Slaves doing business: the role of Roman law in the economy of a Roman household

Abstract

A Roman slave could hold property which, despite the fact that it belonged to his master, he was allowed to use as if it were his own. All acquisitions based on such a peculium were automatically credited to the master. His liability, however, never exceeded the peculium's value. This article tries to reconstruct economic relationships between masters and slaves or slaves and slaves within a household using the discussions of the Roman jurists about legal questions regarding slaves' peculia. The legal texts show that legal rules were widely applied to regulate economic and non-economic relationships in a big Roman household. The legal regime of peculium was also influenced by the fact that often some – if not all – the assets of a peculium had not been provided by the master but had been acquired by a slave on his own initiative.

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