Chapter 112: Proposal concerning the slaves
Chapter 112: Proposal concerning the slaves
Davos patiently explained it to him, “Which one is better, forcing them to work while getting beaten or them doing it voluntarily?”
“The latter, of course.”
“What’s more, I don’t want them to be slaves, but to be a citizen of Amendolara. Only in this way can we continue to strengthen our strength! And if you think about it, one day, when the indigenous people of Lucania trembled with fear under the threat of our spears, saw some soldiers in our ranks who had the same appearance and spoke the same language as them, but wore Greek armor, ate Greek food, and talked freely with the Greeks, what would they think?”
Asistes thought for a while and said feeling unsure, “They might surrender?”
“That’s right, Bagul and the others will be the examples of the Lucanians, and make them know that they will not be abused but will live a good life if they surrender to us. Think about how the Persians treats foreigners, and we will do it better than them, because we will treat the foreigners as equals, accept them more leniently and let them enjoy the same rights as us. Only in this way can we eliminate the estrangement between them and us, and quickly make Amendolara stronger!…” Said Davos earnestly and passionately. In this era, he did not want to be a lone traveler, as he wants to spread his political ideas to the people around him, infect them and change the narrow thinking of the Greek city-states.
Asistes then said with admiration, “My lord, you think so far ahead!”
“Asi, I heard that you haven’t pick a wife this time. Are you interested in choosing a Lucanian woman as your wife? If so, I will ask Bagul if he has any sister, and you can become his relative.” Said Davos jokingly.
Asistes immediately remembered the terrifying appearance of Bagul and shook his head.
“Joking aside, if you do marry a Lucanian woman. Then one day once we have conquered Lucania, I might appoint you as the satrap(governor) of Lucania.” Said Davos half-jokingly.
Satrap?! Asistes thought of the majestic appearance of Tissaphernes, the Persian Satrap of Asia Minor, and as a young man, he was really moved. However, he didn’t think much about how throughout the Mediterranean region, the position of satrap has only existed in the Persian Empire, and the satrap was appointed only by the king of Persia…
Watching the back of the departing Asistes, Davos was still thinking whether it is necessary to set up a low-level public office under the archon -clerk, so that the work of Asistes can be justified, and Davos use this chance to also train a group of like-minded young men and become his assistant in governing the city in the future.
Davos was still thinking about it, when Cheiristoya came in and told him, “Olivos is here.”
Davos wondered what this guy wanted coming so late at night.
Olivos’ voice could even be heard before he even came in, “My lord, your house is so big! I would’ve lost if there was no one to guide me…oh, this marble statue is really good, which master has created this masterpiece? Looking at the outline of these muscles…” Olivos started a long, rambling conversation.
Davos looked at him and said, “I will drive you out of here if you don’t say what you came here for!”
“No! No! I really have something to ask for your help!” Said Olivos hurriedly, “Archon, you must help me with this matter!” He begged.
“What’s the matter?!” Davos, who seemed to be impatient, had become more interested in Olivos’ problem.
Olivos suddenly became bashful, and mumbled, “I…I want you…to…help me propose marriage to Mariji.”
“What? To propose a marriage?” Davos didn’t hear it clearly.
Olivos took a deep breath and then exclaimed, “I have fallen in love with the daughter of Mariji, Mitra. I want you to help me propose our marriage to Mariji!”
Davos finally understood, ‘It turns out that the jokes that they made these few days are true! When did this guy fell in love with Mariji’s daughter?’
Davos couldn’t remember what Mariji’s daughter looked like, as he only remember that she was a petite and shy girl.
“You like her, but does she like you?” Davos must clear this matter first.
“Of course, she is willing to be with me!” Olivos said confidently.
“Does Mariji know about it?” Asked Davos again.
“He doesn’t know. However, Mitra’s mother is very much in favor of our relationship, but she can’t make the decision.”
