About this episode

Emma Southon discusses her book on the complexities of Roman slavery and its societal implications.

Most history books only scratch the surface of Roman slavery, portraying it as just manual labor. But Emma Southon new book 'Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire' reveals a hidden world—slavery that reached into every corner of society, even high finance and bureaucracy. Imagine slaves running entire provinces, managing banks, or even owning property, yet still legally ‘property’ of their masters. The sheer scale means enslaved people could have their own lives, relationships, even tips and businesses—they had agency, in a system designed to control and exploit at every turn. That’s a far cry from the simplistic image many have. Why does this matter? Because understanding the full scope of Roman slavery challenges our assumptions and illuminates just how deeply systemic oppression was woven into their society. Chalke History Festival is on from the 22nd through to the 28th of June grab tickets from https://www.chalkefestival.com Grab a copy of Servus https://uk.bookshop.org/a/14692/9781399741255 Keep up to date with Emma via Her website https://www.emmasouthon.com/ Her instagram https://www.instagram.com/emmasouthon/?hl=en If you want to get in touch with History with…

People in this episode

Host: Jackson

Guest: Emma Southon

Topics covered

• Roman slavery
• systemic oppression
• historical analysis
• Chalke History Festival
• agency of enslaved people

Keywords

• Roman slavery
• Emma Southon
• Chalke History Festival
• historical context
• systemic oppression

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chalke History Festival, Patreon

Books & works: Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire

Places: Roman Empire

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