In a world where princesses found themselves enslaved, kidnapped boys became army generals, and biblical Joseph was a role model, this book narrates the formation of the Middle Ages from the point of view of slavery, and outlines a new approach to enhance our understanding of modern forms of enslavement. Offering an analysis of recent scholarship and an array of sources, never before studied together, from distinct societies and cultures of the first millennium, it challenges the traditional dichotomy between ancient and medieval slaveries. Revealing the dynamic, versatile, and adaptable character of slavery it presents an innovative definition of slavery as a historical process.

Youval Rotman (Professor of History and the Chair of the School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology at Tel Aviv University) is a social historian of the Byzantine Mediterranean world who focuses on themes of social transformation in the First Millennium.

Introduction: Whence Slavery?

Chapter 1: From Present to Past and Back

Chapter 2: Slavery between Empire and Christianity – the first to fourth centuries

Chapter 3: Enslavement, Captivity and the Monotheistic Turn – the fifth to seventh centuries

Chapter 4: New Polities, New Societies, New Economies – the eighth to tenth centuries

Chapter 5: Migration, Integration, Connectivity – the ninth to eleventh centuries

Conclusion: Slavery as a Historical Process – Towards a New Definition

Bibliography