Dr Emma Southon Launches Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire at Belfast Event

Waterstones Belfast kicked off Dr Emma Southon's book tour on May 14th for her latest work, Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which officially released on May 21st. The event drew a packed crowd and struck an unexpected balance between humor and gravity as Southon explored one of history's darkest subjects with her signature wit and scholarly depth.

Southon, who lives in Belfast and co-hosts the podcast History Is Sexy with Janina Matthewson, works as a bookseller at the very Waterstones location where she launched her tour. She has built a reputation for making ancient history accessible and engaging through previous acclaimed works including A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome and A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women.

Balancing Scholarship with Humor

Critics have praised Southon's ability to tackle difficult historical subjects without sacrificing either academic rigor or readability. Elodie Harper described Servus as "razor sharp, riveting and treads an exceptionally well-balanced line between humorous and harrowing." Jane Draycott noted that Southon brings "her unique combination of unflinching academic gaze and irrepressible sharp humour to that darkest and most depressing of subjects, Roman slavery, providing a much-needed corrective to centuries of obfuscations and misunderstandings."

The book launch showcased these qualities perfectly. The venue filled beyond capacity, with standing attendees circling the seated rows as Dr Southon engaged in a Q&A session with Dr Holly Shipton.

Uncovering Slavery's Central Role in Rome

Southon explained that Servus emerged almost by accident while she researched another topic. She discovered that slavery was so fundamental to Roman society that it couldn't be separated from any aspect of the empire. As she put it during the discussion, slavery was as integral to Rome as the Colosseum itself.

The statistics are staggering: one-third of Ancient Rome's population consisted of enslaved people. Southon compared slavery's role in Roman society to capitalism's function in modern Western economies. This fact, often glossed over by historians, became a central theme of both the book and the launch event.

Humanizing the Forgotten Millions

Southon's mission with Servus extends beyond documenting an economic system. She aims to restore humanity to the millions of enslaved people whose lives have been largely erased from historical narratives. She emphasized that each enslaved person experienced the full range of human emotions and experiences—they laughed, cried, felt pain, gave birth, and loved. They were not merely invisible workers in the Roman machine.

Despite being denied legal rights and formal recognition, enslaved people left their marks throughout the Roman Empire. Southon highlighted how they inscribed their presence on walls, in letters, and through epitaphs honoring one another. These acts mirror modern human behavior, yet historians have often treated them as mere structural elements of Roman infrastructure.

In a moment that drew laughter from the audience, Southon drew a parallel to contemporary service work. She noted that stepping into the back room of any service job reveals graffiti and markings from exhausted workers—evidence of human struggle that transcends centuries. She even referenced her own experience working at Waterstones as a perfect example.

An Accessible Scholar

During the book signing, Southon demonstrated her commitment to making history accessible to everyone. She took time with each attendee, answering questions regardless of their academic merit. One attendee asked about Seneca's role in The Hunger Games and his connection to the historical Roman figure. Southon engaged with the question thoughtfully, treating it with the same seriousness as more scholarly inquiries.

For attendees who arrived with little knowledge of Ancient Rome, the event proved both welcoming and enlightening. The combination of Southon's expertise, humor, and genuine passion for her subject created an atmosphere where complex historical topics became approachable and engaging.

The Belfast launch marked a successful beginning to the Servus book tour, demonstrating that even the most challenging historical subjects can find an enthusiastic audience when presented with both intellectual honesty and human warmth.