Why did the Romans have slaves?

Answer 1

All ancient peoples in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East had slaves: the Sumers, the Assyrians, The Egyptians, the Greeks and so on. In those days slaves were war captives. When cities were captured they were plundered for war booty. Enslaving some of their inhabitants was part of the spoils of war. Having slaves was considered normal in those cultures.

Most of Rome's slaves were bought by the owners of large landed estates who used them to work in the fields. The households of the rich had dozens of slaves to carry out domestic and other jobs. Miners were slaves because it was a very dangerous job with high mortality rates. Some slaves became gladiators. The state also had educated slaves who worked in archives and state offices.

Answer 2

In ancient Rome slaves were enslaved war captives. Slaves were taken to Rome as part of the war booty. Massive amounts of slaves were sold during the period of imperial conquests. It has been estimated that in the 1st century BC 30% to 40% of the population of Italy were slaves and that in the first century AD slaves were 35 to 45% of the population of Italy. When imperial expansion ended (in the 2nd century AD) the number of sold slaves greatly decreased because the number of enslaved war captives dropped. In 406 AD the slave market in Rome was flooded with slaves who were captured when the Romans defeated an attempt to invade Italy by an Ostrogoth king.

Most slaves were bought by rich landowners and worked on their large landed estates. Imperial conquest generated a lot of wealth in Italy, much of which was through the enlargement of the large landed estates and investment in agricultural production. Much of this relied on large scale use of slave labour. Thus slavery massively transformed the agricultural economy.

In urban areas slaves worked as bakers, fullers, engravers, shoemakers, mule drivers, and prostitutes.

Tens of thousands of slaves worked mines or quarries. Their conditions were brutal.

Many female slaves were domestic servants in the housed of the rich, who could own hundreds of slaves, including men. At least 55 jobs of household slaves were recorded, including barber, butler, cook, hairdresser, handmaid, wet nurse or nursery attendant, teacher, secretary, seamstress, accountant, and physician. Their condition, though inferior to that of the householders, was often better than that of many urban free poor people and they enjoyed the best living conditions among Roman slaves.

The sevus publicus (public slave) was owned by the state. Some slaves worked in temples and other buildings. Most of them were servants of the priests and public officials. The well qualified ones worked as Accountants of in secretarial jobs and were allowed to earn money for their personal use. They could earn reputation and influence and were sometimes freed. During the Republic this was done by the officials or the priests. During the rule by emperors this was done by the emperor. In other Roman towns, this was done by the local council.

The Romans were in the habit of freeing their slaves. The rates of manumission were high. At one point the majority of the population of the city of Rome were freedmen or their descendants.

Answer 3

In antiquity slaves were war captives. Rome had more slaves than other civilizations because it fought and won more wars. Moreover, on some occasions very large numbers of peoples were enslaved, such as 150,000 in punitive raids in Epirus (Greece) in 166 BC, 50,000 when Rome seized Carthage and 97,000 when Jerusalem was seized

Answer 4

because they don't want to do all the work so they had people do it for them

Answer 5

The ancient Romans did not invent slavery. Slavery is the oldest widespread institution on the planet. No one knows where or how it began.

Answer 6

Free labour

Answer 7

to be lazy