It is natural that she couldn’t be the one to make the decision. In this era, both Greeks and Persians are dominated by men. Davos’ won’t even consider it, even if he put aside Olivos’ licentious past, but since that incident happened, he had changed a lot. Instead of taking women by force, he would even dissuade others from doing it. On one hand, Olivos is his savior, while on the other hand, Mariji is the talent that he could even regard as his own arm. So Davos is happy to see their combination, “I’ll go and propose it to Mariji. I will try my best to get you both together, but it will depend on your performance.” As soon as he finished speaking, Olivos jumped up happily, “Great! Wonderful! Davos, you really are a good man!” Olivos gave Davos a big hug,
Davos was dumbfounded as he look at Olivos who was singing and dancing out of the courtyard. He was actually given the good person card.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the next morning, the new citizens that are still single had protested in front of the council, demanding a solution to their problems of lacking women to marry and offered a suggestions that they could even accept marrying a Lucanian women.
The council then held an emergency meeting to discuss this matter. In the continuous protest outside of the court, the council elders headed by the archon, Davos, had no choice but to pass a resolution* and agreed to allow the new citizens to marry a Lucanian women who were once the enemy of Amendolara. (Davos and the new citizen elders were all acting)
At the same time, the council had also passed another resolution: To turn all the captives Lucanians into the slaves of the city-state, and they will work for free until the day they died. However, no Amendolaran shall harm these slaves, for they are the wealth of the city.
After that, Davos put forward another bill.
Cornelius was unconsciously tense when he saw that Davos would propose another bill, because the things that he repeatedly proposed will destroy the tradition of Amendolara and made Cornelius slightly depressed. However, this proposal was relatively normal.
Prior to their attack on the Lucanian alliance, Davos had promised the slaves to set them free once they won.
After wiping out the Lucanian alliance, Thurii had brought back the more than a thousand slaves that they had lent to Davos, as well as his request to grant them freedom, as their promised before the war. The remaining 300 slaves, who were looted and collected by the mercenaries throughout their journey in Persia, and had accompanied them through countless battles and tribulations. According to Davos, these slaves is their own people, and as a result, more than 20 elders unanimously approved the proposal of Davos.
However, another proposal of Davos caused controversy that will allow the slaves who had become freeman to freely leave or apply to become citizens of Amendolara.
Stromboli was the first to stand up and expressed his strong opposition, “There has never been such a precedent in Amendolara to allow the slaves to become a citizen of the city-state! If you do this, then Amendolara will be the laughing stock in Magna Graecia!” His words were approved by the several original citizen elders.
At this time, Antonios stood up and retorted, “Please note that after we passed the previous bill, they are no longer slaves, but freemen. And every city-state has a precedence of accepting freemen as citizens, this is specially true for Amendolara, who had accepted us outsiders with magnanimity, and made us citizens of Amendolara, which also includes a Persian! Why couldn’t we be magnanimous with these freemen! And we are already currently discussing the 《Immigration Act》 that was proposed by Lord Davos. Isn’t it just right that these former slaves, who are now freemen, and have contributed and sacrificed for the sake of Amendolara, are the first to benefit of this bill!”
The new citizens agreed one after another, while the original citizens were tongue tied.
Amintas stood up and told them the story of his life when he was saved by a slave during the battle in Persia. At last, he said it out loud, “They are not slaves, but our brothers! So we should return this favor!”
Herpus had also briefly described how the slaves in the medical camp helped the physicians to rescue the wounded day and night.
Then, Mersis also exaggerated how his slaves could quickly calculate money, distribute goods and supplies without any error, so as to provide the best guarantee for the success of the mercenaries, and is proud to claim that they are the best managers!
Although there were only 21 people in the meeting place, the atmosphere gradually turned heated, and there was no need for Davos to speak. The proposal was passed, and after discussing it, the resolution is as follow: After the application for citizenship is confirmed, they will have a 2-years probation period. During this time, they will have to learn to speak Greek and be familiar with the laws of the city of Amendolara. They also must not have any records of violating the laws, and when the 2-years probation period is over, they will pay 200 drachmas to the city-state to become a prepatory citizen. When there is a major campaign in Amendolara, they can voluntarily participate, which will shorten their probation period according to their achievements.
At that time, the elders did not realize that the passage of this law, together with the previous 《Davos’ Immigration Act》, will have a profound impact on the later Mediterranean Greek history. The example of Mariji and the 300 slaves becoming Greek citizens had later became an important precedent on the acceptance of freemen and slaves in the city-states under the rule of Davos.