Roman law

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Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the seventh century AD when the RomanByzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence from the Twelve Tables (ca. 439 BC) to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 528 35) ordered by Emperor Justinian I. This Roman law, the Justinian Code, was effective in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (3311453), and also served as a basis for legal practice in continental Europe, as well as in Ethiopia, and most former colonies of European nations, including Latin America.

Contents
[hide]

1 Introduction 2 Roman legal development o 2.1 The Twelve Tables o 2.2 Early law and jurisprudence o 2.3 Pre-classical period o 2.4 Classical Roman law o 2.5 Post-classical law

3 Roman law substance o 3.1 Concepts o 3.2 Public law o 3.3 Private law o 3.4 Roman status o 3.5 Roman litigation 4 Legacy o 4.1 In the East o 4.2 In the West o 4.3 Roman law today 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

[edit] Introduction
Historically, "Roman law" also denotes the legal system applied in most of Western Europe, until the end of the 18th century. In Germany, Roman law practice remained longer, having been the Holy Roman Empire (9631806); thus the great influence upon the civil law systems in Europe. Moreover, the English and North American Common law also were influenced by Roman law, notably in the Latinate legal glossary stare decisis, culpa in contrahendo, pacta sunt servanda.[1] In contrast, Eastern Europe, though influenced by the Byzantine Empire, was not much influenced by the jurisprudence of the Corpus Juris Civilis; however, they did accept the Roman influence of the Farmer's Law.

[edit] Roman legal development

Before the Twelve Tables (754449 BC), private law comprised the Roman civil law (ius civile Quiritium) that applied only to Roman citizens, and was bonded to religion; undeveloped, with attributes of strict formalism, symbolism, and conservatism, e.g. the ritual practice of mancipatio (a form of sale). The jurist Sextus Pomponius said, "At the beginning of our city, the people began their first activities without any fixed law, and without any fixed rights: all things were ruled despotically, by kings".[2] It is believed that Roman Law is rooted in the Etruscan religion, emphasising ritual.[3]

[edit] The Twelve Tables

Main article: Twelve Tables The first legal text is the Law of the Twelve Tables, dating from mid-fifth century BC. The plebeian tribune, C. Terentilius Arsa, proposed that the law should be written, in order to prevent magistrates from applying the law arbitrarily.[4] After eight years of political struggle, the plebeian social class convinced the patricians to send a delegation to Athens, to copy the Laws of

Solon; they also dispatched delegations to other Greek cities for like reason.[4] In 451 BC, according to the traditional story (as Livy tells it), ten Roman citizens were chosen to record the laws (decemviri legibus scribundis). While they were performing this task, they were given supreme political power (imperium), whereas the power of the magistrates was restricted.[4] In 450 BC, the decemviri produced the laws on ten tablets (tabulae), but these laws were regarded unsatisfactory by the plebeians. A second decemvirate is said to have added two further tablets in 449 BC. The new Law of the Twelve Tables was approved by the people's assembly.[4] Modern scholarship tends to challenge the accuracy of Roman historians. They generally do not believe that a second decemvirate ever took place. The decemvirate of 451 is believed to have included the most controversial points of customary law, and to have assumed the leading functions in Rome.[4] Furthermore, the question on the Greek influence found in the early Roman Law is still much discussed. Many scholars consider it unlikely that the patricians sent an official delegation to Greece, as the Roman historians believed. Instead, those scholars suggest, the Romans acquired Greek legislations from the Greek cities of Magna Graecia, the main portal between the Roman and Greek worlds.[4] The original text of the XII Tablets has not been preserved. The tablets were probably destroyed when Rome was conquered and burned by the Celts in 387 BC.[4] The fragments which did survive show that it was not a law code in the modern sense. It did not provide a complete and coherent system of all applicable rules or give legal solutions for all possible cases. Rather, the tables contained specific provisions designed to change the thenexisting customary law. Although the provisions pertain to all areas of law, the largest part is dedicated to private law and civil procedure.

[edit] Early law and jurisprudence

Main articles: Lex Canuleia, Lex Hortensia, and Lex Aquilia Many laws include Lex Canuleia (445 BC; which allowed the marriageius connubiibetween patricians and plebeians), Leges Licinae Sextiae (367 BC; which made restrictions on possession of public landsager publicusand also made sure that one of consuls is plebeian), Lex Ogulnia (300 BC; plebeians received access to priest posts), and Lex Hortensia (287 BC; verdicts of plebeian assemblies plebiscita now bind all people). Another important statute from the Republican era is the Lex Aquilia of 286 BC, which may be regarded as the root of modern tort law. However, Rome's most important contribution to European legal culture was not the enactment of well-drafted statutes, but the emergence of a class of professional jurists (prudentes, sing. prudens, or jurisprudentes) and of a legal science. This was achieved in a gradual process of applying the scientific methods of Greek philosophy to the subject of law, a subject which the Greeks themselves never treated as a science. Traditionally, the origins of Roman legal science are connected to Gnaeus Flavius. Flavius is said to have published around the year 300 BC the formularies containing the words which had to be spoken in court to begin a legal action. Before the time of Flavius, these formularies are said to have been secret and known only to the priests. Their publication made it possible for

non-priests to explore the meaning of these legal texts. Whether or not this story is credible, jurists were active and legal treatises were written in larger numbers the 2nd century BC. Among the famous jurists of the republican period are Quintus Mucius Scaevola who wrote a voluminous treatise on all aspects of the law, which was very influential in later times, and Servius Sulpicius Rufus, a friend of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Thus, Rome had developed a very sophisticated legal system and a refined legal culture when the Roman republic was replaced by the monarchical system of the principate in 27 BC.

[edit] Pre-classical period

In the period between about 201 to 27 BC, we can see the development of more flexible laws to match the needs of the time. In addition to the old and formal ius civile a new juridical class is created: the ius honorarium, which can be defined as "The law introduced by the magistrates who had the right to promulgate edicts in order to support, supplement or correct the existing law."[5] With this new law the old formalism is being abandoned and new more flexible principles of ius gentium are used. The adaptation of law to new needs was given over to juridical practice, to magistrates, and especially to the praetors. A praetor was not a legislator and did not technically create new law when he issued his edicts (magistratuum edicta). In fact, the results of his rulings enjoyed legal protection (actionem dare) and were in effect often the source of new legal rules. A Praetor's successor was not bound by the edicts of his predecessor; however, he did take rules from edicts of his predecessor that had proved to be useful. In this way a constant content was created that proceeded from edict to edict (edictum traslatitium). Thus, over the course of time, parallel to the civil law and supplementing and correcting it, a new body of praetoric law emerged. In fact, praetoric law was so defined by the famous Roman jurist Papinian (Amilius Papinianusdied in 212 AD): "Ius praetorium est quod praetores introduxerunt adiuvandi vel supplendi vel corrigendi iuris civilis gratia propter utilitatem publicam" ("praetoric law is that law introduced by praetors to supplement or correct civil law for public benefit"). Ultimately, civil law and praetoric law were fused in the Corpus Juris Civilis.

