Question: Could Roman citizens be sold into slavery?

Drunk Gracchus

Hoping this is the appropriate forum for such a question. If not, I'll refrain in the future.


I was watching the film, Gladiator recently. My question isn't around a WI the Roman Republic was restored or anything like that. My question is could an identifiable Roman Citizen, such as Maximus in the movie be sold into slavery legitimately as a gladiator. I would think that slavers would steer clear of enslaving Roman citizens/soldiers in case of legal repercussions. It was to my understanding that most slave stock came from conquered/frontier territories: Germania, Caledonia or Parthia.
 

dgharis

Drunk Gracchus said:
Hoping this is the appropriate forum for such a question. If not, I'll refrain in the future.


I was watching the film, Gladiator recently. My question isn't around a WI the Roman Republic was restored or anything like that. My question is could an identifiable Roman Citizen, such as Maximus in the movie be sold into slavery legitimately as a gladiator. I would think that slavers would steer clear of enslaving Roman citizens/soldiers in case of legal repercussions. It was to my understanding that most slave stock came from conquered/frontier territories: Germania, Caledonia or Parthia.
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Free Romans could only be sold into slavery if they were convicted of certain crimes, such as desertion from the armed forces. Such slaves were very much in the minority; most slaves were either prisoners of war or descendants of slaves.
 
Clandango

Clandango

Drunk Gracchus said:
Hoping this is the appropriate forum for such a question. If not, I'll refrain in the future.


I was watching the film, Gladiator recently. My question isn't around a WI the Roman Republic was restored or anything like that. My question is could an identifiable Roman Citizen, such as Maximus in the movie be sold into slavery legitimately as a gladiator. I would think that slavers would steer clear of enslaving Roman citizens/soldiers in case of legal repercussions. It was to my understanding that most slave stock came from conquered/frontier territories: Germania, Caledonia or Parthia.
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He was a war veteran in the film, wasn't he? I would say enslaving him would be a big no, and depending on his accent it might be obvious what happened.
Sertorius126 said:
In the Early Republic, a Roman citizen could give himself as a slave to his creditor if he was unable to repay his debt.
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I don't recall, but I think they may have also used slavery a bit different back then. Depended on the Reginald time period. Some were used or treated like indentured servants. Though I might actually be thinking of the rules Jews had of seven years tops for keeping Jews as slaves, and viciously beating them if they wanted to still be slaves at the end of the period.
 

Drunk Gracchus

Clandango said:
He was a war veteran in the film, wasn't he? I would say enslaving him would be a big no, and depending on his accent it might be obvious what happened.

I don't recall, but I think they may have also used slavery a bit different back then. Depended on the Reginald time period. Some were used or treated like indentured servants. Though I might actually be thinking of the rules Jews had of seven years tops for keeping Jews as slaves, and viciously beating them if they wanted to still be slaves at the end of the period.
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I think this is what i'm asking. In the movie, the slavers enslave Maximus, despite knowing his legionary/citizenship status. I would think this would be a "no no" as well.

As far as voluntary slavery goes, I thought that practice was done away with as far back as Solon of Athens, at least in the Hellenistic and Roman areas.
 

Drunk Gracchus

James Ricker said:
It believe it was with in a father's right to sell his children into slavery.
That was a good way to keep family order
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Can we get any kind of authority on that? I thought that practice was done away with centuries before then. The date I'm addressing is the Roman Principate.
 

isabella

Drunk Gracchus said:
Hoping this is the appropriate forum for such a question. If not, I'll refrain in the future.


I was watching the film, Gladiator recently. My question isn't around a WI the Roman Republic was restored or anything like that. My question is could an identifiable Roman Citizen, such as Maximus in the movie be sold into slavery legitimately as a gladiator. I would think that slavers would steer clear of enslaving Roman citizens/soldiers in case of legal repercussions. It was to my understanding that most slave stock came from conquered/frontier territories: Germania, Caledonia or Parthia.
Click to expand...
Oh, please... The Gladiator is a wonderful film but historical accuracy there is sacrificed for drama... At that point that kind of situation was absolutely impossible
 

Hvalrossen

Drunk Gracchus said:
Hoping this is the appropriate forum for such a question. If not, I'll refrain in the future.


