[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
It is a commonly held view among historians and specialists of the ancient world, including classicists, that Egypt should be regarded as a special case. This perspective is not only a consequence of the unique nature of the historical, social, and economic conditions experienced by the people of the Nile Valley, but also to the singular nature, both in form and quantity, of the documentation available for their study and reconstruction. Papyrological data, more easily preserved in this region thanks to its climatic conditions, allows specialists to access aspects of ancient populations’ stories that rarely appear in other types of sources, or do so in a blurred and biased manner. One of these obscure corners is slavery as well as the several forms of dependence that could result in the subjugation of one individual to another (or to an institution). In this sense, it is not surprising to find a wealth of specialized literature dedicated to the analysis of Greco-Roman slavery as a case study, from Iza Bieżuńska-Małowist’s classic studies[1] to the more recent publications by Jean Straus, the latter focused on the translation and commentary of sources on slavery in Greek and Roman Egypt.[2] The book analyzed here fits within this tradition by presenting 290 translated sources that illuminate the practice and experience of slavery and dependence in ancient Egypt. However, as we shall see, this work extends far beyond the confines of the Greco-Roman world.
Slavery and Dependence in Ancient Egypt, a collective work edited by the late Jane Rowlandson, Roger Bagnall, and Dorothy Thompson, warns us through its title that we are dealing with a much broader and less terminologically constrained field of study. First, it is worth noting that this is an extremely ambitious work in chronological scope, as it spans from the Old Kingdom of Pharaonic Egypt to the early medieval period under Umayyad rule. The inclusion of chapters that transcend the traditional division of Egyptian history into the Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, Roman, Byzantine, and Arab periods, addressing less common but relevant aspects, such as Coptic Egypt, Aramaic documentation, and the Hebrew perception of slavery, highlights the work’s comprehensive scope. This is not an exclusively papyrological work—although, as expected, that medium is predominant— since it also analyzes documentation in varied media, ranging from the imposing carved walls of Pharaonic Egypt to the nooks and crannies of Justinianic legislation that shed light on Egyptian dependent society. It is clear, moreover, that this is a less terminologically limited approach than that of Straus or Bieżuńska-Małowist, in line with current historiographical trends, which argue that the study of slavery should not be isolated from other forms of dependence (see, for example, the inclusion of these topics within the scope of the annual meetings of the Groupe international de recherches sur l’esclavage dans l’antiquité). Broadening these frameworks is even more pertinent when it comes to ancient Egypt, as in many phases of its history the real challenge for specialists is determining or categorizing the forms of dependence as they are referenced in the sources (see pp. 39-58 for the issue during Pharaonic Egypt, as well as the debate on slavery and colonatus on pp. 347-353). Precisely, throughout the book, there is an emphasis on terminological precision about slavery and dependence, an effort that, in reality, reflects the desire to transcend a unitary definition of ancient slavery – evidently conditioned by the classical, mainly Roman, model. The spirit of this book goes beyond Finley’s interpretation of slave societies as a select and strange club, or Patterson’s overly ahistorical view (p. 4), which describes slavery as a result of the deprivation of honour. Instead, it firmly adopts an approach that views ancient forms of slavery as a global phenomenon, but one that can only be analyzed through its particularities—a decision that aligns with the theoretical works of Kostas Vlassopoulos and with collective studies on global slavery, such as the volume edited by Pargas and Schiel.[3]
The holistic spirit of Slavery and Dependence necessarily shapes its internal structure, which I will briefly describe in the following lines. It is appropriate to begin by noting the enormous wisdom of starting a work of this magnitude by providing the reader with the appropriate tools for a better understanding of the texts to be analyzed. Thus, in the first section entitled “Aids to the Reader,” users of this volume will find a table of chronologies –useful for the ambitious spatial framework that the work proposes–, explanations of the Egyptian calendar, its weights and measures, and a brief note on the territorial organization of the nómoi. In addition, the reader is provided with a rich glossary of technical terms (pp. xxxii-xl) and a selection of maps of both the Nilotic territory and its surrounding spaces. Armed with these tools, the reader arrives at Chapter 1 (Rowlandson & Bagnall), where some of the questions I anticipated at the beginning of this review are posed: What is slavery and how does it differ from other modes of dependence? Under what terms do they appear in our sources and how were they categorized within the different Egyptian societies? It should be noted that this theoretical apparatus, complementary to the analysis of the sources, does not disappear from the work at any time, since the internal structure of each section and the way in which the sources are presented are conditioned by the theoretical and terminological problems linked to each phase. Thus, when the work enters Pharaonic Egypt in Chapter 2 (Christopher Eyre), it does so by addressing from the outset the problem of its elusive terminology, in a context in which the forms of representing lordship and ownership are intertwined (p. 39). These terms, and their relationship to Pharaonic power, warfare, and the different economic activities of ancient Egyptian society, explain the various manifestations of slavery and serfdom in the Egyptian sources, from the origins to the end of the New Kingdom with Dynasty XX (apart from text 3, a late decree of Osorkon II [853 BC], which still assumes New Kingdom models). Chapter 3 addresses the challenges of the Late Period through two key documentary issues: on the one hand, the generalization of (abnormal) hieratic and demotic Egyptian writing (Brian Muhs), with the very interesting milestones represented by the oracular decrees issued by the priests of Amun at Thebes; and on the other, the introduction of documentation in Aramaic (Christopher Tuplin), closely linked to the two phases of Persian domination of the territory. As a stimulating example, in texts 78-79 we find several letters of the satrap Aršāma denouncing the escape of two of his slaves.
