Colonus (person)

A colonus was a type of Roman peasant farmer, a serf. This designation was carried into the Medieval period for much of Europe. Coloni worked on large Roman estates called "latifundia" and could never leave. Latifundia raised sheep and other types of cattle. Traditionally, the latifundia had used slave labor, but in the third Century AD, the cessation of Roman conquests induced a labor shortage, so that in some cases the land was worked by free tenant farmers. Fiscal reforms of Diocletian tied the peasants to the land, and reduced them to a serf-likes status The tenant farmers were known as coloni (singular: colonus). The coloni farmed the land and paid rent to the owner of the latifundium. Their rent usually consisted of a portion of their harvest, labor, or money.

Coloni could be hunted or flogged if they left the latifundium although technically still free. Increasing numbers of people were forced to become coloni due to the decreasing number of slaves to support the economy because of Rome's failure to win battles. Coloni became bandits, with Bulla Felix as a prime example, which further harmed the trade system.

See also

• Serfdom

This Ancient Rome-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Classical Greece and Rome articles needing expert attention Slavery in ancient Rome Ancient Rome stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР P. G. Viswambaran Cumberland Packing Corporation Look at other dictionaries: Colonus — For a type of tenant farmer of the late Roman Empire, see Colonus (person). Colonus Κολωνός   Neighborhood   …   Wikipedia Oedipus at Colonus — by Fulchran Jean Harriet Written by Sophocles Chorus Elders of Colonus …   Wikipedia Sophocles — Sophoclean /sof euh klee euhn/, adj. /sof euh kleez /, n. 495? 406? B.C., Greek dramatist. * * * born с 496, Colonus, near Athens died 406 BC, Athens Greek playwright. With Aeschylus and Euripides, he was one of the three great tragic playwrights …   Universalium Byzantine Empire — the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Empire in A.D. 476. Cap.: Constantinople. * * * Empire, southeastern and southern Europe and western Asia. It began as the city of Byzantium, which had grown from an ancient Greek colony… …   Universalium Oedipus — For other uses, see Oedipus (disambiguation). Oedipus explains the riddle of the Sphinx, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, c. 1805 Topics in Greek mythology …   Wikipedia tragedy — /traj i dee/, n., pl. tragedies. 1. a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society …   Universalium Robert Earl Jones — Infobox actor name = Robert Earl Jones caption = photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1938. birthname = Robert Earl Jones birthdate = birth date|1910|2|3|df=y birthplace = Senatobia, Mississippi, USA deathdate = death date and age|2006|9|7|1910|2|3|df=y… …   Wikipedia Clown — Narr; Spaßmacher; Schelm; Witzbold (umgangssprachlich); Zirkusclown * * * Clown [klau̮n], der; s, s, Clow|nin [ klau̮nɪn], die; , nen: Person, die im Zirkus oder im Varieté mit allerlei lustigen Vorführungen zum Lachen reizt: die Clownin brachte… …   Universal-Lexikon Serfdom — Serf redirects here. For the Saint, see Saint Serf. For SERF magnetometer, see SERF. Part o …   Wikipedia domicile — /dom euh suyl , seuhl, doh meuh /, n., v., domiciled, domiciling. n. 1. a place of residence; abode; house or home. 2. Law. a permanent legal residence. v.t. 3. to establish in a domicile. Also, domicil. [1470 80; < MF < L domicilium, perh. equiv …   Universalium 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”