[edit] Classical Roman law

Main articles: Gaius (jurist), Ulpian, Aemilius Papinianus, Julius Paulus Prudentissimus, and Herennius Modestinus The first 250 years of the current era are the period during which Roman law and Roman legal science reached the highest degree of perfection. The law of this period is often referred to as classical period of Roman law. The literary and practical achievements of the jurists of this period gave Roman law its unique shape. The jurists worked in different functions: They gave legal opinions at the request of private parties. They advised the magistrates who were entrusted with the administration of justice, most importantly the praetors. They helped the praetors draft their edicts, in which they publicly

announced at the beginning of their tenure, how they would handle their duties, and the formularies, according to which specific proceedings were conducted. Some jurists also held high judicial and administrative offices themselves. The jurists also produced all kinds of legal commentaries and treatises. Around AD 130 the jurist Salvius Iulianus drafted a standard form of the praetor's edict, which was used by all praetors from that time onwards. This edict contained detailed descriptions of all cases, in which the praetor would allow a legal action and in which he would grant a defense. The standard edict thus functioned like a comprehensive law code, even though it did not formally have the force of law. It indicated the requirements for a successful legal claim. The edict therefore became the basis for extensive legal commentaries by later classical jurists like Paulus and Domitius Ulpianus. The new concepts and legal institutions developed by pre-classical and classical jurists are too numerous to mention here. Only a few examples are given here:

Roman jurists clearly separated the legal right to use a thing (ownership) from the factual ability to use and manipulate the thing (possession). They also found the distinction between contract and tort as sources of legal obligations. The standard types of contract (sale, contract for work, hire, contract for services) regulated in most continental codes and the characteristics of each of these contracts were developed by Roman jurisprudence. The classical jurist Gaius (around 160) invented a system of private law based on the division of all material into personae (persons), res (things) and actiones (legal actions). This system was used for many centuries. It can be recognized in legal treatises like William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England and enactments like the French Code civil or the German BGB.

[edit] Post-classical law

By the middle of the 3rd century, the conditions for the flourishing of a refined legal culture had become less favourable. The general political and economic situation deteriorated as the emperors assumed more direct control of all aspects of political life. The political system of the principate, which had retained some features of the republican constitution, began to transform itself into the absolute monarchy of the dominate. The existence of a legal science and of jurists who regarded law as a science, not as an instrument to achieve the political goals set by the absolute monarch, did not fit well into the new order of things. The literary production all but ended. Few jurists after the mid-third century are known by name. While legal science and legal education persisted to some extent in the eastern part of the empire, most of the subtleties of classical law came to be disregarded and finally forgotten in the west. Classical law was replaced by so-called vulgar law. Where the writings of classical jurists were still known, they were edited to conform to the new situation.

[edit] Roman law substance

[edit] Concepts

jus civile, Jus gentium, and jus naturale - the jus civile ("citizen law", originally jus civile Quiritium) was the body of common laws that applied to Roman citizens and the Praetores Urbani, the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens. The jus gentium ("law of peoples") was the body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings with Roman citizens. The Praetores Peregrini were the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens and foreigners. Jus naturale was a concept the jurists developed to explain why all people seemed to obey some laws. Their answer was that a "natural law" instilled in all beings a common sense. Jus scriptum and jus non scriptum - the terms jus scriptum and ius non scriptum literally mean written and unwritten law, respectively. In practice, the two differed by the means of their creation and not necessarily whether or not they were written down. The ius scriptum was the body of statute laws made by the legislature. The laws were known as leges (lit. "laws") and plebiscita (lit. "plebiscites," originating in the Plebeian Council). Roman lawyers would also include in the ius scriptum the edicts of magistrates (magistratuum edicta), the advice of the Senate (Senatus consulta), the responses and thoughts of jurists (responsa prudentium), and the proclamations and beliefs of the emperor (principum placita). Ius non scriptum was the body of common laws that arose from customary practice and had become binding over time. ius commune and ius singulare - Ius singulare (singular law) is special law for certain groups of people, things, or legal relations (because of which it is an exception from the general principles of the legal system), unlike general, ordinary, law (ius commune). An example of this is the law about wills written by people in the military during a campaign, which are exempt of the solemnities generally required for citizens when writing wills in normal circumstances. ius publicum and ius privatum - ius publicum means public law and ius privatum means private law, where public law is to protect the interests of the Roman state while private law should protect individuals. In the Roman law ius privatum included personal, property, civil and criminal law; judicial proceeding was private process (iudicium privatum); and crimes were private (except the most severe ones that were prosecuted by the state). Public law will only include some areas of private law close to the end of the Roman state. Ius publicum was also used to describe obligatory legal regulations (today called ius cogensthis term is applied in modern international law to indicate peremptory norms that cannot be derogated from). These are regulations that cannot be changed or excluded by party agreement. Those regulations that can be changed are called today jus dispositivum, and they are not used when party shares something and are in contrary.

[edit] Public law

Main articles: Ius publicum, Constitution of the Roman Republic, and Res publica

Cicero, author of the classic book The Laws attacks Catilina, a traitor to the Republic, in the Roman Senate The Roman Republic's constitution or mos maiorum ("custom of the ancestors") was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent. Concepts that originated in the Roman constitution live on in constitutions to this day. Examples include checks and balances, the separation of powers, vetoes, filibusters, quorum requirements, term limits, impeachments, the powers of the purse, and regularly scheduled elections. Even some lesser used modern constitutional concepts, such as the block voting found in the electoral college of the United States, originate from ideas found in the Roman constitution. The constitution of the Roman Republic was not formal or even official. Its constitution was largely unwritten, and was constantly evolving throughout the life of the republic. Throughout the 1st century BC, the power and legitimacy of the Roman constitution was progressively eroding. Even Roman constitutionalists, such as the senator Cicero, lost a willingness to remain faithful to it towards the end of the republic. When the Roman Republic ultimately fell in the years following the Battle of Actium and Mark Antony's suicide, what was left of the Roman constitution died along with the republic. The first Roman Emperor, Augustus, attempted to manufacture the appearance of a constitution that still governed the empire. The belief in a surviving constitution lasted well into the life of the Roman Empire.

