NEAR EASTERN SLAVES IN CLASSICAL ATTICA AND THE SLAVE TRADE WITH PERSIAN TERRITORIES

During the Classical period, Athens and a number of other poleis relied upon trade with barbarian territories on the periphery of the Aegean world to maintain large slave populations which played an integral role in economic life and formed the bedrock of elite wealth. The purpose of this study is to explore the export of slaves from the Near East (principally Asia Minor and the Levant), which fell under the domination of the Persian Empire during the Classical period.