Byzantine Slavery and the Mediterranean World

A highly original work that will be crucial reading for all historians concerned with the origins of the Mediterranean and Atlantic slave trades. -- David Brion Davis Rotman's study is definitely groundbreaking...The topic of slavery had never been thoroughly and properly investigated, even while the fate of slavery was such a primary issue, from Marx to Marc Bloch and beyond, in the debate over the transition from the Roman Empire to medieval societies. That void was a challenge in itself. Rotman has brilliantly risen to it, and has produced an innovative study. -- Evelyne Patlagean In this lucid and wide-ranging work, Rotman shows that the conventional belief that slavery ceases to be a relevant subject after the Roman period is no longer tenable. This is a major contribution to the understanding of the intricate, long-term evolution of the institution of slavery as it moves from Late Antiquity into the Middle Ages. -- Benjamin Isaac, author of <i>The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity</i> This is a remarkable work, for which at present there is no competition. Rotman effectively bridges the transition from late antiquity to the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Caliphate. He strikes a mortal blow to the popular view that slaves were no longer a productive economic force in late antiquity and beyond. In addition, he provides an essential counterweight to traditional accounts of the late antique colonate and the rise of serfdom in the West. -- Glen W. Bowersock

Youval Rotman is a Byzantinist and Associate Professor of History at Tel Aviv University.

* Acknowledgments * Introduction * Theoretical Approaches * Medieval Slavery in a New Geopolitical Space * Slavery, a Component of a Medieval Society * Evolution of the Concept of Unfreedom * Conclusion: Slavery, Freedom, and Unfreedom * Appendixes * Bibliography