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Over the course of the late republic, formerly authoritative institutions lost their credibility and authority. [61] For example, the Sullan reforms to the Senate strongly split the aristocratic class between those who stayed in the city and those who rose to high office abroad, further increasing class divides between Romans, even at the ...
The Servile Wars were a series of three slave revolts ("servile" is derived from servus, Latin for "slave") in the late Roman Republic: First Servile War (135−132 BC) — in Sicily, led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a prophet, and Cleon from Cilicia. Second Servile War (104−100 BC) — in Sicily, led by Athenion and Tryphon.
During the Republican era (509–27 BC), warfare was arguably the greatest source of slaves, [174] and certainly accounted for the marked increase in the number of slaves held by Romans during the Middle and Late Republic. [175] A major battle might result in captives numbering in the hundreds to the tens of thousands.
Slaves were used for labor, and also for amusement (e.g. gladiators and sex slaves). In the late Republic, the widespread use of recently enslaved groups on plantations and ranches led to slave revolts on a large scale; the Third Servile War led by Spartacus was the most famous and most threatening to Rome.
While there was limited use for slaves as servants, craftsmen, and personal attendants, vast numbers of slaves worked in mines and on the agricultural lands of Sicily and southern Italy. [3] For the most part, slaves were treated harshly and oppressively during the Roman Republic. Under Republican law, a slave was property, not a person.
The legions of the late Republic were almost entirely heavy infantry. The main legionary sub-unit was a cohort of approximately 480 infantrymen, further divided into six centuries of 80 men each. [233] Each century comprised 10 "tent groups" of eight men. Cavalry were used as scouts and dispatch riders rather than as battlefield forces. [234]
slaves came from various regions and spoke various languages; a slave-holder could rely on the support of fellow slave-holders if his slaves offered resistance. Athens had various categories of slave, such as: House-slaves, living in their master's home and working at home, on the land or in a shop.
Freedmen in ancient Rome existed as a distinct social class (liberti or libertini), with former slaves granted freedom and rights through the legal process of manumission. The Roman practice of slavery utilized slaves for both production and domestic labour, overseen by their wealthy masters. Urban and domestic slaves especially could achieve ...