Slavery lasted much longer in Byzantium than in England and France. Constantinople, the foremost commercial city in the Middle Ages, was also the political capital of the Byzantine Empire. Although some slaves were bought for use on the estates, most were trapped in domestic service. There was no protection for the slave in Byzantium. Bad treatment was common. The writings of the Church at the time constantly preached against the treatment, so it must have been bad.
From the 9th century until the 11th century, the Crusaders military victories loaded the Byzantium market with slaves. The price dropped, and when slaves were cheap, their lives were held cheap. They lived under worse conditions than the poorest of the freemen. Many runaways sought refuge in monasteries. A master could claim the fugitive within a three-year period, but after that, the slave had to stay at the monastery because if he left, he could lose his freedom and be forced back into slavery.
In the late 11th century, the Empire’s military power fell off. Defeats of their armies shut off the supply of slaves. The markets went out of business and by the 12th century, slavery itself began to fade. Free workers value rose and for the first time in a very long while the freeman had a somewhat better life.
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