Why ancient slaves didnt runaway so often?

Question

I am interested why ancient slaves didnt run aways so often. Besides those who were treated better then if they were poor free people. Many slaves were going to market or some place alone to shop for masters and so on. What made them not to just go away back to Germania or Galia. How did they secure it? I guess there was some way they were monitoring if slaves are not running away. Maybe they would be caught up by boarder watch or something. What was the system? I mean many slaves in Ancient times had a lots of freedom compared to USA slavery. They were running businesses for their masters and going shopping. And you could not say one is slave just by color because in Ancient times slaves were in all colors and white in major. So how comes they didnt run away more often? Not counting the ones who actually had better time then poor free citizens.

Answer 1

The Romans had slave hunters, as did Southerners in the United States. Most slaves were either branded, or forced to wear some sort of identification marking them as slaves. Any slave owning society sets up ways to discourage or punish those who try to escape. You also had issues of geography(most people had very little grasp of the real distances or directions involved in getting back "home".) Other slaves were born into slavery, and had no such home to go to. Without money, perhaps not knowing the languages of the places to travel through…the obstacles were severe.

Add to that that only trusted slaves would have been given the level of freedom you mention. Most slaves were kept much more confined. Even in a large household, only 2 or 3 slaves might have permission to go out of the house, and then they would carry documentation. Such slaves also tended to get better treatment, and even the possibility of freedom. For them, the risks were far too much to take, when a safer path existed.

Think too, what would they go back to? Caesar destroyed or enslaved entire tribes of Gauls. Should some of them escape, what would they go back to? The Romans ruling their land, or their enemy tribes taking over their holdings.

Rome was plagued by revolts, especially on Sicily. But the ruthless measures used to put down those revolts was a warning to other slaves, and triggered new measures to prevent the next revolt.

Answer 2

You need to put yourself in the mindset of someone of that time. There's no map and no knowledge of maps for most, most people have no idea where things are past the surrounding area, no cardinal points known to all. So a Germanic slave brought to Rome has no idea where Rome is and where his own land is. No idea where to go. That is one big obstacle.



As well, even if the slave knows roughly which direction to take, there's one, two, three thousand kilometres to walk, across a hundred different lands, tribes, people... And all of them ready to capture and enslave a single foreigner walking around. There's no roads, no sign post, wild lands and when not wild not very friendly. You can easily die of hunger or cold while trekking.



Another point is that anyone finding an escaped slave will have a good chance to receive a reward from the owner, or can keep the slave for himself once suitably punished and tamed. So asking for help or direction when you don't look like the locals is a bit difficult.



Also, punishment. From whipping to very painful death. Those people were really very unpleasantly inventive. So fear held slaves quiet.

Answer 3

runaway to where and how....



The only way for them to travel was on foot. There were no public transportation systems. They had no money for fares, food, clothing, etc. They would have had to steal everything they needed which was likely an automatic death sentence in most places in those times. No citizenship papers would have meant no job and traveling to another city would have been an arduous task.



Slavery meant relative wealth. A place to sleep, clothes, food, protection etc

Answer 4

Where would/could they have run to?

There was no 'safe haven' as existed in the Americas with

a few notable exceptions like the Cossack society in middle

Europe (founded by runaway serfs & others) there was

no place to go and no way to cover sufficient distance to be safe.

Answer 5

a lot of us are slaves in a way there's no where to go there are masters everywhere we are on our own they are many Spartacus got a band to revolt they were crucified along the road to Rome for all slaves to see

Answer 6

They didn't run away because if they got caught, their owners would've killed them. I imagine it would be terrifying being a slave. It would've been very difficult to escape.