Mesopotamian cuneiform texts attest to slavery in the ancient Near East from the early 3rd millennium BC [1]. However, at no time were slaves the essential producers in the structure of the total economy [2]. From the 3rd-1st millennia BC, slaves were primarily deployed in private households, and to a lesser extent in institutional households (Palace, Temple). The main sources thus mostly come from the field of private law and gover…
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Neumann, Hans (Berlin),
Müller-Wollermann, Renate,
Gehrke, Hans-Joachim (Freiburg),
Heinrichs, Johannes (Bonn),
Prinzing, Günther and
Kuchenbuch, Ludolf (Hagen),
“Slavery”, in:
Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry.
Consulted online on 16 May 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1115060>