There is no racial discrimination in Roman society

The blue glass vase is shaped like the face of a Roman African. The ancient Romans did not judge people based on skin color, and ethnicity did not affect the status of each individual in the Roman Empire.

The artifacts on display at the " African Man on Hadrian Wall " exhibition, at the University of Newcastle, have shown that Africans and other peoples are present in every class of ancient Roman society. .

The Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle University stores many items and records related to the city of Hadrian, a fortified fortress built by Roman soldiers in 120 AD, to mark the northern border of the empire in England.

Lindsay Allason-Jones, director of the museum, said very few Italians built and protected the walls. Most are Spanish, German, North African, Gaulois. These soldiers can be granted regardless of skin color, origin, as long as they remain loyal to the empire.

Allason-Jones said Emperor Hadrian himself was Spanish. In addition, other famous Roman emperors like Septimius Severus were Libyans. Some governors in England come from different parts of Africa.

Slavery existed in Rome but slaves consisted of both blacks and whites. " Slavery is an economic component in life and has nothing to do with racism, " said Allason-Jones. People praised the Nubian black slaves for their majestic looks as well as for the slaves of blond and blue-eyed Greeks.

Hadrian's wall

Prejudice exists in Rome but in a different form. Many Romans disliked men wearing earrings, although the gay phenomenon at the time was quite popular and accepted. Even King Hadrian had a relationship with a male courtier named Antinous.

" For the Romans, the limpness and weakness are not associated with homosexuality. And wearing earrings is an expression of weakness ," Allason-Jones said.

She said the Romans felt their class very well. Anyone outside the empire is considered a barbarian. However, the fact that people of other origins in society still retain the traditional culture from home.

Frank Snowden, emeritus professor at Howard University, had a study of human attitudes to skin color in the ancient world. He wrote: " There is nothing similar to the racial distinction of the modern world that exists in ancient society . For ancient Romans and Greeks it was only a hobby of each personal ".

Scientists think it is necessary to draw lessons from the old world. " British society is a multiethnic society but it is clear that the Romans in the UK had not faced the fear and danger of today ."

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