Before turning to the Greco-Roman world, Chapter 4 (Sarah Pearce) addresses Jewish perspectives on the experience of Hebrew slavery in Egypt, as depicted in the Torah (both Hebrew and Septuagint), as well as in other Greek Jewish texts (Aristeas, text 121; Philo, texts 125-126; or, of course, Flavius Josephus in texts 127-130). This chapter is, in fact, extrinsic to the usual focus of the volume, as it deals with the perception of the Hebrews’ servile past in Egyptian territory, rather than its historicity —a topic that would require a far deeper discussion than this volume, and certainly this review, can or should embrace.
Moving fully into Greco-Roman Egypt, Chapter 5 (Dorothy Thompson) addresses the issue of Ptolemaic Egypt, with an exhaustive analysis of slavery legislation and regulations (pp. 213-225), as reflected in both official decrees and private records. In addition to these issues, and a brief note on the survival of these in demotic documentation and on forms of dependence other than the chattel-slave, the chapter is concerned with terminological precision in the texts: in addition to the recurrent terms doulos and pais/paidiske, the description of the slave as sôma (body) stands out, especially when the documentation refers to them as labor force, which draws on the Greek tendency to refer to prisoners of war as sômata. Chapter 6, focused on Roman Egypt, does not start with a great revolution, since, as its author W. Graham Claytor (p. 274) rightly points out, Roman rule over Egypt implied the continuity of the customs proper to the Ptolemaic period together with the slow introduction of Roman modes of domination, especially as regards its law (with the necessary inclusion of the Gnomon of Idios Logos in text 185). With these changes, new realities appear, such as imperial slaves (texts 177, 178 and 183). These last two chapters clearly follow the canons of existing scholarship on classical slavery and its structure: becoming (or being born) a slave – living as a slave – ceasing to be a slave (by escape, texts 159-162, 208-213; and by manumission, texts 163-165, 221), a circumstance that was not open to all (see texts 222-225).
The core of the volume ends with the heterogeneous Chapter 7, subdivided into the three linguistic-cultural realities that coexisted in Egypt between the sixth and eighth centuries AD: the Greco-Byzantine (Rowlandson & Bagnall), Coptic (Jennifer Cromwell), and Umayyad Arabic (Jelle Bruning) worlds. While the contrast of these realities, evidencing the opening of a new medieval world, is stimulating to some extent, I cannot help but note that, in some ways, choosing to separate Byzantine Egypt from the reality of late-imperial Roman Egypt (a deliberate decision, p. 277) blurs the issue of slavery and dependence in the Christian era, and causes a slight underrepresentation of sources framed specifically in the latter chronological framework (especially the fourth-fifth centuries AD, with a few exceptions such as texts 200 and 220 in Chapter 6, and text 246 in Chapter 7).
In its final sections, the book includes an index of terms, a concordance of texts, and an extensive bibliographical selection, where the reader will find an up-to-date compilation of works specializing in slavery and dependence in the different phases of ancient Egyptian history. In addition, up to 31 plates with images the analyzed documentation are included. All these resources make the work useful, not only for a first reading, but also as a recurrent reference tool. However, it should be noted that the initial index does not always provide a clear breakdown of the types of texts analyzed in each section, which can sometimes make quick consultation difficult. In any case, these are minor issues that in no way overshadow the enormous effort of compiling, processing, and analyzing Egyptian historical documentation that underpins Slavery and Dependence in Ancient Egypt, making this work (I predict) an indispensable future reference in specialized research.
Authors and Titles
- Jane Rowlandson and Roger S. Bagnall: Introduction.
- Christopher J. Eyre: Pharaonic Egypt
- Brian Muhs and Christopher J. Tuplin: The Late Period
- Sarah J. Pearce: Jewish perspectives on slavery in Egypt
- Dorothy J. Thompson: Ptolemaic Egypt and Brian Muhs
- Graham Claytor: Roman Egypt
- Jane Rowlandson, Roger S. Bagnall, Jennifer Cromwell and Jelle Bruning: Byzantine and Umayyad Egypt.
Notes
[1] I. Bieżuńska-Małowist, L’esclavage dans l’Égypte gréco-romaine, Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wrocław, 1974-1977.
[2] J. A. Straus, L’ achat et la vente des esclaves dans l’Égypte romaine: contribution papyrologique à l’étude de l’esclavage dans une province orientale de l’Empire romain, München: K. G. Saur, 2004, and more recently Jean Straus, L’esclave dans l’Égypte romaine: choix de documents traduits et commentés. Cahiers du CEDOPAL, 8. Liège: Presses Universitaires de Liège, 2020.
[3] K. Vlassopoulos, Historicising Ancient Slavery. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021; Damian Pargas, Juliane Schiel, The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery throughout History. Cham: Palgrave, 2023.