Life of a Roman Slave!
Slavery was an important part of Roman life. Millions of slaves worked for the rich. They had no rights and were completely at the mercy of their owners.People became slaves in different ways. Many were captured in battle while others were brought and sold by traders that captured them from faraway lands. Sometimes criminals were sentenced to life of slavery as were those who owed money. Slaves had to do all kinds of work depending on their skills and could be child carers,teachers/tutors(especially Greek scholars), cooks or doctors.Slaves with the above skills were treated with respect and could often earn their freedom within a certain period of time. Other slaves weren't that fortunate and had a miserable life. They had to work in salt mines and quarries which would be tough manual labour. Many of them died at a young age.These slaves were often bought at a slave market, so the younger and fitter you were the more expensive you would be.slaves would be set free if their owner died.A special ceremony called a manumission was held to mark the freedom of slaves.Slaves were set free by being touched by a special stick called a vindicta.they also wore a straw cap called the cap of liberty as a sign of their freedom.Most slaves died before they could get their freedom.Some slaves had an awful life and conditions were so bad alot died at a young age.Others were picked to be Gladiators . This offered better conditio.ns during their training and some could even win their freedom if they won a certain number of contests
by Rachel Doherty!
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Roman slaves at work!!
Some jobs a house slave may do, cooking, cleaning , waiting on others.
Different jobs a slave may do.
If you were lucky enough you would work for a kind master and be treated well ,if not you could have a miserable existence.