Taxing Freedom in Thessalian Manumission Inscriptions

193 Pages·2013·1.362 MB·English

by  Rachel Zelnick-Abramovitz

Taxing Freedom in Thessalian
Manumission Inscriptions
Mnemosyne
Supplements
History and Archaeology
of Classical Antiquity
Editedby
SusanE.Alcock,BrownUniversity
ThomasHarrison,Liverpool
HansvanWees,London
VOLUME361
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/mns
Taxing Freedom in Thessalian
Manumission Inscriptions
By
RachelZelnick-Abramovitz
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2013
Coverillustration:SilverstateroftheThessalianLeague(latesecond–mid-firstcenturyBC).
Obverse:headofZeus,wearingalaurelwreath.Reverse:AthenaItoniaflingingaspearinherright
hand,holdingashieldinherleft;ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩNtoherrightandleft;[Σ]ΩΣIΠ-ATPOΣabovethe
spear,[Γ]OPΓΩΠΑΣinexergue.TheClassicalNumismaticGroup,Inc.(www.cngcoins.com).
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Zelnick-Abramovitz,Rachel,author.
TaxingfreedominThessalianmanumissioninscriptions/byRachelZelnick-Abramovitz.
pagescm–(Mnemosyne.Supplements;volume361)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-90-04-25389-6(hardback:alk.paper)–ISBN978-90-04-25662-0(e-book)
1.Taxation–Greece–Thessaly.2.Slaves–Emancipation–Greece–Thessaly.3.Inscriptions,
Greek–Greece–Thessaly.I.Title.II.Series:Mnemosyne,bibliothecaclassicaBatava.
Supplementum;v.361.
HJ217.Z452013
336.2'7–dc23
2013024126
Thispublicationhasbeentypesetinthemultilingual“Brill”typeface.Withover5,100characters
coveringLatin,IPA,Greek,andCyrillic,thistypefaceisespeciallysuitableforuseinthehumanities.
Formoreinformation,pleaseseewww.brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN0169-8958
ISBN978-90-04-25389-6(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-25662-0(e-book)
Copyright2013byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
KoninklijkeBrillNVincorporatestheimprintsBrill,GlobalOriental,HoteiPublishing,
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,translated,storedin
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InMemoriam
ZeevRubin

CONTENTS
PrefaceandAcknowledgments......................................... ix
ListofAbbreviations.................................................... xi
Map..................................................................... xv
Introduction............................................................ 1
1 TaxationandSlavery ............................................... 15
2 TheThessalianManumissionInscriptions ......................... 29
3 ManumissionTaxorPublicationFee?.............................. 55
4 EvidencefromOtherPlaces ........................................ 71
5 TheHistoricalandEconomicBackground ......................... 109
Conclusions............................................................. 133
Bibliography ............................................................ 141
Appendix:TheThessalianManumissionInscriptions.................. 151
IndexLocorum ......................................................... 157
GeneralIndex........................................................... 167
IndexofGreekTerms................................................... 175

PREFACEANDACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thequestionposedatthecoreofthisbook,namelythepurposeofpayments
made“tothepolis”bymanumittedslavesinThessaly,hasoccupiedmymind
foralongtime.OurknowledgeoftheprocessbywhichslavesintheGreek
worldbecamefreeandoftheirlivesaftermanumissionisstillfullof‘black
holes’,especiallyinrespectofThessaly.Oneoftheseriddlesisthenumerous
records of such payments, which adds to the notion (which I argued in
my book Not Wholly Free: The Concept of Manumission and the Status of
ManumittedSlavesintheAncientGreekWorld, Brill 2005) that there were
manyobstaclestofullfreedom,andthatasanon-citizen,thefreedslave’s
statushadtobeclearlyandpubliclyadvertised—forhisorhersakeaswell
asintheinterestofthepolis.
Researchforthisbookwaspartlycarriedoutduringmystayasavisiting
fellow (March to August 2011) at the Institute of Classical Studies, School
of Advanced Study at the University of London. I am deeply indebted to
theformerDirectoroftheInstitute,ProfessorMichaelEdwards,andtothe
DeputyDirectorandAdministrator,DrOlgaKrzyszkowska,fortheirwarm
welcomeandsupport,andtothestaffinthelibraryfortheirusefulhelp.
Richard Bouchon, who is planning a new edition of all the Thessalian
manumissioninscriptions,kindlysentmehisarticlesonThessalyintheage
ofAugustus(2008)andonthefeepaidbymanumittedslavesinThessaly
(2009).IammostgratefultotheanonymousreadersforBrillfortheirwise
commentsandsuggestions.CarolinevanErpofBrillandLaurieMeijersof
TAT Zetwerk were most helpful, efficient, and supportive. Special thanks
are due to Murray Rosovsky for polishing my English and saving me, as
always, fromembarrassing pitfalls.Needless tosay, any errorsstill left are
myresponsibility.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Zeev Rubin, a great scholar,
teacher,andfriend,whopassedawaybeforehistimeintheearlysummer
of 2009. He never failed to avail me of his enormous knowledge and to
contributehissageadvice.Hisunfailingguidanceandsupportaregreatly
missed.