Slavery in the ancient world, from the earliest known recorded evidence in Sumer to the Mediterranean cultures of classical and late antiquity, comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war. Masters could free slaves, and in many cases, such freedmen went on to rise to positions of power.
Slavery in the ancient world, from the earliest known recorded evidence in Sumer to the Mediterranean cultures of classical and late antiquity, comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war. Masters could free slaves, and in many cases, such freedmen went on to rise to positions of power.
Source: Wikipedia "Slavery in antiquity" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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