[edit] Private law

Main articles: Ius privatum, Stipulatio, and Rei vindicatio Stipulatio was the basic form of contract in Roman law. It was made in the format of question and answer. The precise nature of the contract was disputed, as can be seen below. Rei vindicatio is a legal action by which the plaintiff demands that the defendant return a thing that belongs to the plaintiff. It may only be used when plaintiff owns the thing, and the defendant is somehow impeding the plaintiff's possession of the thing. The plaintiff could also institute an actio furti (a personal action) to punish the defendant. If the thing could not be recovered, the plaintiff could claim damages from the defendant with the aid of the condictio furtiva (a personal action). With the aid of the actio legis Aquiliae (a personal action), the plaintiff could claim damages from the defendant. Rei vindicatio was derived from the ius civile, therefore was only available to Roman citizens.

[edit] Roman status

Main article: Status in Roman legal system To describe a person's position in the legal system, Romans mostly used the expression status. The individual could have been a Roman citizen (status civitatis) unlike foreigners, or he could have been free (status libertatis) unlike slaves, or he could have had a certain position in a Roman family (status familiae) either as the head of the family (pater familias), or some lower member.*alieni iuris-which lives by someone elses law.

[edit] Roman litigation

Main article: Roman litigation The history of Roman Law can be divided into three systems of procedure: that of legis actiones, the formulary system, and cognitio extrarodinarem. The periods in which these systems were in use overlapped one another and did not have definitive breaks, but it can be stated that the legis actio system prevailed from the time of the XII Tables (c. 450 BC) until about the end of the second century BC, that the formulary procedure was primarily used from the last century of the Republic until the end of the classical period (c. AD 200), and that of cognitio extraordinarem was in use in post-classical times. Again, these dates are meant as a tool to help understand the types of procedure in use, not as a rigid boundary where one system stopped and another began.[6] During the republic and until the bureaucratization of Roman judicial procedure, the judge was usually a private person (iudex privatus). He had to be a Roman male citizen. The parties could agree on a judge, or they could appoint one from a list, called album iudicum. They went down the list until they found a judge agreeable to both parties, or if none could be found they had to take the last one on the list. No one had a legal obligation to judge a case. The judge had great latitude in the way he conducted the litigation. He considered all the evidence and ruled in the way that seemed just. Because the judge was not a jurist or a legal technician, he often consulted a jurist about the technical aspects of the case, but he was not bound by the jurist's reply. At the end of the litigation, if things were not clear to him, he could refuse to give a judgment, by swearing that it wasn't clear. Also, there was a maximum time to issue a judgment, which depended on some technical issues (type of action, etc.). Later on, with the bureaucratization, this procedure disappeared, and was substituted by the socalled "extra ordinem" procedure, also known as cognitory. The whole case was reviewed before a magistrate, in a single phase. The magistrate had obligation to judge and to issue a decision, and the decision could be appealed to a higher magistrate.

[edit] Legacy
[edit] In the East
Main articles: Corpus Juris Civilis and Byzantine law

Title page of a late 16th century edition of the Digesta, part of Emperor Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis. When the centre of the Empire was moved to the Greek East in the 4th century, many legal concepts of Greek origin appeared in the official Roman legislation.[7] The influence is visible even in the law of persons or of the family, which is traditionally the part of the law that changes least. For example Constantine started putting restrictions on the ancient Roman concept of patria potestas, the power held by the male head of a family over his descendents, by acknowledging that persons in potestate, the descendents, could have proprietary rights. He was apparently making concessions to the much stricter concept of paternal authority under GreekHellenistic law.[7] The Codex Theodosianus (438 AD) was a codification of Constantian laws. Later emperors went even further, until Justinian finally decreed that a child in potestate became owner of everything it acquired, except when it acquired something from its father.[7] The codes of Justinian, particularly the Corpus juris civilis (529-534) continued to be the basis of legal practice in the Empire throughout its so-called Byzantine history. Leo III the Isaurian issued a new code, the Ecloga,[8] in the early 8th century. In the 9th century, the emperors Basil I and Leo VI the Wise commissioned a combined translation of the Code and the Digest, parts of Justinian's codes, into Greek, which became known as the Basilica. Roman law as preserved in the codes of Justinian and in the Basilica remained the basis of legal practice in Greece and in the courts of the Eastern Orthodox Church even after the fall of the Byzantine empire and the conquest by the Turks, and also formed the basis for much of the Fetha Negest, which remained in force in Ethiopia until 1931.

[edit] In the West

Main articles: Early Germanic law, Anglo-Saxon law, and Medieval Roman Law In the west, Justinian's political authority never went any farther than certain portions of the Italian and Hispanic peninsulas. Law codes were edicted by the Germanic kings, however, the influence of early Eastern Roman codes on some of these is quite discernible. In many early Germanic states, ethnic Roman citizens continued to be governed by Roman laws for quite some

time, even while members of the various Germanic tribes were governed by their own respective codes. The Code and the Institutes of Justinian were known in Western Europe, and along with the earlier code of Theodosius II, served as models for a few of the Germanic law codes; however, the Digest portion was largely ignored for several centuries until around 1070, when a manuscript of the Digest was rediscovered in Italy. This was done mainly through the works of glossars who wrote their comments between lines (glossa interlinearis), or in the form of marginal notes (glossa marginalis). From that time, scholars began to study the ancient Roman legal texts, and to teach others what they learned from their studies. The center of these studies was Bologna. The law school there gradually developed into one of Europe's first universities. The students, who were taught Roman law in Bologna (and later in many other places) found that many rules of Roman law were better suited to regulate complex economic transactions than were the customary rules, which were applicable throughout Europe. For this reason, Roman law, or at least some provisions borrowed from it, began to be re-introduced into legal practice, centuries after the end of the Roman empire. This process was actively supported by many kings and princes who employed university-trained jurists as counselors and court officials and sought to benefit from rules like the famous Princeps legibus solutus est ("The sovereign is not bound by the laws", a phrase initially coined by Ulpian, a Roman jurist). There have been several reasons why Roman law was favored in the Middle Ages. It was because Roman law regulated the legal protection of property and the equality of legal subjects and their wills, and because it prescribed the possibility that the legal subjects could dispose their property through testament. By the middle of the 16th century, the rediscovered Roman law dominated the legal practice in a lot of European countries. A legal system, in which Roman law was mixed with elements of canon law and of Germanic custom, especially feudal law, had emerged. This legal system, which was common to all of continental Europe (and Scotland) was known as Ius Commune. This Ius Commune and the legal systems based on it are usually referred to as civil law in English-speaking countries. Only England did not take part in the wholesale reception of Roman law. One reason for this is that the English legal system was more developed than its continental counterparts by the time Roman law was rediscovered. Therefore, the practical advantages of Roman law were less obvious to English practitioners than to continental lawyers. As a result, the English system of common law developed in parallel to Roman-based civil law, with its practitioners being trained at the Inns of Court in London rather than receiving degrees in Canon or Civil Law at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge. Elements of Romano-canon law were present in England in the ecclesiastical courts and, less directly, through the development of the equity system. In addition, some concepts from Roman law made their way into the common law. Especially in the early 19th century, English lawyers and judges were willing to borrow rules and ideas from continental jurists and directly from Roman law.

