![Possibly the worst of the edicts handed down this day in 339 CE was the ban on owning Christian slaves, though death for circumcising them was arguably worse. […] Jewish-owned businesses were in competition with state-owned ones, and the holding of slaves was integral to running a profitable business. Being denied the right to hold non-Jewish slaves, at a time when both Jews and pagans were taking on Christianity in large numbers, put Jewish entrepreneurs at a disadvantage.](/posts/0309/featured.png)
Possibly the worst of the edicts handed down this day in 339 CE was the ban on owning Christian slaves, though death for circumcising them was arguably worse. […] Jewish-owned businesses were in competition with state-owned ones, and the holding of slaves was integral to running a profitable business. Being denied the right to hold non-Jewish slaves, at a time when both Jews and pagans were taking on Christianity in large numbers, put Jewish entrepreneurs at a disadvantage.
David B. Green (Jewish journalist) “This Day in Jewish History Roman Emperor Cracks Down Hard on Jews”, Haaretz, 2014