Abandonment or Sale by Family Members

In some cases, individuals were sold or abandoned into slavery by their families. This could happen due to extreme poverty, family disputes, or the need to pay off debt. The sale of children into slavery was not uncommon, particularly in cases where parents were unable to provide for them. In these cases, children would be sold into servitude, ofte

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Birth: Children of Slaves as Slaves

Roman slavery was also hereditary. Children born to slaves were automatically considered slaves, regardless of the social status of their mothers or fathers. This system of partus sequitur ventrem (the condition of the child follows that of the mother) meant that slavery was passed down from one generation to the next, ensuring a steady supply of e

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