An Analysis On The Phenomenon Of Manumission In The Late Roman Republic

The release of slaves in Rome was an important social phenomenon that probably appeared during the early Rome.However,due to the small number of slaves,the phenomenon of manumission was not noticeable.In the middle and late Republic,with the constant conquest of Rome and the influx of prisoners,the manumission became more frequent,and the influence on the Roman society was deeper.This thesis is divided into three parts:The first part mainly analyzes the basic reason for the manumission by the Roman state and slave owners in the late Republic from the four aspect of economy,emotion and culture,politics and military.The second part mainly describes the forms and characteristics of manumission in the late Roman Republic.There are three formal forms of manumission: manumissio vindicta,manumissio censu and manumissio testamento.With the continuous expansion of the manumission,some more informal manumission forms emerged.There are some characteristics of manumission in the late Roman Republic.In the middle and late Republic,with the constant conquest of Rome,slaves continued to flow in and the scale of manumission continued to expand.Unlike other slavery societies,Rome granted slaves with the citizenship and it was the supreme power of the Roman state during the Republic;Manumission was not completely make slaves separated from the master.He remained in close relationship with the former owner and established pathonage with him.The third part mainly expounds the influence of the manumission on Roman Republic society.The effects of manumission are analyzed from three aspects: the Roman state,the Roman slave owners and the slaves themselves.