I was watching the film, Gladiator recently. My question isn't around a WI the Roman Republic was restored or anything like that. My question is could an identifiable Roman Citizen, such as Maximus in the movie be sold into slavery legitimately as a gladiator. I would think that slavers would steer clear of enslaving Roman citizens/soldiers in case of legal repercussions. It was to my understanding that most slave stock came from conquered/frontier territories: Germania, Caledonia or Parthia.
Click to expand...
Apparantly, abandoned children could also become slaves. If a master "adopted" abandoned children then they would be indebted to him/her.
 

Drunk Gracchus

isabella said:
Roman Empire really... Principate is only until Nero o at the latest Domitian
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Not to deviate from the main topic, but the Principate lasts until at least Diocletian who established the Tetrarchy, or Constantine at the latest with his Dominate. I think you're speaking of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. If not, then Nero would be the last, followed by the Year of the Four Emperors. Domition shouldn't be a part of your definition since he was a part of the Flavians.
 

Drunk Gracchus

isabella said:
Oh, please... The Gladiator is a wonderful film but historical accuracy there is sacrificed for drama... At that point that kind of situation was absolutely impossible
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See? This is the kind of reply I would like some kind elaboration on. I know that some of the narrative points in the movie are impossible (reestablishing the Roman Republic), but was it impossible/improbable to enslave a Roman soldier, as they did in the movie?
 

isabella

Drunk Gracchus said:
Not to deviate from the main topic, but the Principate lasts until at least Diocletian who established the Tetrarchy, or Constantine at the latest with his Dominate. I think you're speaking of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. If not, then Nero would be the last, followed by the Year of the Four Emperors. Domition shouldn't be a part of your definition since he was a part of the Flavians.
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No, no I was talking about the Principate not the Julio-Claudian dynasty... I was pretty sure it ended with Domitian and not with Diocletian
 

isabella

Drunk Gracchus said:
See? This is the kind of reply I would like some kind elaboration on. I know that some of the narrative points in the movie are impossible (reestablishing the Roman Republic), but was it impossible/improbable to enslave a Roman soldier, as they did in the movie?
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Exactly what I was saying... This kind of situation was referred exactly to the credibility of Maximus as slave
 
Sertorius126

Sertorius126

isabella said:
Roman Empire really... Principate is only until Nero o at the latest Domitian
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I agree that the Principate from dynasty to dynasty changed in form and appearance, but even applying a more fluid perspective, I’d say it lasts at least until Marcus Aurelius.
 
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RightHoJeeves

Banned
Drunk Gracchus said:
See? This is the kind of reply I would like some kind elaboration on. I know that some of the narrative points in the movie are impossible (reestablishing the Roman Republic), but was it impossible/improbable to enslave a Roman soldier, as they did in the movie?
Click to expand...

Legally only if they were convicted of certain crimes. But the slavers who find him and sell him aren't really concerned about his identity nor is anyone going to ask questions unless Maximus were to protest to the authorities, which he obviously can't because Commodus wants him dead.

So to answer your question it's not legal but it isn't impossible given the circumstances and the plot sets up Maximus accepting his role as gladiator as a means of facilitating his revenge.
 

Fabius Maximus

isabella said:
Roman Empire really... Principate is only until Nero o at the latest Domitian
Click to expand...

The principate is usually taken as ending during the third century, either with the crisis or the accession of Domitian. Maybe you could make a case for pushing its end back to the Severans, but I think Marcus Aurelius would definitely count.

Drunk Gracchus said:
See? This is the kind of reply I would like some kind elaboration on. I know that some of the narrative points in the movie are impossible (reestablishing the Roman Republic), but was it impossible/improbable to enslave a Roman soldier, as they did in the movie?
Click to expand...

Legally speaking, I'd say it was impossible, unless as punishment for some crime. In practice, though, slavers weren't generally concerned with such niceties: Augustus (or possibly Caesar) had to organise a big commission to go round all the slave barracks in Italy to identify and free Roman citizens who were being wrongfully held there, so in this respect, I don't think the film's premise is implausible.
 

twovultures

Donor
I don't think it was common, but it did happen. I recall in a college course I took on gender in the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds, we discussed a legal case where a freed slave was retroactively stripped of her citizenship and freedom due to the circumstances that she was freed under (which I can't quite recall at this moment).
 
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