Slavery was a large part of the Roman Empire. Military expansion brought with it captives, to compliment the material wealth brought back to Rome. And there is clear evidence that these slaves were not always treated well.
About 45 examples survive thanks to “speaking” Roman slave collars. These slave tools were engraved with warnings that the wearer was a slave and revealed no information about their treatment.
One of the most famous surviving slave necklaces, renowned for their completeness and preservation, is the Zoninus necklace. A large Latin inscription on the collar reads: “Fugi. Tene Me. Please Revacaveris Me DM Zonino, Acciis Solidum.”
This means “I ran away. Catch me. If you return me to my master Zoninus, you will receive a Solidus payment.” The payment of a Solidus in the 4th century AD was equivalent to a solid Roman gold coin.
Zoninus Necklace (Sebastià Giralt / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 )
So what can this tell us? This warning tells all who read it that the slave wearing this collar has run away and will likely run away again. This shows that slaves at least felt they could escape to freedom.
A Solidus was also a high price for returning a slave and a sign of their value to the Romans. And it also speaks to the character of Roman society, where people would likely return property for rewards.
But what else can it tell us?
Zoninus necklace
The Zoninus necklace is considered the best preserved necklace in existence, the only known necklace to still contain the tag from its iron wire necklace. It also serves as the perfect example of urban slavery in the Christian 4th century Roman Empire. Every aspect of its creation reflects important clues about life in Roman slavery.
The collar is made from iron and copper. Like many Roman collars, neck sizes range from small to medium, providing a snug and comfortable fit. Its famous tag was stamped from a copper plate and rounded at the corners so as not to cut the slave who wore it.
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The collar’s simple iron wire collar is built to never break. Anyone cursed to wear it will have to wear it for life. Simply put, the collar is heavy, simple and brutal.
However, the Zoninus collar is unique as it is the only one that offers a reward for the return of runaway slaves. Many scholars also note that the collar itself was considered a major punishment, as not all slaves were required to wear one. This punishment seems to have been limited to slaves who escaped and were recaptured.
Slaves wearing collars (Shanker Pur / CC BY-SA 3.0 )
Most necklaces had inscriptions depicting a disclaimer of disobedience and evasion. A common feature of Roman collars is an inscription requesting the return of slaves to their owners. A common phrase often recorded is “Revoca me” or “return it to me”.
Slavery in ancient Rome
Runaway slaves faced punishments worse than collars if recaptured. Many Roman slaves often had tattoos on their faces or foreheads, signifying the severity of their crimes against future slaves. By doing so, slave traders hoped to demoralize the slaves, emphasizing that they were nothing more than property.
As was the case with the Zoninus necklace, the slave owner’s name was often included along with a disclaimer so that slaves could be returned to their rightful owners. In other collars, the slave owner’s address was also provided to assist in the return of runaway slaves. The widespread inclusion of such information shows that the slaves themselves were illiterate and did not understand the danger posed by the information worn around their necks.
Although Zoninus necklaces are designed to be worn forever, not all necklaces are this serious. According to writer Caroline Wazer, various examples of collars have been found in the ruins of Roman rubbish heaps and Roman sewers throughout the ancient world. While many slaves carried a heavy collar that was said to adorn it for life, removable collars have also been found, possibly discarded by slaves who eventually reached be free.
The symbolic and material weight of such majestic necklaces was a warning to all who dared to purchase such a rebellious slave and to the slaves who wore them. It also served as a symbol of their eternal bond with the Roman Empire.
Slave ownership was an integral part of Roman family life, often appearing in villa decorations (Mary Harrsch / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 )
Like much of the history of Roman slavery, the necklace also brought awareness to how freed Roman citizens viewed those to whom they were chained. Slaves in any household could outnumber their Roman masters by three to one: a dangerous group that, at any opportunity, could turn against their masters.
Rebellion against domination
The Zoninus necklace, like many other necklaces, is a stark reminder of the cruel and sad realities of life in Rome. The city both feared and depended on the slave population for its survival and would do whatever it could to maintain its captive labor population.
In ancient Rome, it is estimated that a third of the population existed as slaves. Slaves were a manual labor force, working in the fields of commerce, trade, entertainment, crafts, brothels and fields. In the eyes of the Romans, an empire without slaves was not an empire at all.
Spartacus led the most famous slave revolt against the Romans (Hippopx / Public Domain)
As evidence of the Romans’ brutal grip, there were only three widespread popular uprisings by slaves. Eunus’s first slaving war in 135-132 BC, Salvius Tryphon’s second slaving war in 104-100 BC, and Spartacus’s third slaving war in 73- 71 BC.
All three lost to the Roman Empire. For most of Roman history, slavery continued and ensured that its slaves remained pacified and worked. However, the most common forms of slave rebellion came from individuals fleeing their masters.
The fault lies with the Teacher
As mentioned with the Zoninus necklace and many others, escape was so common that it was considered the slave owner’s fault. It is also the owner’s responsibility to place all relevant information about the slave’s nature on the collar. Roman law stipulates that a sale can be void if the owner fails to disclose any necessary information.
Runaways became such a concern that the entire enterprise was focused on recapturing escaped slaves. It was very common for magicians to sell invisibility spells to desperate slaves trying to leave. Slaves also used large lead signs with engraved warnings to protect them from detection.
Along with selling to desperate slaves, magicians also sold to slave owners. Supernatural magic to restore slaves was common. But with all the guarantees of the spell, slaves still ran away and their masters still hunted them. In the never-ending game of cat and mouse slavery, would the Roman Empire eventually soften its punishment of fugitives in the hope of reducing the escapee population?
Is the collar humane?
Although Roman collars reflect the harsh treatment of runaway slaves through their design, collars can be seen as a humane alternative to the treatment of slaves. dealing with rebellious slaves in the 4th Century AD. Other methods of punishing slaves for running away included flogging, flogging, and branding or tattooing “fugitive” on the forehead or face of captured slaves.
There were benefits to leaving slaves unharmed. Here, a slave girl is offered for sale as a “21-year-old virgin” (Oscar Pereira da Silva / Public Domain)
Although collars were sometimes worn by slaves for life, compared to the methods presented, a permanent collar with warnings inscribed on it seems to be a lighter sentence. Here, the slave remains physically intact and has not been mutilated in any way. And for oppressors like the Romans, collars may have been the most humane way to treat the slaves they depended on most.