The practical application of Roman law and the era of the European Ius Commune came to an end, when national codifications were made. In 1804, the French civil code came into force. In the course of the 19th century, many European states either adopted the French model or drafted their own codes. In Germany, the political situation made the creation of a national code of laws impossible. From the 17th century Roman law, in Germany, had been heavily influenced by domestic (common) law, and it was called usus modernus Pandectarum. In some parts of Germany, Roman law continued to be applied until the German civil code (Brgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) came into force in 1900. Colonial expansion spread the civil law system and European civil law has been adopted in much of Latin America as well as in parts of Asia and Africa.[9]

[edit] Roman law today

Today, Roman law is no longer applied in legal practice, even though the legal systems of some states like South Africa and San Marino are still based on the old Ius Commune. However, even where the legal practice is based on a code, many rules deriving from Roman law apply: No code completely broke with the Roman tradition. Rather, the provisions of Roman law were fitted into a more coherent system and expressed in the national language. For this reason, knowledge of Roman law is indispensable to understand the legal systems of today. Thus, Roman law is often still a mandatory subject for law students in civil law jurisdictions. As steps towards a unification of the private law in the member states of the European Union are being taken, the old Ius Commune, which was the common basis of legal practice everywhere, but allowed for many local variants, is seen by many as a model.

[edit] See also

Auctoritas (power of the sovereign) Basileus (akin to modern sovereign) Capitis deminutio Certiorari Constitution of the Roman Republic Corpus Iuris Civilis Homo sacer Imperium (Archons - magistrates - power) Interregnum Justitium (akin to modern state of exception) Law Lex Caecilia Didia Lex Duodecim Tabularum Lex Junia Licinia Lex Manciana List of Roman laws Res extra commercium Roman-Dutch law

Roman Senate Stipulatio Ancient Greek law

[show]v d eAncient Rome

Outline

Timeline

[show]v d eRoman Constitution [show]v d eLaw

[edit] References
1. ^ In Germany, Art. 311 BGB 2. ^ "Roman Law". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 3. ^ Jen Szmodis: The Reality of the LawFrom the Etruscan Religion to the Postmodern Theories of Law; Ed. Kairosz, Budapest, 2005.; http://www.jogiforum.hu/publikaciok/231. 4. ^ a b c d e f g "A Short History of Roman Law", Olga Tellegen-Couperus pp. 1920. 5. ^ Cf. Berger, Adolf. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law. The American Philosophical Society. 1953. p 529. 6. ^ Jolowicz, H. F. Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law. Cambridge University Press. 1967. 7. ^ a b c "A Short History of Roman Law" By Olga Tellegen-Couperus, Tellegen-Couper 8. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/178179/Ecloga 9. ^ "Civil law (Romano-Germanic)". Encyclopdia Britannica.

Berger, Adolf, "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 43, Part 2., Pp. 476. Philadelphia : American Philosophical Society, 1953. (reprinted 1980, 1991, 2002). ISBN 1584771429

[edit] Further reading

W. W. Buckland, A Textbook of Roman Law from Augustus to Justinian, Cambridge: University Press, 1921. Fritz Schulz, History of Roman Legal Science, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. Peter Stein, Roman Law in European History. Cambridge University Press, 1999 (ISBN 0-521-64372-4). Andrew Borkowski and Paul Du Plessis, Textbook on Roman law. Oxford University Press, 3rd Ed. (ISBN 0-19-927607-2). Barry Nicholas, An Introduction to Roman Law. Rev. ed. Ernest Metzger. Clarendon Press, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-19-876063-4). Jill Harries, "Law and Empire in Late Antiquity" Cambridge, 1999 (ISBN 0-521-410878).

Gbor Hamza, Das rmische Recht und die Privatrechtsentwicklung in Russland im modernen Zeitalter In: Journal on European History of Law, London: STS Science Centre, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 20 - 26, (ISSN 2042-6402).

[edit] External links

An extensive collection of digital books and articles on Roman Law and History, in various languages. By professor Luiz Gustavo Kaercher A very good collection of resources maintained by professor Ernest Metzger. The Roman Law Library by Professor Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev The Roman Law Articles of Smith's Dictionary Roman Legal Tradition: open access journal devoted to Roman law

Questions and Answers on Roman Law

What is Roman Law? Roman Law was the law that was in effect throughout the age of antiquity in the City of Rome and later in the Roman Empire. When Roman rule over Europe came to an end, Roman Law was largely--though not completely--forgotten.

In Medieval times (from about the 11th century onward) there was a renewed interest in the law of the Romans. Initially, Roman Law was only studied by scholars and taught at the universities, Bologna being the first place where Roman Law was taught. Soon Roman Law came to be applied in legal practice--especially in the area of civil law. This process of (re-) adoption (reception) of Roman Law occurred at varied times and to various extents across all of Europe (England being the most important exception). Thus from about the 16th century onward, Roman Law was in force throughout most of Europe. However, in the process of adoption/reception many Roman rules were amalgamated with, or amended to suit, the legal norms of the various European nations. Thus, Roman rules, applied in Europe at this period, were by no means identical with Roman Law from antiquity. Nonetheless, because the law that had evolved was common to most European countries, it was called the Ius Commune (common law). In the form of the Ius Commune, Roman Law was in force in many jurisdictions until national codes superseded these rules in the 18th and 19th centuries. In many regions of the German Reich, Roman Law remained the primary source of legal rules until the introduction of the German Civil Code in 1900. Even today a special branch of the Ius Commune, known as Roman-Dutch Law, is the basis of the legal system in the Republic of South Africa.
To what extent did Roman Law influence the English legal system? England did not adopt Roman Law as the other countries in Europe had. In England, ancient Roman texts were never considered as rules having the force of law. Nonetheless, Roman Law was taught at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, just as it was taught at Bologna. Scholars, who had studied Roman Law on the Continent (the so-called Civilians), did have considerable influence on the development of certain areas of law. Some substantive rules, and more importantly concepts and ways

