How Slavery Built the Roman Empire

Was the Roman Empire really made by conquest? Or was it powered by something much darker? For centuries, millions of enslaved people sacrificed their lives and their labour on the altar of Roman progress, an integral cog in the grinding imperial machine. And so today on The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Emma Southon, author of Servus: How Slavery Made The Roman World to bring their overlooked stories back into the limelight. From the mines and farms to the households of the imperial elite, they discover how slavery was woven into the fabric of the Roman society and ask what life was really like for enslaved Romans. MORE **Spartacus:** Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify **Zenobia: Queen of Palmyra:** Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Presented by Tristan Hughes. Producer is Joseph Knight. Edited by Natasha Hughes. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds *The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.* **Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at** https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe**.**  * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.