Servus
How Slavery Made the Roman Empire
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Servus
Narrated by:
Emma Southon
Pre-order for $31.86
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Narrated by:
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Emma Southon
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By:
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Emma Southon
About this listen
The 'electrifying' untold story of slavery in the Roman Empire by the author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
We associate the Romans with majesty and greatness: we marvel at their straight roads and innovative underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur of their palaces and temples. But the Romans were also enslavers. They built an empire on the backs of millions of people snatched from their homes in the aftermath of war, kidnapped from the streets, sold into slavery as punishment or, simply, born enslaved.
Servus takes us into the invisible spaces of the Roman world, where millions of enslaved lives were unwillingly dedicated to the perpetuation of the empire that owned them. From the fields of wheat required to give every Roman their daily bread, to the actors and gladiators who provided their circuses, and the miners who kept Rome a city of gold and marble, enslaved people were the bedrock of the Roman Empire. These enslaved people were ubiquitous, but silenced. Through the fragments they left behind, historian Emma Southon traces the pain and tragedy of their lives alongside the love stories, lifelong friendships, small victories and hard-won freedoms.
Servus tells the truth about the Roman empire and the unseen lives that made it so dominant.
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'A much-needed corrective to centuries of obfuscations and misunderstandings. Servus is a challenging read yet a simultaneously sensitive and even entertaining one, striking that peculiar balance that . . . only Emma can fully achieve.' Jane Draycott, author of FULVIA
'Electrifying, rousing and flowing with passion, this deeply researched book zips along in a way that defies expectation. What a skill Southon has for maintaining an energetic yet empathetic tone while bringing such dark realities to light.' - Daisy Dunn, author of THE MISSING THREAD
'Forget white marble statues and philosophical debates: Emma Southon takes you on a journey through the hell of ancient slavery that defined the classical world as few other things - a true masterwork of historical enquiry.' - Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director General of Pompeii
Critic Reviews
Emma Southon turns her unique combination of unflinching academic gaze and irrepressible sharp humour to that darkest and most depressing of subjects, Roman slavery, providing a much-needed corrective to centuries of obfuscations and misunderstandings. Servus is a challenging read yet a simultaneously sensitive and even entertaining one, striking that peculiar balance that, of all the Romanists writing trade history today, only Emma can fully achieve. (Jane Draycott, author of FULVIA)
Electrifying, rousing and flowing with passion, this deeply researched book zips along in a way that defies expectation. What a skill Southon has for maintaining an energetic yet empathetic tone while bringing such dark realities to light. (Daisy Dunn, author of THE MISSING THREAD)
Think you know about Roman slavery? Think again. Fascinating, appalling and profoundly moving, SERVUS is the most important book you'll ever read about ancient Rome. With lightly-worn scholarship and fierce humour, Southon reveals the true scale of human terror, suffering, survival and resistance at the heart of empire. (Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of KINDRED)
An absolute tour de force. I adore all Emma's writing on the ancient world and this is my favourite of her books so far. It is razor sharp, riveting and treads an exceptionally well balanced line between humorous and harrowing (yes, I know that sounds impossible - but she pulls it off). It's a brilliant book. (Elodie Harper, author of THE WOLF DEN)
Forget white marble statues and philosophical debates: Emma Southon takes you on a journey through the hell of ancient slavery that defined the classical world as few other things - a true masterwork of historical enquiry (Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director of Pompeii)
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