Augustus, was a well-known character
Slaves were usually sold by auction at Rome; and, as we have observed of the Greek auctions, they were conducted very much like those of our southern cities. They were placed on a raised stone, or table, so that every one might see and handle them, even if they did not wish to purchase them. Purchasers took care to have them stripped, for slave-dealers had recourse to as many tricks to conceal personal defects, as a horse-jockey of modern times. Sometimes purchasers called in the advice of medical men. Slaves of great beauty and rarity were not exhibited to public gaze in the slave market, but were shown to purchasers in private. Newly imported slaves had their feet whitened with paint;[8] and those that came from the East had their ears bored,[9] which was a sign of slavery among many eastern nations.
The slave market, like all other markets, was under the jurisdiction of the ædiles, who made many regulations, by edicts, respecting the sale of slaves. The character of the slave to be sold, was set forth on a scroll, hanging around his neck, which was a warranty to the purchaser; the vendor was bound to announce fairly all his defects, and if he gave a false account, had to take him back, any time within six months after he was sold, or make up to the purchaser what the latter had lost by obtaining an inferior article to what had been warranted. The vendor might, however, use general terms of commendation without being obliged to make them good. The chief points which he had to warrant was the health of the slave, especially freedom from epilepsy, and that he had not a tendency to thieving, running away, or committing suicide. The nation of a slave was considered important, and had to be set forth by the vendor. Slaves sold without any warranty, wore at the time a cap upon then-head. Slaves newly imported were generally preferred for common work; those who had served long were considered artful.
The value of slaves depended of course upon their qualifications; but under the empire, the increase of luxury, and the corruption of morals, led purchasers to pay immense sums for beautiful slaves, or such as ministered to the caprice or whim of the purchaser. Martial speaks of beautiful boys who sold for as much as 100,000 or 200,000 sesterces each; that is, from 4,000 to 8,000 dollars. A morio, or fool, sometimes sold for 20,000 sesterces. Slaves who possessed a knowledge of any art which might bring in profit to their owners, also sold for a large sum. Thus scribes and doctors frequently sold high, and also slaves fitted for the stage, as we see from Cicero's speech in behalf of Roscius. A class of female slaves, who brought in gain to their masters, were also dear. The price of a good ordinary slave, in the time of Horace, was about equal to ninety dollars of our money. In the fourth century, a slave, capable of bearing arms, was valued at 25 aurei, (equal in weight to $125 in gold.) In the time of Justinian, the legal valuation of slaves was as follows: common slaves, both male and female, were valued at 20 solidi, (about $100,) under ten years of age, half that sum; if they were artificers, they were worth fifty per cent, more; if notarii, (short hand writers), they were worth 50 solidi; if medical men or midwives, 60. Female slaves, unless possessed of personal attractions, were generally cheaper than males. Under the republic, and in the early days of the empire, it was found cheaper to purchase than to breed slaves.
Slaves were divided into many various classes : the first division was into public and private. The former belonged to the state and public bodies, and their condition was preferable to that of the common slaves. They mere less liable to be sold, and under less control than ordinary slaves. They also possessed the capacity to make a valid will, to the extent of one-half of their property, which shows they were regarded in a different light from other slaves. Scipio, therefore, on the taking of Nova Carthage, promised 2000 artisans, who were taken prisoners, and were consequently liable to be sold as common slaves, that they should become public slaves of the Roman people, with the nope of speedy manumission, if they assisted him in the war.[10] Public slaves were employed to take care of the public buildings, and to attend upon magistrates and priests. Thus the ædiles and quæstors had great numbers of public slaves at their command, as had also the triumviri noctumi, who employed them to extinguish fires by night. They were also employed as lictors, jailors, executioners, watermen, &c.
A body of slaves belonging to one person was called familia. Private slaves were divided into urban and rustic ; but the name of urban was given to those slaves who served in the villa, or country residence, as well as in the town house. When there was a large number of slaves in one house, they were arranged in certain classes, which held a higher or lower rank according to the nature of their occupation.
The ordinarii seem to have been those slaves who had the superintendence of house-keeping. They were always chosen from those who had the confi- dence of their masters, and they generally had certain slaves under them. They were the stewards and butlers. The vulgares included the great body of slaves in a house who had to attend to any particular duty, and to minister to the domestic wants of their master. These were the bakers, cooks, confectioners, porters, bed-chamber slaves and litter bearers. The literati, or literary slaves, were used for various purposes by their masters, either as readers, copyists or amanuenses.
