B.  Girls

C.  Slaves

D.  Freedmen

Girls had equal inheritance rights with boys if their father died without leaving a will. A Roman mother’s right to own property and to dispose of it as she saw fit, including setting the terms of her own will, gave her enormous influence over her sons even when they were adults. Because of their legal status as citizens and the degree to which they could become emancipated, women could own property, enter contracts, and engage in business.

Next, slaves and the law. At the time of Augustus, as many as 35% of the people in Italy were slaves, making Rome one of five historical “slave societies” in which slaves constituted at least a fifth of the population and played a major role in the economy. Slavery was a complex institution that supported traditional Roman social structures as well as contributing economic utility. In urban settings, slaves might be professionals such as teachers, physicians, chefs, and accountants, in addition to the majority of slaves who provided trained or unskilled labour in households or workplaces. Agriculture and industry, such as milling and mining, relied on the exploitation of slaves. Slavery ceased gradually in the 6th and 7th centuries along with the decline of urban centers in the West and the disintegration of the complex Imperial economy that had created the demand for it.

Laws pertaining to slavery were “extremely intricate”. Under Roman law, slaves were considered property and had no legal personhood. They could be subjected to forms of corporal punishment not normally exercised on citizens, exploitation, torture, and summary execution. Slaves had no right to the form of legal marriage. Over time slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters.

Finally, we’ll talk about the status of Freedmen. Rome differed from Greek city-states in allowing freed slaves to become citizens. After manumission, a slave who had belonged to a Roman citizen enjoyed not only passive freedom from ownership but active political freedom (Libertas), including the right to vote. A slave who had acquired Libertas was in relation to his former master, who then became his patron: the two parties continued to have customary and legal obligations to each other.

A libertinus was not entitled to hold public office or the highest state priesthoods, but he could play a priestly role in the cult of the emperor. He could not marry a woman from a family of senatorial rank, nor achieve legitimate senatorial rank himself, but during the early Empire, freedmen held key positions in the government bureaucracy.  Any future children of a freedman would be born free, with full rights of citizenship.