This new book, by Nathan Leidholm, on 'Slavery and Unfreedom in Byzantine Thought on the Household', looks brilliant (and will obviously be essential reading for us!) www.arc-humanities.org/978180270120...

The first in-depth account of the lives and careers of educated slaves and freedmen in ancient Rome. Intellectual Property by Harriet I. Flower is now available (2 Dec UK pub). Read a free preview: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... #AncientRome #AncientHistory

In Oxford? Erin will be giving a paper at the Late Antique and Byzantine seminar tomorrow: "Why Did the Byzantine Empire Forbid Slave-Owners from Making Eunuchs of their Slaves? Castration, Masculinity, and Identity in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages" 5pm at the Ioannou Centre

Our latest virtual issue on: "Immobility" curated by 2023-25 @ihr.bsky.social Past & Present Fellows @anastruillou.bsky.social, Malika Zehni and Lamin Manneh Can be read below and is free to access: academic.oup.com/past/pages/i...

📬 In our November blog post, Jamie Wood, former BCDSS Guest Researcher and Prof. of History and Education at Lincoln University (UK), shares insights into the research he conducted during his stay in Bonn: buff.ly/XBlQiLo #Intermediaries #Christianity #Visigoths @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de

(I am teasing a bit, but it's only preserved because a couple of Carolingian scribes thought it worth copying - one wonders what they made of it)

Never heard of this before, what a fascinating source. Would welcome any of my Late Antique friends to send me any relevant literature...

Such a fascinating Carolingian source ;)

The Querolus is a fabulous source. From memory: there is (at least partially) a translation in A.C. Murray's 'From Roman to Merovingian Gaul'. And I wouldn't be surprised if it features in Ray Van Dam's 'Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul', because of it mentioning the Bacaudae.

"IT IS AGREED AND MOST EVIDENT THAT ALL MASTERS ARE EVIL..." So begins the speech of the slave character Pantomalus in the Querolus, the only extant late antique comedy. It will feature in a slavery sourcebook that we are working on. Read more in our newest blog post: tinyurl.com/zrmc4a6s

James will be speaking about 'Slaves and Robbers in Merovingian Gaul' at the Nottingham Medieval Research Forum on Monday 27th October, 5pm (Trent LG6): live-uk-uon.contensis.com/humanities/d...

Unexpectedly, the OA version of "Mediterranean Connections. The Frankish Kingdoms and the Roman Empire (476–756)", The Medieval Mediterranean 145 (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025), is already out! (first they told me 27.11, then 30.10) ...Download: brill.com/display/titl...

3 more weeks to apply for this... please continue to share widely.

God, Slavery, and Early Christianity is out in the real world with @universitypress.cambridge.org! I have some extra, so retweet this by the end of Oct. 19 if you’re interested in receiving a copy! Book info here: www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...

Need cheering up on a gloomy October afternoon? The new issue of Early Medieval Europe is out! Articles on justice in Bavaria, tolls in Italy, women in 10th-c. Rome, Carolingian kingship, and child slavery: mostly available Open Access 😎https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680254/2025/33/4

Looking forward to reading the many fascinating contributions to this new book, especially Jessica van 't Westeinde on Christianisation and the mobility of slaves, and Lisa Bailey on women in service and concepts of grace.

Reposting because this ought to get more views.

New on the blog: 'Diverse Tales of Slaves, Sex, & Female Owners' In this post, James explores how late antique sources show female masters exploiting the bodies of their slaves. It follows from the 'Elite Women and Systems of Dependency' workshop in Bonn. Link: www.dosseproject.com/diverse-tale...

Dame Janet L. Nelson (28 March 1942 – 14 October 2024) by Alice Rio (All Souls College, University of Oxford) doi.org/10.1093/past...

📢 Congratulations to Julia Hillner for her contribution to an article in SPIEGEL Geschichte on slavery & prostitution in the Roman Empire! (Article in German, subscriber access only) 🔗To the Article: buff.ly/DGw3EZDin: Spiegel GESCHICHTE 5/25 'Roms Kampf um German @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de

15,000+ searchable charters from the early Middle Ages...

Jobs for recently-minted PhDs in my department! Come join an excellent place to do interdisciplinary research spanning a vast chunk of space and time!

The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies is hiring three postdoctoral researchers. We investigate the causes and mechanisms that contribute to the persistence of strong asymmetrical dependencies across historical and contemporary contexts. Pre-modern perspectives are very welcome!

To all those who couldn't join us at this time - we hope this workshop will result in something tangible, so keep your eyes open 😊.

We had an entire day of stimulating discussions yesterday at the 'Elite Women and Systems of Dependency in Late Antiquity' workshop organised by Grace Stafford and yours truly. We are grateful to @dependencybonn.de for providing funding and assistance for this event.

This was a fantastic, engaging workshop throughout. Our thanks to Aleksander and Grace for putting it together!

Link seemed to be cut off, so here it is again: www.ucpress.edu/books/gender...

The digital version of God, Slavery, and Early Christianity is officially out! If you're interested in ancient Mediterranean slavery's effects on Christian thought and practice, this is for you. www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...