The treatment of slaves varied of course according to the dispositions of their masters ; but they appear upon the whole to have been treated with greater severity and cruelty than among the Athenians. Originally, the mas- ter could use the slave as he pleased : under the republic, the law does not seem to have protected the person or life of the slave at all ; but the cruelty of masters was to some extent restrained under the empire. The general treatment of slaves, however, was probably little affected by legislative enactments. In early times, when the number of slaves was small, they were treated with more indulgence, and more like members of the family. They joined their masters in offering up thanksgivings and prayer to the gods,[11] and partook of their meals in common with their masters,[12] though not at the same table with them, but upon benches placed at the foot of the couch. But with the increase of numbers, and of luxury among the masters, the ancient simplicity of manners was changed. A certain quantity of food was allowed them, which was granted either monthly or daily. Their chief food was the grain called far, of which the allowance was about one quart per day. They also had an allowance of salt and oil. Meat seems to have been hardly ever given them.
Under the republic, they were not allowed to serve in the army; though after the battle of Canæ, when the state was in such imminent danger, 8000 slaves were purchased by the state for the army, and subsequently manumitted on account of their bravery.[13]
The offenses of slaves were punished with severity, and frequently with the utmost barbarity. One of the mildest punishments was that of degrading them in rank, and obliging them to work in fetters. They were frequently beaten with sticks or scourged with the whip; but these were such every-day punishments that many slaves ceased to care for them.
Runaway slaves (fugitivi) and thieves were branded on the forehead with a mark. Slaves were also punished by being hung up by their hands, with weights attached to their feet, or by being sent to the ergastulum, or private prison, to work in chains. The toilet of the Roman ladies was a dreadful ordeal to the female slaves, who were often barbarously punished by their mistresses for the slightest mistake in the arrangement of the hair or a part of the dress. Masters might work their slaves as many hours in the day as they pleased, but they usually allowed them holidays on the public festivals. At the festival of Saturnus, in particular, special indulgences were granted to all slaves. This festival fell towards the end of December, at the season when the agricultural labors of the year were fully completed. It was celebrated in ancient times by the rustic population as a sort of joyous harvest home, and in every age was viewed by all classes of the community as a period of absolute relaxation and unrestrained merriment. During its continuance no public business could be transacted; the law courts were closed; the schools kept holiday; to commence a war was impious; to punish a malefactor involved pollution. Special indulgences were granted to the slaves of each domestic establishment; they were relieved from all ordinary toils, were permitted to wear the badge of freedom, were granted full freedom of speech, partook of a banquet attired in the clothes of their masters, who waited upon them at table.[14]
There was no distinctive dress for slaves. It was once proposed in the Senate to give slaves a distinctive costume, but it was rejected, as it was considered dangerous to show them their numbers. Male slaves were not allowed to wear the toga or bulla, nor females the stola, but otherwise they were dressed nearly in the same way as poor people, in clothes of a dark color and slippers.
Gibbon estimates the population of the Roman empire in the time of Claudius at one hundred and twenty millions: sixty millions of freemen and sixty millions of slaves. The proportion of slaves was much larger in Italy than in the provinces, according to Milman. Robertson states that there were twice as many slaves as free citizens, and Blair estimates three slaves to one freeman, between the conquest of Greece, B. C. 146, and the reign of Alexander Severus, A. D. 222, 235. Milman is inclined to "adopt the more cautious suggestions of Gibbon."
As the Romans regarded slavery as an institution of society, death was considered to put an end to the distinction between slaves and freemen. Slaves were sometimes even buried with their masters, and we find funeral inscriptions addressed to the Dii Manes of slaves. In 1726 the burial vaults of the slaves belonging to Augustus and Livia were discovered near the Appian Way, where numerous inscriptions were found, which give us considerable information respecting the different classes of slaves and their various occupations. Other sepulchres of the same time have been discovered in the neighborhood of Rome.
We have already referred to the immense number of slaves trained for gladiators. A more particular description of this class will be interesting to the general reader, and will serve to elucidate the manners, customs and morals of their masters. The gladiators, however, were not all slaves. The term is applied to the combatants who fought in the amphitheatre and other places, for the amusement of the Roman people. They are said to have been first exhibited by the Etruscans, and to have had their origin in the custom of killing slaves and captives at the funeral pyres of the deceased. A show of gladiators was called munus, and the person who exhibited it, editor, or munerator, who was honored during the day of exhibition, if a private person, with the insignia of a magistrate.
