10-05-2014, 07:19 PM
I've tried reaching out to some historians and a reenactment group in Britain with no luck, so I thought I'd try a forum. I'm doing research for a book set in 322-326, roughly. Constantine's final battles against Licinius and ending with the Council of Nicea. The POV in the book is herding dogs. One of the main human characters is a slave, and for the life of me I can't find any information on slave soldiers.
I know they were called volones, but that is synonymous with voluntarii, which implies a freedman volunteer. I know that there was a specific "short whip" used for castigating slave soldiers that was much worse than a centurion's normal staff. This implies that slaves were treated like slaves while still within the army; i.e. suffering worse punishments than a regular soldier. I know that slaves could be given their freedom by displaying virtus in battle. And seriously, that is about it.
So, here are my questions:
Who owned a slave soldier? Was ownership transferred from a slave's owner to his recruiting officer? Or was there more symbolic ownership, as in "You belong to the Roman army now" (perhaps by taking the sacramentum?)
Who could free a slave soldier? Was there a "sent from the hand" ceremony of publicly freeing a slave?
How long did a slave have to serve in the army before being freed? I know there were automatic perks depending on your length of service; was it 20 years?
Could a slave rise in the ranks of being a soldier? How far? Were there limits on how far a slave could be promoted before they had to become free?
What would an experience for a slave tiro, a brand new recruit, have been like? Would there be extra tasks given to a slave because he was a slave by other soldiers in his unit? How would slave soldiers have been treated by his companions? Did units mix regular soldier and slave soldiers, or were they segregated, i.e. entire units made of slave soldiers?
If you could answer these questions, I'd be super happy. Or give me any articles or info. I can find a lot of info on slaves, and lot of info on soldier, but not much on slave soldiers.
I know they were called volones, but that is synonymous with voluntarii, which implies a freedman volunteer. I know that there was a specific "short whip" used for castigating slave soldiers that was much worse than a centurion's normal staff. This implies that slaves were treated like slaves while still within the army; i.e. suffering worse punishments than a regular soldier. I know that slaves could be given their freedom by displaying virtus in battle. And seriously, that is about it.
So, here are my questions:
Who owned a slave soldier? Was ownership transferred from a slave's owner to his recruiting officer? Or was there more symbolic ownership, as in "You belong to the Roman army now" (perhaps by taking the sacramentum?)
Who could free a slave soldier? Was there a "sent from the hand" ceremony of publicly freeing a slave?
How long did a slave have to serve in the army before being freed? I know there were automatic perks depending on your length of service; was it 20 years?
Could a slave rise in the ranks of being a soldier? How far? Were there limits on how far a slave could be promoted before they had to become free?
What would an experience for a slave tiro, a brand new recruit, have been like? Would there be extra tasks given to a slave because he was a slave by other soldiers in his unit? How would slave soldiers have been treated by his companions? Did units mix regular soldier and slave soldiers, or were they segregated, i.e. entire units made of slave soldiers?
If you could answer these questions, I'd be super happy. Or give me any articles or info. I can find a lot of info on slaves, and lot of info on soldier, but not much on slave soldiers.
Laura
