. Prisoners captured in medieval warfare were spoils. Roman law had established that prisoners taken in a just war became slaves of the enemy. But canon law later altered this to declare that Christians taken by other Christians were not to be slaves...

Compensation paid to avoid *death, *slavery or punishment. In Ancient Israel, ransom was frequently paid to avoid corporal punishment and eventually set amounts for each offence were established. It was also regarded as an important religious duty to...

Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved. Holding people for ransom has occurred throughout history. In 78 BC, pirates of modern-day Turkey captured...