Gladiators were first exhibited at Rome in B. C. 264, in the Forum Boarium, by Marcus and Decimus Brutus, at the funeral of their father. They were at first confined to public funerals, but afterwards fought at the funerals of most persons of consequence, and even at those of women. Private persons sometimes left a sum of money in their will to pay the expenses of such an exhibition at their funerals. Combats of gladiators were also exhibited at entertainments, and especially at public festivals by the ædiles and other magistrates, who sometimes exhibited immense numbers with a view of pleasing the people. Under the empire the passions of the Romans for this amusement rose to its greatest height, and the number of gladiators who fought on some occasions appears almost incredible. After Trajan's triumph over the Dacians, there were more than 10,000 exhibited.[15] Gladiators consisted either of captives, slaves and condemned malefactors, or of free born citizens who fought voluntarily. Of those who were condemned, some were said to be condemned ad gladium, in which case they were obliged to be killed within a year, and others ad ludum, who might obtain their discharge at the end of three years. Freemen, who became gladiators for hire, were called auctorati. Even under the republic, free born citizens fought as gladiators, but they appear to have belonged only to the lower orders. Under the empire, however, both equites and senators fought in the arena; and even women, which was at length forbidden in the time of Severus. Gladiators were kept in schools, where they were trained by persons called lanist. They sometimes were the property of the lanistæ, who let them out to persons who wished to exhibit a show of gladiators; but at other times belonged to citizens, who kept them for the purpose of exhibition, and engaged lanistæ to instruct them. The superintendence of the schools which belonged to the emperors, was intrusted to a person of high rank, called curator or procurator. The gladiators fought in these schools with wooden swords. Great attention was paid to their diet, in order to increase the strength of their bodies. They were fed with nourishing food; and a great number were trained at Ravenna on account of the salubrity of the place.
The person who was to exhibit a show of gladiators, published bills containing the numbers and sometimes the names of those who were to fight. When the day came, they were led along the arena in procession, and matched by pairs; and their swords were examined by the exhibitor to see if they were sufficiently sharp. At first there was a kind of sham battle, called prelusio, in which they fought with wooden swords; and afterwards, at the sound of the trumpet, the real battle began. When a gladiator was wounded, the people called out habet, or hoc habet; and the one who was vanquished, lowered his arms in token of submission. His fate, however, depended upon the audience, who pressed down their thumbs if they wished him to be saved, and turned them up if they wished him to be killed, and ordered him to receive the fatal sword, which they usually did with the greatest firmness. If the life of a vanquished gladiator was spared, he obtained his discharge for that day. In some exhibitions, the lives of the conquered were never spared; but this kind was forbidden by Augustus.
Palms were given to the victorious; money was also sometimes given. Old gladiators, and sometimes those who had fought only for a short time, were discharged from the service by the editor at the request of the people, who presented each of them with a wooden sword. If a person was free before he entered the school, he became free again on his discharge; if he was a slave, he became a slave again. A man, however, who had voluntarily become a gladiator, was always considered to have disgraced himself; and consequently it appears he could not attain the equestrian ranks, if he afterwards acquired sufficient property to entitle him to it.
Shows of gladiators were abolished by Constantine, but appear, notwithstanding, to Lave been generally exhibited until the time of Honorius, by whom they were finally suppressed.
Gladiators were divided into different classes, according to their arms and different mode of fighting, and other circumstances. One class wore helmets without any aperture for the eyes, so that they were obliged to fight blindfold, and thus excited the mirth of the spectators; another class fought with two swords; another on horseback; another from chariots, like the Gauls and Britons. The laqueators used a noose to catch their adversaries. The meridiani fought in the-middle of the day, after the combats with the wild beasts to the morning. The retiarii carried only a three-pointed lance, and a net, which they endeavored to throw over their adversaries, and then attack them with the trident while the$ were entangled. If he missed his aim in throwing the net, he fled and endeavored to prepare his net for another cast, while his adversary followed him round the arena in order to kill him before he could make a second attempt. The Thraces were armed with a round shield, and a short sword or dagger. When a gladiator was killed, the attendants, appointed for the purpose, dragged the body out of the arena with iron hooks.