of reasoning, developed by continental legal scientists, based on the Roman legal tradition, influenced the English legal system. What does the term, Classical Roman Law, mean? The Romans were the first people to make law into a science. During the first two centuries of the Common Era, Roman legal science was the most fertile. This age is called the classical period of Roman Law, because the law during this time period, as it was taught and practised, best exemplified the classic characteristics of the Roman legal tradition. How do we know about Roman Law ? A rich variety of written documents concerning Roman Law during antiquity has come down to us including: statutes, deeds and the writings of legal scholars. The most important text among all these is the Corpus Iuris Civilis. In addition to the Corpus Iuris, the Institutes of Gaius from the middle of the second century of the Common Era must be mentioned; these Institutes constitute a beginners' textbook on Roman Law. What is the Corpus Iuris Civilis? In the sixth century A.D., the Eastern Roman Emperor, Justinian (Iustinianus), ordered the compilation of several law codes. These codes were based on much older sources of law, mostly statutes and legal writings from the classical period. They were: the Institutes (Institutiones) a book largely copied from the Institutes of Gaius - written 300 years prior!-- and like it may be considered a beginners' textbook. The rules contained in the Institutes were given legal force in many countries; consequently the work may be regarded as both a textbook and a statute. the Digest (Digesta or Pandectae) a collection of fragments from scholarly writings. Like the rules contained in the Institutes, the legal opinions expressed in these fragments were often given legal force. the Code (Codex) a collection of imperial statutes. Justinian had planned to add another collection to these three: a collection of new pieces of legislation which had come into force after the compilation of the Code (novellae constitutiones). This plan was never realized. There exists today only private collections of these novellae constitutiones. These form, together with the three codes, the Corpus Iuris Civilis. The Corpus Iuris is by far the most important written source of Roman Law that has come down to us. The texts transmitted therein constituted the basis of the revival of Roman Law in the Middle Ages. As well, most of the insights gained by modern research on Roman legal history are owed to the analysis of texts from the Corpus Iuris.

What is the Gloss? When the Medieval scholars started to study the old texts of the Corpus Iuris again, they first wrote explanations concerning the meaning of single words in the texts (glosses). Based on earlier works of this kind, at the beginning of the 13th century, Accursius of Bologna, wrote a collection of such glosses to the texts of the Digest and the Code. This seminal work destined previous piecemeal attempts to oblivion. It was simply called The Gloss (glossa ordinaria) and all further elaboration of the Ius Commune proceeded from Accursius' gloss. Why is Roman Law still important today? Today Roman Law has been replaced by modern codes. These codes, however, did not create new law from scratch. But rather, to a large extent, the rules of Roman Law which had been transmitted, were placed in a statutory framework which provided a modern, systematic order. This is particularly true in regard to the German Civil Code. So, in order to fully understand the German Civil Code, it is necessary to know about the legal foundation upon which it rests. As this is true in regard to German law, it is eqully true in regard to most modern European legal systems.

Most important of all, Roman Law will have great significance in regard to the formation of uniform legal rules which further the process of political integration in Europe. Roman Law is the common foundation upon which the European legal order is built. Therefore, it can serve as a source of rules and legal norms which will easily blend with the national laws of the many and varied European states.
Where can I get more information about Roman Law? On the Net

In English o Parts of the Digest and the Institutes in English (from the Medieval Sourcebook , Paul Halsall, Fordham University) o Codes An introduction to the history of Justinian's codes by Peter Quinton (Director, Law Reform, Australian Capital Territory Government) o The Law of Actions Outline of a chapter of a companion to the Institutes. (Prof. Dr. Ernest Metzger, University of Aberdeen) o Roman Law Course Materials (University of Cape Town) Tests from a Roman Law course. Find out what you have learned so far! In French: Cours de Droit romain, principes et analyse critique de textes Droit romain, questions spciales (Prof. Dr. R. Vigneron, Universit de Lige). A complete introductory course on Roman Law on the net!

Books

There is a large body of literature on Roman Law. These suggestions are therefore by necessity somewhat arbitrary.

A translation of the Institutes: J.A.C Thomas: The Institutes of Justinian, Text, Translation, Commentary, 1975. A translation of the Digest: A. Watson: The Digest of Justinian, text and translation, Philadelphia 1985. A textbook for beginners: J.A.C. Thomas: Textbook of Roman Law, 1976.

Julius Caesar biography

Gaius Julius Caesar Julius Ceasar's youth The begining of Ceasar's political career The first triumvirate The Gaul's conquest The fall of Roman Republic Ceasar and Cleopatra Ceasar's wars The plot against Ceasar Usurper of reformer?

Gaius Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar, raised in a well-known patrician family, was the one responsible for the fall of the Roman Republic. Nevertheless, he is regarded as a great leader and politician who after a campaign against Pompey became a consul. He is also famous for conquering Gaul and marvelously written diaries describing his war efforts. All Rome's sovereigns after him took the "Ceasar" title, probably hoping that a part of his fame would become their as well.

Julius Ceasar's youth

Julius Ceasars history begins on 12.07.102 or 100 BC, when he was born in a family which was a part of the Julius dynasty, which is said to be found by Aeneas. Ceasar's father was working as a praetor and died when Ceasar was at the age of 16 orphaning him and his two sisters. So the future conqueror was raised by his mother - Aurelia. At the age of 17 he married Cornelius Cinna's, who was the leader of the radical party, granddaughter Cornelia. But his happines didn't last long. In 82 BC, after Lucius Cornelius Sulla led the successful counter-revolution, Sulla ordered Ceasar to divorce Cornelia. Ceasar refused to carry out this order and was going to be banished and all his treasury to be taken away and losing the title of flamens Dialis - a priest of Jupiter. Ceasar's friends and family pleaded for him and thanks to that he was found not guilty. Discouraged, Ceasar went east and joined the army. He proved to be a superb soldier and fought in many battles and even got a laurel wreath "korona vita for valour.

