Emma Southon's 'Not Built in a Day' Reveals Slavery's Role in Roman Empire

Dr. Emma Southon’s upcoming book, titled 'Not Built in a Day: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire' in the U.S. and 'Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire' in the U.K., is set to launch on June 30, 2026, with Simon & Schuster handling the U.S. edition and Hodder in the U.K. Southon argues that enslaved people were crucial to many facets of Roman life, like farming, mining, and infrastructure. Many were either taken captive during wars or born into slavery, making up a notable part of the population and treated as property under Roman law. The book seeks to highlight their stories through material culture, moving away from the focus on emperors. Southon, known for her previous work 'A Rome of One's Own' and the 'History Is Sexy' podcast, uses her sharp insights to bring these often-ignored voices to light. She even compares it to only having images of Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton to represent modern Britain, referencing a 4th-century mosaic from the Bardo National Museum that illustrates domestic slavery.