Slavery was an ever-present feature of the Roman world. Slaves served in households, agriculture, mines, the military, workshops, construction and many services. As many as 1 in 3 of the population in Italy or 1 in 5 across the empire were slaves and upon this foundation of forced labour was built the entire edifice of the Roman state.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/629/slavery-in-the-roman-world/.