The begining of Ceasar's political career

In 79 BC, when Sulla died, Ceasar returned to Rome to start his political career in the conventional way, by acting as a prosecuting advocate - of course, in his case, against prominent Sullan counter-revolutionaries. But this action didn't result in any positive way - Ceasar didn't became famous nor did he had bigger chances of being chosen for an office, so he set out for Rhodes in 78 BC. He was kidnapped by pirates during his trip and released after 40 days after the ransom had been paid. He returned to Miletus where he quickly raised a naval force and started a war against the rulers of the sees - he won and had his captors crucified. He came back to Rome in 68 BC to his daughter Julia's funeral, which he used for political reasons. This encountered his wife's opposition, but Ceasar didn't pay attention to it. His wife died the same year. Afterwards, Ceasar traveled around the Empire trying to start a revolution. After his plans had failed he returned to Rome and married Pompeia, a distant relative of Pompey. It was a political marriage, which allowed Ceasar to become Pompeys's closer associate. At the same time Ceasar established a agreement with Pompey's enemy - Marcus Licinius Crassus. In 65 BC Ceasar became one of the curule aediles. He took many loans at that time and organised olympics, thanks to which he became famous. Two years later he became the head priest, but this election was highly controversial. Ceasar also was a part of Catiline's conspiracy, which aimed for coup d'etat. This plot also failed, due to Cicero's actions, but Ceasar has been known as a conspirator since then.

The first triumvirate

After Cicero's abduction Ceasar became a praetor. Unfotrunately, he was often criticised and decided to abduct, but was chosen as governor of Spain. But when he tried to leave Rome he was stopped by his creditors and only thanks to Marcus Licinius Crassus's guarantee he could leave. During the year he spent in Spain he led a military expedition beyond the northwest frontier of his province, where he looted enough to pay his soldiers and still have quite a fortune for himself. He wanted to use the gold to get an office, but senate didn't allow him to start his own election campaign. So Ceasar used the money to pay his debts and established an agreement with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus in 60BC. Famous richman and commander and candidate for the consul office established a triumvirate to ensure that nothing, that could do any harm to them, would happen in the Roman Empire. Thanks to this agreement Ceasar became a consul in 59 BC. He introduced many reforms which delighted his partners. At the same time Ceasar became Gaul's governor.

The Gaul's conquest

In 58 BC Ceasar started his the conquest of Gaul. His main purpose was to get as rich as possible. To establish a safe position on the front he had to get rid of the Germans, who also wanted to conquer the Gaul, and after that he attacked Britain. It took 7 years for Ceasar to conquer whole Gaul and only due to his excellent strategic talent the campaign was so short. Not only did Ceasar receive a lot of treasures but also the loyalty of his soldiers, who were expecting him to lead them to another succesful battles. After this campaign Ceasar decided to stay in Gaul with his army until he would be chosen as the new consul, what drove the senators mad. His political opponents wanted him to get back to Rome and be prosecuted for the things he had done when he was a consul. Ceasar had made a decision, which resulted in the fall of Roman republic. He

lead his armies across the river of Rubicon and said the well-known Alea iacta est" and started his march towards Rome in January of 49BC.

The fall of Roman Republic

Ceasar's action resulted in a civil war. To excuse himself, he said he wants to defend the tribunes, who were recently cast out from Rome. Pompey had to leave Rome with senators to escape from Ceasar's army. One of Ceasar's closest associates, Labienus, left him, but Ceasar forgave him. Ceasar's army during its march towards Rome encountered hardly any resistance. In fact, Pompey's army scattered or joined Ceasar. As a result of this war, Ceasar became the conqueror of Italy. But this wasn't enough for him, he set out for Spain, where Pompey was. It resulted in peace between the legion's commanders and Ceasar and the war with Spain ended without any bloodshed. In December of 49 BC Ceasar returned to Rome, but only for 11 days. This was the required amount of time to become elected as the new consul. Shortly after he led his armies east and fought series of battles in Greece. Pompey escaped to Egypt, where he was murdered by Ptolemeus, who wanted to have Ceasar on his side.

Ceasar and Cleopatra

At the same time there was a civil war in Egypt between Cleopatra and her brother. Cleopatra, knowing that Ceasar has a huge army, wanted him on her side. But when he joined her, they weren't as succesful as they had expected - they ended up in the Alexandria's palace, which was surrounded by mad local population. Relief came in 47 BC. Shortly after Ceasar has left Egypt, Cleopatra gave birth to Ceasar's son, Cesarion.

Ceasar's wars
Ceasar's aim was the conquer the whole world. He went on with his wars and won victory over an usurper in the kingdom of Piemont. After this victory he said another famous phrase veni, vidi, vici - I came, I saw, I won. In 46 BC Ceasar was conquering north Africa and the following year Spain, where he fought against Pompey's sons. Between battles Ceasar returned to Rome, but he had problems with establishing fundamental of his reign.

The plot against Ceasar

Since 59 BC Ceasar had been elected a consul five times and a dictator three times. Finally, in 44BC he became an eternal dictator. It was ment to be a lifelong title and it was in fact. On 15 March 44BC he was assassinated. He received 23 blows by dagger and only one was leathal. Most important conspirators were Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. "Et tu, Brute" ("You too, Brutus") was Caesar's expression of his particular anguish at being stabbed by a man whom he had forgiven, trusted, and loved. They were Ceasar's closest associates, but he underestimated them. Thanks to Ceasar they had gathered a fortune and high positions, what they couldn't stand. That's why they had murderd him. Formally, Ceasarion wasn't Ceasar's son, so before he died Ceasar had chosen Gaius Octavius, his sister's grandson, as his successor. On first January 42BC Ceasar has been formally declared a god named Divus Iulius (Divine Julius).

Usurper of reformer?
How to recap Ceasar's life? He definitely was an usurper. He reached his position thanks to his army and it was his reign's main foundation. He had limitless power, which was his aim for his whole life. But thinking about Ceasar we see not only an usurper byt also a great mastermind and reformer. He did everything he could to ensure law and order in Rome, which was begining to fall apart after many years long anarchy. Ceasar's best description are Cicero's, one of his political enemies, words: "Those are the attributes: calm and kind nature; delight in great minds; he listens to right and just requests and doesn't care about the careeriest's ones; he is clever and forward-looking... I admire his dignity and justice and intelligence". As a commander and politician he got rid of hatred towards his enemies. Some received high positions and fortunes. Ceasar was also a writer - he wrote diaries and he was interested in grammar and he collected piecies of art. His best works are Diaries from the Gaul War and Diaries from the civil war. Both of them are written in excellent and beautiful latin. They were examplars of how to write your thoughts down for many centuries afterwards. 8-2011.08.25

The Coliseum
The Romans were superb engineers. Their monuments make an impression on tourists not only with their size, but also with durability of stone walls and archs, which are giving a lasting evidence of their builder's skills.

ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Before third century BC, the basic building materials were wood and brick and stone was only used to build city walls. The reason of changes in engineering was the introduction of cement in the third century BC. If brick elevations weren't covered with {bass-reliefs or ceramics, they were whitewashed and rendered}. The Greek tradition of huge pillars and hand-made marble blocks was used as a decoration in huge public buildings. Here for the first time the aesthetic quality of buildings was noticed and the light and space became the elements of {architectal} design. Rome must have stimulate human imagination like Babilon did before. However, the splendour of Roman architecture is spoiled by boorishness. This allows to notice the difference between Greek and Roman art. The Roman civilisation is marked by vulgarism and materialism. These are visible even in the most prominent monuments.

THE FLAVIUS AMPHITHEATRE

Coliseum is one of the biggest achievements of Roman age. The construction of this huge

amphitheatre, which allows us to admire its antic dignity, was started by Vespasian in 72 AD. It was finished by his son, Titus, in 80 AD. Its builders were mostyl Jewish slaves, who inhabited Rome in large numbers. This huge building was given name of Flavius Amphitheatre; however, due to the fact that it was placed near the colossal" statue of Nero it was called the Coliseum. We can say, that in history of Rome there isn't a single page, which wouldn't be more or less connected with the Coliseum, which had become the symbol of Rome. In 7th century Beda said: As long as the Coliseum stands, Rome will stand as well; when the Coliseum falls, Rome will fall and when Rome falls, the end of the world will follow.... After the Norman invasion there was nothing left of the ancient Rome except for skeletons. Coliseum was destroyed and left deserted and became a source of building materials for the reconstruction of Rome. Until Benedict the 14th decided to save the remains of the amphitheatre and consecrated it and conducted the Stations of the Cross inside it and placed a cross in the middle of the arena. Later the cross was removed and returned to its place in 1926. For Christians, the Coliseum is the place, where many Christian martyrs died in front of bloodthirsty spectators.

COLISEUM - THE PLACE OF SPORT EVENTS

The most appealing Roman shows were the summer games and the circus ludi circenes, which came into being during the last years of the Roman Republic and was aimed to strengthen the Roman fight spirit, which allowed simple Romans to feel like the masters of the world and decide about one's life and death. These games gave birth to the gladiator profession, who were trained to fight and kill each other in front of bloodthirsty viewera. Lions, tigers and even elephants, which were considered as horrible beasts, were killing gladiators and each other during the shows. Acording to Dion Kasius, during the celebration of opening the building, a hundred days long one, over 9000 animals were killed. After a battle between animals and men the arena was filled with water and see battles were fought on it. The great emperor Konstantin and his succesors wanted to put an end to horrible fights of gladiators, however the Romans didn't want the games to stop. The end was put to these bloodbaths in the fifth century, when the monk Telemach wanted to make the games illegal, but he encountered resistance of the crowd and was killed.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF COLISEUM

The coliseum had the shape of an elipse and its longest diameter was 187m long and the shortest was 155m long. There were three lines of archs, each consisted of doric or ionic or corinthian pillars. The elipse, which consisted of 80 arcs, was the inside cicumference. Four arcs, which were the symbol of four rays, were the entrance to a corridor which surrounded the arena. In the middle of one of podium wings, called suggestum, was the emperor's throne and the rest of

podium was occupied by senators and the emperor's family. The next places were for the knights. People who were married had their own seats and there were seats for families with slaves or people with protectors or common people. The coliseum had no roof, but during a heavy rain it was covered by a vast canvas by the crew Rawenna and Capo Mileno. These ships fought the sea battles when the coliseum was filled with water. In its full glory, the coliseum was the right demonstration of the Roman might. But even now, after many centuries that have passed, it is still the pride of Rome.

The famous Pompeii

Pompeii were situated south from the Vesuvius and east from the Bay of Naples. Hardly anything is known about this city from earlier than 1st century BC. But it is sure, that the process of romanization was going smoothly due to a Roman army camp in the city. The city had become an elegant place, where Roman aristocracy built their villas.

Three destroyed cities

Herculaneum and Pompeii were two of three cities in the Roman province of Italia, which were destroyed by Vesuvius' eruption on 24th July 79 AD. During its best days, Pompeii was the most important trading city in the region. After the short period of Greek colonization, they came under Roman rule. Around 63 AD a stron earthquake destroyed a large part of the city and 16 years later the Vesuvius erupted. Because of smoke and ashes were thrown out of the volcano a few days before the eruption most of the city's population had enough time to evacuate. Nevertheless, about 2000 people died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Houses were covered with a few meters of ashes and pumice. Due to the eruption the life in the city came to a halt just the way it was for the following centuries - people were stopped in their natural positions, doing everyday activities. Thanks to Pompeii we know much about Romans' everyday life.

Discovering the past

Ruins of Pompeii are only about 20 km south-east from Naples. The city was founded in the VII century BC by the Oscans. Originally, it was under Greek culture's, later under Etruscan's influence. The time of the biggest growth of the city was in the I century AD. Citizen's main source of income was trade (there was a port in the city). Not until the end of XVI century, during builing of a canal, ancient writing was found. A quick examination made scientists sure, that there are ruins of a city undeground. The excavation in Pompeii started in 1748, but more careful digs were led by Giuzeppe Fiorelli in 1861. Not only pieces of art were dug out, but also the street map of the city was restored. Thanks to that Fiorelli could start his reconstructing the destroyed or damaged buildings.

The ancient street map

Pompeii was surrounded by a city wall and it had a sewerage system. Along the streets there were houses with atriums. During the excavations numberous stores and workshops and a theatre and a forum with a basilica and diocese and temples and an amphitheatre with gladiator' barracks and many other buildings.

Art in Pompeii
During the excavations many sculptures made by local artists from marble or wood or stone or bronze were dug out. They are mainly portraits and reliefs, which were decorational architectural details. Among the smaller pieces of art small bells, which rang on every slightest wind if hung were found. Some of them had erotic shapes. One of the most important discoveries made in Pompeii are wall paintings, which were discovered in large number in the richer houses. Thanks to this, the history of Roman painting from before the year 79 AD could be reproduced. Numerous mosaics were found in addition to the murals. They were found mostly in houses with high humidity level. In one of the houses a flooring embellished with an image of the battle of Issos fought between Alexander the Great and Darius III. The mosaic consisted of around 1,5 million stones.

Spirits of the past

But what makes the biggest impression are the castings of human bodies. The ashes, which covered Pompeii soldified so quickly that they've kept the shape of human bodies in them. Fiorelli found a way to extract the bodies's shapes from them. He poured plaster of Paris through a small hole, which filled up empty space. After the plaster congealed, he removed the layer of ashes and revealed castings of bodies and items and parts of building etc. Later, a transparent material was used, which made it possible to see the items which were inside the casting, e.g. bones. In fact, we learn something new about the history of Pompeii all the time. Excavations in Pompeii are continued even now and only after they are finished we will know the full history of this full-of-ghosts-of-the-past city.

