{"id":9494,"date":"2023-11-20T21:31:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/?p=9494"},"modified":"2023-11-20T21:31:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:31:09","slug":"what-kind-of-jobs-did-slaves-have-in-ancient-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/what-kind-of-jobs-did-slaves-have-in-ancient-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"What Kind Of Jobs Did Slaves Have In Ancient Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Ancient Roman Empire was a powerful and influential political and administrative force in ancient times, that stretched far beyond the current boundaries of the country. Among its many successes the empire was an advanced slaveholding society with an extensive machine of slavery. Ancient Rome relied heavily on slaves for a wide range of occupations and tasks, and slaves occupied privileged positions within the social and economic hierarchy in the city. This article explores the kinds of jobs that slaves did in ancient Rome, giving insight into the importance of slavery in Ancient Rome.<\/p>\n

Slaves were usually divided into three main categories: domestic servants, farm workers and manual laborers. Domestic slaves in Ancient Rome were responsible for taking care of the households of the powerful and wealthy. This might include cleaning the house, running errands, preparing food, taking care of the children, and performing other tasks as requested. Farm workers were responsible for tending the fields and harvesting the crops, as well as taking care of the animals. Manual laborers were responsible for the tough and dangerous tasks, such as building roads and monuments. Manual laborers often worked in quarries, mines and public works projects.<\/p>\n

In addition to these three main categories there was a fourth, specialized category, known as artifices. These were slaves who had been trained to do a specific task, such as carpentry, masonry, metalwork, and other skilled crafts. These slaves were highly sought after and their services commanding heavy prices.These slaves could be trained to perform all types of skilled labor such as painting, sculpting, and carving, but they were also sometimes trained in more unusual, dangerous and labor-intensive arts such as glass-blowing and metal-working.<\/p>\n

Slaves who worked in the households of the wealthy were generally well-treated, as were those who worked in the fields. It was the manual laborers and artifices who were often mistreated and put in difficult and dangerous working conditions. In addition to this, slaves were not allowed to be educated or to receive any kind of leisure activities. They were expected to put in long hours and worked without any kind of protection from the law.<\/p>\n