DOCSLIB.ORG

Justinian's Provincial Reforms of the AD 530S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2015 The Struggle Between the Center and the Periphery: Justinian's Provincial Reforms of the A.D. 530s Mark-Anthony Karantabias University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Karantabias, Mark-Anthony, "The Struggle Between the Center and the Periphery: Justinian's Provincial Reforms of the A.D. 530s" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--History. 31. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/31 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Mark-Anthony Karantabias, Student Dr. David M. Olster, Major Professor Dr. Scott Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CENTER AND THE PERIPHERY: JUSTINIAN'S PROVINCIAL REFORMS OF THE A.D. 530S DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Mark-Anthony Karantabias Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. David M. Olster, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2015 Copyright © Mark-Anthony Karantabias 2015 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CENTER AND THE PERIPHERY: JUSTINIAN'S PROVINCIAL REFORMS OF THE A.D. 530S This dissertation analyzes the struggle between the imperial court and the periphery in the context of Justinian’s reforms in the early A.D. 530s. The reforms targeting select Roman provinces sought to reduce the size of the imperial bureaucracy while simultaneously attempting to maintain imperial vertical authority. The reforms epitomize the imperial court’s struggle to rein in the imperial bureaucracy in the provinces of the Roman Empire. The analysis is framed within the cultural, social, political and economic evolution occurring in Late Antiquity. It shall be proposed that the reforms are one example of the imperial court’s attempt to limit the distance between itself and its provincial resources, particularly with regard to fiscality. The reforms also embody the political dynamics between the emperor and his bureaucracy, which is composed of the Roman elite. Roughly two centuries earlier, the Tetrarchic reforms fundamentally changed the relationship between both parties. Specifically, the upper stratum of the aristocracy saw the balance of power tilt in its favor substantially. Keywords: Justinian, Roman, Late Antiquity, Tetrarchs, Theodora, Antiquity Mark-Anthony Karantabias Student’s Signature 18 December, 2015______ Date THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CENTER AND THE PERIPHERY: JUSTINIAN'S PROVINCIAL REFORMS OF THE A.D. 530S By Mark-Anthony Karantabias Dr. David M. Olster_______ Co-Director of Dissertation Dr. David Hunter_________ Thesis Committee Member Dr. Scott Taylor__________ Director of Graduate Studies TO MY WIFE AND FAMILY TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER II: THE TRANSFORMATION OF ROMAN SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURES ........................................................................................... 11 THE TETRARCHIC REFORMS ................................................................................. 15 A FLIGHT OF CURIALES? ........................................................................................ 24 THE RESTRUCTURING OF ROMAN SOCIETY ..................................................... 28 UNFETTERED SOCIAL MOBILITY, ITS CONSEQUENCES AND THE IMPERIAL RESPONSE ............................................................................................... 41 THE INSTITUTIONAL SOLUTIONS ........................................................................ 52 CHAPTER III: THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROMAN ELITE AFTER THE TETRARCHIC REFORMS .............................................................................................. 66 THE EVOLUTION OF CAPITAL: SOCIAL CAPITAL ............................................ 72 THE EVOLUTION OF CAPITAL: CULTURAL CAPITAL ..................................... 80 THE EVOLUTION OF CAPITAL: SYMBOLIC CAPITAL ...................................... 91 CHAPTER IV: THE ROMAN EMPIRE ON THE EVE OF JUSTINIAN’S REFORMS ......................................................................................................................................... 111 A SURVEY OF THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT’S MACHINERY ........................ 125 EVALUATING THE BUREAUCRACY’S PERFORMANCE: ............................... 137 I) THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM ..................................................................................... 137 II) THE GOVERNORSHIP ........................................................................................ 143 CHAPTER V: JUSTINIAN’S PROVINCIAL REFORMS ........................................... 169 I) RHETORIC IN IMPERIAL LEGISLATION ......................................................... 171 II) THE PROVINCIAL REFORMS OF THE A.D. 530s ........................................... 208 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 230 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 241 iii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION The reign of Justinian is one of the most studied periods in Late Antiquity. This is the case for many reasons. The sources are rather plentiful for the period and that cannot be said of the reign of Anastasius, for example. Within thirty-eight years many developments could be noted. However, many of these developments did not take root in the sixth century, even less during Justinian’s reign. As E.H. Carr effectively contended, the individual can only be a factor and not a primary causative force in the course of history.1 I do believe that this is an appropriate statement with which this analysis should begin. Justinian can only be understood as one piece in a complex jigsaw collection. In the A.D. 530s, Justinian’s administration sought to reform select provinces drastically, roughly in and around Asia Minor. Why these reforms were enacted serves as the founding question of this inquiry. Asking that very question implies a multitude of facets, which are bound to one another. The Roman capacity to administer an empire effectively is one of the most eminent and fiscality is surely one of the most important factors involved therein. However, the question implies much more than that. The evolution of Roman social, economic and cultural dynamics are embedded in this discussion. This includes changes to the fabric of Roman high society, the view of effective governance, the emperor and his power, and political rhetoric. The composition of the Roman elite underwent substantial change in Late Antiquity and the catalyst of this evolution occurred under the Tetrarchs. In that same period, the nature of governance changed significantly, altering the relationships between the summit of Roman society, 1 E.H. Carr, What is History? (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987). 1 the emperor, and his government. With respect to the reforms themselves, the discussion cannot negate the importance of the rhetoric involved. The legal discourse therein is a testament to the relationships between the emperor and his court, and his bureaucracy. With that, it is important to visit the scholarly views of the emperor in question. In many cases, Justinian is regarded as a ruthless dictator, an absolute monarch and an autocrat. These views are in part truthful, but in large part inaccurate. The image of the emperor profoundly changed over the course of Roman history. At the inception
Recommended publications
  • The Story of the Byzantine Empire

