Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire

by Emma Southon

We associate the Romans with majesty and we marvel at their innovative aqueducts and underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur of their palaces and temples and the magic of the tiny coins and mosaic tiles we dig up in fields. But the Romans were also enslavers. They built an empire on the backs of millions of people snatched from their homes in the aftermath of war, kidnapped from the streets, sold into slavery as punishment or, simply, born enslaved.

Servus takes us into the invisible spaces of Rome, where millions of enslaved lives were unwillingly dedicated to the perpetuation of the empire that owned them. From the fields of wheat required to give every Roman his daily bread, to the actors and gladiators who provided their circuses, and the miners who kept Rome a city of gold and marble, enslaved people held up the empire in all its glory. These enslaved people were ubiquitous, but silenced. Through the fragments they left behind, historian Emma Southon traces the pain and tragedy of their lives alongside the love stories, lifelong friendships, small victories and hard-won freedoms.

Servus tells the truth about the Roman empire and the unseen lives that made its history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ancient History

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 21, 2026

About the author

Dr. Emma Southon holds a PhD in ancient history from the University of Birmingham.
After a few years teaching Ancient and Medieval history, followed by some years teaching academic writing, she quit academia because it is grim and started writing for her own enjoyment.
She co-hosts a history/comedy podcast with Janina Matthewson called History is Sexy.