This publication is an encyclopedia of slavery and related forms of dependence. Its focus is on classical antiquity, but also incorporates neighboring cultures (Ancient Near East, Egypt, Carthage, etc.) as well as national and international research on slavery. Related forms of dependency in civilizations outside of Europe (India, China, Japan, America) are also be included. History, law, philology and archaeology are all taken account of as relevant disciplines, and a wide circle of specialists has been formed as the editorial board. The volume embraces persons, things and terms. The lexicon will contain approximately 1500 keywords in c. 2400 columns. The first 480 columns have been released on a CD-ROM, the first of the planned five. The remaining four CDs will appear successively until 2010. After all the articles are on hand and older articles have been updated, a conventional book version is planned. In the book form the Handworterbuch will consist of two large-format volumes, each with approximately 600 pages, as well as an index volume. The main language of publication is German, but articles in English, French and Italian will also be present.