My institution, the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, is currently advertising five nine-month fellowships to support the writing of a PhD funding proposal. Deadline 1 October. Any questions, do get in touch (my email is on my webpage :) www.dependency.uni-bonn.de/images/about...

Joining Humanities Commons? If so, please consider becoming a member of the 'History of Slavery and Unfreedom Group': hcommons.org/groups/histo...

New pod! Mike interviews Tina Shepardson about A Memory of Violence: Syriac Christianity and the Radicalization of Religious Difference in Late Antiquity. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0HyD...

Ancient scribes had to practice their signature just like we do. We even have papyri illustrating a scribe named Petaus who over and over wrote the formula for a proper signature: Name + Title + “I have submitted.” ✍️ P. Petaus 121. Inv. No. 328 Cologne. 182-187 CE www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa...

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW Journal of Late Antiquity Volume 18, Number 2, Fall 2025 #S2O #OpenAccess via @ProjectMUSE tinyurl.com/58uf6c74#S2O#OpenAccessCONTRIBUTORS Sabine R. Huebner Marion Kruse J.-Michel Reaux Colvin Maria Pavlou Chengzuo Yao Gail Tatham Andrew Paul Wood Gabriele Castiglia Seth M. Stadel and more!

New on the blog - "Female Slavery in the Third and Fourth Centuries CE" Guest post by Molly Dumbrell. Molly uses papyri and other sources to illuminate the condition of enslaved women in the Late Roman period. Link: www.dosseproject.com/female-slave...

Was Islamic or Sasanian law the greater influence upon Christian slaveholding practices in 7th-8th century Iran? How did Bishops in the Church of East adapt and Christianise non-Christian regulations to forge the identity of their community? Read Seth's article to find out!

We are very pleased to share that Seth M. Stadel, a DoSSE project alumnus, has published a new article in the Journal of Late Antiquity, entitled 'The Legal Constructions of Christian Slavery in Fars at the End of Late Antiquity'! Read it, Open Access, here: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

Excited to announce my book that is forthcoming in January. I’m looking forward to sharing more soon. Let me know if your faculty, students, or community would be interested in a talk or class. Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt | Princeton University Press. Description at: bit.ly/PerrySlavery

Interesting new article from Danny Grabe, in Early Medieval Europe, on child slavery in hagiographical sources: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We are happy to share that the new publication "Justice and Righteousness in the Old Testament: Reflecting on Slavery in the Hebrew Bible" by Ulrich Berges is now available through open access. For more info: ow.ly/6Psq50W3c3P @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de @degruyterbrill.bsky.social

New on the blog: 'The Life, Work and Death of Child Slaves in the Late Roman World' A guest post by Eniko Toth This is the next of our contributions from Classical Studies students from the University of Lincoln. Link: www.dosseproject.com/the-life-wor...

Interested in Dependency and Slavery Studies or just want to learn about our MA programs at the BCDSS? See our lecturer James M. Harland's statement: ow.ly/z3Ny50WNov0 ✍️ Apply until 15 Sept. 2025 @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de #UniversityBonn #newsemester #studyinbonn

We are so excited to announce the launch of the Shii Studies Network, a space for PhD students researching Shiism to forge personal and professional connections, share their research with and learn from each other, and push the field forward.

🎺 Job alert! 🎺 Durham University is advertising for an Assistant Professor in Histories of the Islamicate World (Medieval/Early Modern), permanent and full-time! Great department, lovely colleagues, beautiful historic city! Deadline for applications is 28/09/25! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOJ050/a...

The Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration Database is live at historyofincarceration.com. Both the platform and the data are very much a work in progress, and we will continually update it over the coming years. I hope that it is useful, and if you would like to contribute, please do be in touch.

New on the blog: "Sanctioning Sexual Exploitation" Guest post by Lauren Pugsley www.dosseproject.com/sanctioning-... This is the second of our guest contributions from Classical Studies students at the University of Lincoln.

Earthworks cover southern Iraq, built by slave labour during the Early Islamic period A slave rebellion was thought to have caused their abandonment, but new research suggests other factors, such as Mongol invasion and the plague, were responsible 🏺 #Archaeology Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

From the website: "While some [runaway domestic servants] were not enslaved, many were described by their masters as slaves and property" This makes me think of Alice Rio's argument for unfree status as the result of an act of labelling, deployed strategically by lords, in the Early Middle Ages.

Plugging a hole in a paragraph this afternoon with this from the fab University of Glasgow Runaway Slave database. 'AN East-Indian Boy, about 20 Years of Age...speaks English, but with a Scotch Accent'. He had 'Deserted from his Master' on 4 July 1751. 1/2 @leverhulme.ac.uk

In recent months, a significant amount of time has been devoted to our database of employees of the MGH since their founding in 1819. We are currently focused on documenting the genesis of our editions. All MGH editors will be included shortly. Have a look! data.mgh.de/databases/mg...

The A.D.A.M. network is coming to #imc2026! We're looking for papers that engage with 'difficult' topics in the Middle Ages, however you might define that... See you there @imc-leeds.bsky.social ! #cfp