Slavery in antiquity

thumb| ama-gi4 written in Classical Sumerian|Classical [[Sumerian cuneiform]] Ama-gi is a Sumerian word written ama-gi4 or ama-ar-gi4. Sumerians used it to refer to release from obligations, debt, slavery, taxation, or punishment. Ama-gi has been regarded as the first known written reference to the concept of freedom, and has been used in modern times as a symbol for libertarianism.

overview of slavery practices in ancient Egypt

ancient Egyptian document

Nethinim ( nəṯīnīm, lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is found in its verbal form) to the Gibeonites. Later, in the Book of Ezra, they are counted alongside the Avdei Shlomo ("Servants of Solomon"). It is likely that the Nethinim descended from non-Israelites. Opinion is divided as to whether the Gibeonites in Joshua are to be connected to the Nethinim of later texts. Others theorize that they were the descendants of Midianite war capti

slave who worked, and often lived, in the house of the slave-owner