Death of Julius Caesar

Since 59 BC Caesar had been elected as the consul five times and three times as the dictator. Eventually, in 44 BC he was elected as the dictator perpetuus. This title was supposed to be lifelong and in fact it was. However, Caesar did not enjoy it for long. 15th of March 44 BC during so-called Ides of March he was stabbed to death in the Senate. He

got twenty three blows with a dagger but only one of them was fatal. The main conspirators were Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Gaius Trebonius, Servius Sulpici Galba, Lucius Minucius Basilus, Publius Servilius Casca and Lucius Tilius Cimber. They were the most trusted collaborators of Caesar but he underestimated them. They owed him their great fortunes and high state offices and they could not stand that fact. The assassins were guided by different motives. The choice of the proper moment for assassination was undoubtedly determined by plans of a great expedition against Parthians. If Caesar had managed to join his army and, after victory, to return triumphantly to Rome, the assassination would have been very hard to accomplish. Caesar was said to aim at restoration of monarchy, there was a strong fear of Hellenic despotism. The assassins had different motives but one of them gained respect of people who were outraged about dictatorship which was evident negation of the Republic's ideals. The others were dispirited by Caesar showing disrespect to institutions and constitutional traditions. Consequently the conspirators were a special mixture of disappointed soldiers, affronted conservatives and oligarchs concentrated on their own interests. The assassins had no remedy for problems that Caesar did not and his predecessors could not solve. They could not even take care of their own security. Restoration of the Republic was proclaimed but Caesar's law acts were acknowledged. There was a turn in public awareness and the assassins had to seek salvation in refuge.

Caesar could not officially acknowledge Caesarion, his son with Cleopatra. Before he died he assigned Gaius Octavius, his younger sister's grandson, to his heir. The successor took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. 1st of January 42 BC, with decision of the Senate and people of Rome, Caesar took his place among the gods as Divus Julius Divine Julius.

Downfall of the Empire

Great success in foreign affairs was accompanied by intensification of conflict in Rome itself. The main reason were limits in access to offices that affected members of the ruling class. Two processes caused serious changes in working of electoral mechanisms and political manners.

The first process peasants grow poor

The first process was gradual impoverishment of Italian peasants. War campaigns lasting for years not only kept people away from working on their fields but also caused huge devastation of southern Italy. At the same time people who were lucky enough to make a fortune on the birth of the Empire, purchased land that was the only stable investment.

In the long run it meant concentration of landed property in big farms run by slaves whose price dropped a lot as a result of conquests. Small farmers, deprived of means of living were going to Rome where they tried to make ends meet. They were citizens only officially because in fact they were proletarians. Being citizens they still had the right to vote. For the rich and politically ambitious they were just crowd that could be bought or bullied. The way to luxurious offices led through the Assembly of Citizens, that is why political mechanisms of the late Republic showed the importance of wealth more and more clearly. It had repercussions all over Italy. Since votes got their price, proletarian citizens started to defend their votes trying to oppose to expanding citizen's rights to other inhabitants, even to allies giving military support to them.

The second process military service

The second process concerned changes in the Roman army. The army became regular. After the Punic wars it was impossible to conduct wars with people who were soldiers and farmers at the same time. Military service was always a large burden and became more and more unpopular. War campaigns were conducted in more and more distant places, garrisons that had to guard conquered provinces did not come home for years and even Rome started to suffer from the lack of people. That fact was officially acknowledged in 107 BC when consul Gaius Marius gave up conscription and introduced voluntary army recruitment. Marius' reform solved staff problems of the army because the number of the poor willing to fight covered the demand for new soldiers. Initially military service was reserved for citizens but, at last, the situation changed and Roman citizenship could be received in the army. As a result the army became an important political power, being at the disposal of people like Marius who conducted wars in provinces of the Empire. Marius was the author of one more precedent: soldiers took an oath of loyalty to the commander and not to the state. Small farms were gradually replaced by huge latifundia, bought for booty and the gap between the rich and the poor increased. At the same time victorious leaders had new opportunities of political career. Both things turned out to be fatal for the Republic. In the end of the 2nd century BC brothers Gracchus, tribunes of the people tried to solve social problems by introducing agricultural reform that limited the power of the Senate and increased the participation of equities in rule. The Gracchus tried to distribute resources of the Empire to broader masses of people but the only result was that they were both killed by their adversaries. The Gracchus' death meant a more aggressive political struggle; in the last century of the existence of the Republic political splits were as strong as never before, not only career but also life of the engaged politicians were at stake. It also was the time of the beginning of the so-called Roman Revolution. Political rules of Rome had been broken when the older of the brothers, Tiberius Gracchus brought about the removal of the tribune of the people, Marcus Octavianus, who vetoed his project of agricultural reform. In that way he violated a traditional rule that gave the plebeian tribunes the right to veto.

The change of rule

Wars conducted by next rulers made the Empire plunge into chaos. Gaius Marius led a couple of wars with conquered nations during his rule. Military conflicts became more severe during his rule, also with Roman allies who tried to get new rights for themselves. Roman wars in Asia created a new victorious leader who had political ambitions Sulla. After Marius's death in 86 BC Rome was left without a consul. In 82 BC Sulla came back to the capital and was appointed dictator. His first political decisions were: limiting rights of tribunes and restoration of the omnipotence of the Senate. In 70 BC Pompey became consul. During his rule chaos and corruption of the ruling class in the capital increased. Fear of dictatorship became bigger and was additionally fomented by oligarchy. However Pompey was engrossed in wars and was not interested in dictatorship. In 59 BC Julius Caesar became consul. During his rule the Empire made as many conquests as never before. When his adversaries wanted him to go to court and clear himself of charges, Caesar made a decision that it was the end of the Roman Empire. He crossed Rubicon and started the march to Rome. That was treason although he affirmed that he wanted to defend the Empire against its enemies. Next years of his rule were filled mostly with conquests. He was killed by assassins 15th of March 44 BC.

The End of the Republic

The Republic was dying. It had got its mortal blows long before Caesar crossed Rubicon and its constitutional institutions lost their vitality and could not be restored. However the myth of the Republic, its ideology and forms had been preserved. Romans could not put an end to the old tradition. When they did it at last, they did not resemble their ancestors from the times of the Republic in any way. More on the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, and how its downfall parallels politics in the US now: www.roman-empire-america-now.com