Slavery (Gk δουλεία; Lat. servitus; Cop. ⲙⲛ̅ⲧϩⲙ̅ϩⲁⲗ/m^enth^emhal, or ⲙⲛ̅ⲧϭⲁ[ⲟ]ⲩⲟⲛ/m^entk^yawon; Syriac: ܥܒܕܘܬܐ/^cabdūtā) – the capturing and/or buying and selling of human beings for forced labor – was a key social institution in the ancient Mediterranean world. The fundamental trajectory for one’s social identity was whether one was freeborn, a former …