In Roman slavery, slaves often had a single name, given at the discretion of their owner. According to Johnston, descendants of Roman freedmen frequently changed their “slave names” to conceal their ancestor’s enslavement. Historian Harold Whetstone Johnston, in fact, has quoted some of the instances in which a slave’s former owner chose to ignore custom and gave the freedman a name of the owner’s choosing. Slave uprisings such as the Servile Wars were put down by the Roman military.Ī slave name is a name given to a person who is or has been enslaved or a name inherited from enslaved ancestors. Escaped slaves would be caught and returned more often than not for a reward. Ancient Roman Slave NamesĪs the slave supply dried up around the dawn of the Roman Empire, legal restrictions on freeing slaves were put into place. After manumission, a freed slave was known as a liberty and any future children of a freedman would be born with full citizenship. Over a period of time, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. ![]() Although the exact status of slaves varied between the founding of Rome and its eventual decline, they were considered property under Roman law and had fewer rights as compared to the citizens. Besides manual labor on farms and in mines, slaves performed many domestic services and a variety of other tasks, such as accounting. Ancient Roman Slave Names: The institution of slavery in ancient Rome played a crucial role in society as well as the Roman economy.
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