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In this exploration of the administration of law and its role in the lives of ordinary people in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire, Serena Connolly draws upon a rich but little-known legal collection from the late 3rd century known as the Codex Hermogenianus. The codex is composed of imperial responses to petitions sent to Rome, written by a team of the emperor’s legal experts. These petitions and responses provide a wealth of information about provincial legal administration and the lives of the non-elite petitioners. The man who prostituted his wife, the mother whose malicious son undersold her farm, and the slaves who posed as free men to get a loan are just a few of the lives to encounter. Lives behind the Laws makes a valuable contribution to Roman social, political, and legal history.
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
1 Seeking Justice in the Roman World 16
Petitioning in the Roman World 22
2 The Rescript System 39
The Codex Hermogenianus 39
The Rescript System in Motion 47
The Work of the scrinium libellorum 55
3 The Rescript System in Context 63
Petitioners 67
Places 83
4 Using the System 98
"With the Law" 102
"Before the Law" 112
"Against the Law" 129
5 The Emperor and His Petitioners 137
Petitioners in Need: The New Understanding of Poverty 138
The Roles of the Emperor 140
Limits on the Emperor 154
The Nexus of Power: Emperor, Officials, Petitioners 155
Conclusion 159
Appendix 1 The Skaptopara Inscription 167
Appendix 2 Catalog of Extant Entries from the Codex Hermogenianus 175
Map 205
Notes 207
Bibliography 245
Index 261
Overview
In this exploration of the administration of law and its role in the lives of ordinary people in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire, Serena Connolly draws upon a rich but little-known legal collection from the late 3rd century known as the Codex Hermogenianus. The codex is composed of imperial responses to petitions sent to Rome, written by a team of the emperor’s legal experts. These petitions and responses provide a wealth of information about provincial legal administration and the lives of the ...