The Cambridge World History of Slavery

by Bradley, Keith

• ISBN13: 9780521840668
• ISBN10: 052184066X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-07
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

Volume 1 in the new Cambridge World History of Slavery surveys the history of slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world. Although chapters are devoted to the ancient Near East and the Jews, its principal concern is with the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. These are often considered as the first examples in world history of genuine slave societies because of the widespread prevalence of chattel slavery, which is argued to have been a cultural manifestation of the ubiquitous violence in societies typified by incessant warfare. There was never any sustained opposition to slavery, and the new religion of Christianity probably reinforced rather than challenged its existence. In twenty-two chapters, leading scholars explore the centrality of slavery in ancient Mediterranean life using a wide range of textual and material evidence. Non-specialist readers in particular will find the volume an accessible account of the early history of this crucial phenomenon.

Table of Contents

Series editors' introduction

Slavery in the Ancient Near East

Slaves in Greek literary culture

Classical Athens

The Helots: a contemporary review

Slavery and economy in the Greek world

The slave-supply in Classical Greece

Slavery and the Greek family

Resistance among chattel slaves in the Classical Greek world

Archaeology and Greek slavery

Slavery in the Hellenistic world

Slavery and Roman literary culture

Slavery in the Roman Republic

Slavery under the Principate

The Roman slave supply

Slave labour and Roman society

Slavery and the Roman family

Resisting slavery at Rome

Slavery and Roman material culture

Slavery and Roman law

Slavery and the Jews

Slavery and the rise of Christianity

Slavery in the late Roman world

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