I was wondering what happened to the illegitimate children of powerful Roman senators, generals etc, especially those with enslaved mothers. What sort of social status and life prospects might they have had?
Bastard children do not appear to be politically prominent until the Late Empire, and the children of enslaved women were enslaved from birth. You can read more in this thread by u/toldinstone, this by u/cailian97 and perhaps this by u/lukebn