    The Story of the Byzantine Empire

    THE STO RY O F T HE NATIO NS L LU T T E E R VO L . I z M o I S A . P , R D , T H E E AR L I E R VO L UM E S A R E f I N E F R E E B P o AS A . SO T H STO R Y O G E C . y r . I . HARR R F R E B TH U ILM A N T HE STO Y O O M . y A R R G EW B P f A K O S E R F T HE S . o S . M T HE ST O Y O J y r . J . H R B Z N R O F DE . A R A coz I T HE ST O Y C HA L A . y . — R F E R N . B S B ING O U L THE ST O Y O G MA Y y . AR G D F N W B P f H B YE S E N o . H . O T HE ST O R Y O O R A Y . y r N E n E B . E . a d S SA H T HE ST O R Y O F SP A I . y U N AL N B P R of. A . VAM B Y T HE STO R Y O F H U GA R Y . y r E ST R O F E B P of L E TH E O Y C A RT H A G .
  • The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the D

    The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the D

    The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marion Woodrow Kruse, III Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Anthony Kaldellis, Advisor; Benjamin Acosta-Hughes; Nathan Rosenstein Copyright by Marion Woodrow Kruse, III 2015 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the use of Roman historical memory from the late fifth century through the middle of the sixth century AD. The collapse of Roman government in the western Roman empire in the late fifth century inspired a crisis of identity and political messaging in the eastern Roman empire of the same period. I argue that the Romans of the eastern empire, in particular those who lived in Constantinople and worked in or around the imperial administration, responded to the challenge posed by the loss of Rome by rewriting the history of the Roman empire. The new historical narratives that arose during this period were initially concerned with Roman identity and fixated on urban space (in particular the cities of Rome and Constantinople) and Roman mythistory. By the sixth century, however, the debate over Roman history had begun to infuse all levels of Roman political discourse and became a major component of the emperor Justinian’s imperial messaging and propaganda, especially in his Novels. The imperial history proposed by the Novels was aggressivley challenged by other writers of the period, creating a clear historical and political conflict over the role and import of Roman history as a model or justification for Roman politics in the sixth century.
  • Aus: Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 116 (1997) 284–299 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt Gmbh, Bonn

    Aus: Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 116 (1997) 284–299 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt Gmbh, Bonn

    ROBERT L. DISE, JR. VARIATION IN ROMAN ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE: THE ASSIGNMENTS OF BENEFICIARII CONSULARIS aus: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 116 (1997) 284–299 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn 284 VARIATION IN ROMAN ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE: THE ASSIGNMENTS OF BENEFICIARII CONSULARIS1 Scholarship has only recently begun to recognize the extent to which variation rather than standardiza- tion characterized the functions of the gubernatorial beneficiarii who bulk so large in the administrative record of the Principate.2 But the traditional uniformitarian view of Roman administrative practice con- tinues to influence thinking on the management of the beneficiarii themselves. Thus, while it is increas- ingly acknowledged that the duties of beneficiarii may have varied from place to place or from time to time, the manner in which the empire selected, assigned, and rotated its beneficiarii is conceived of as standardized. It certainly cannot be denied that this view is correct where certain aspects of the internal management of the beneficiarii are concerned. For example, gubernatorial beneficiarii were almost in- variably chosen from the ranks of the legions, and the rare exceptions to this rule were men drawn from citizen regiments of the auxilia. But in fact the internal management of the gubernatorial beneficiarii, and of the administrative infrastructure of which they formed an important part, was a very complex af- fair, which mixed elements of imperial standardization with others of variation. This was particularly the case after the middle of the second century. The Antonines revived and expanded the statio network created by Trajan, creating many new stationes and using gubernatorial beneficiarii to man them.
  • Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? 147

    Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? 147

    Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? 147 Chapter 8 Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? Dis/unity, Gender and Orientalism in the Fourth Century Shaun Tougher Introduction In the narrative of relations between East and West in the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, the tensions between the eastern and western imperial courts at the end of the century loom large. The decision of Theodosius I to “split” the empire between his young sons Arcadius and Honorius (the teenage Arcadius in the east and the ten-year-old Honorius in the west) ushered in a period of intense hostility and competition between the courts, famously fo- cused on the figure of Stilicho.1 Stilicho, half-Vandal general and son-in-law of Theodosius I (Stilicho was married to Serena, Theodosius’ niece and adopted daughter), had been left as guardian of Honorius, but claimed guardianship of Arcadius too and concomitant authority over the east. In the political manoeu- vrings which followed the death of Theodosius I in 395, Stilicho was branded a public enemy by the eastern court. In the war of words between east and west a key figure was the (probably Alexandrian) poet Claudian, who acted as a ‘pro- pagandist’ (through panegyric and invective) for the western court, or rather Stilicho. Famously, Claudian wrote invectives on leading officials at the eastern court, namely Rufinus the praetorian prefect and Eutropius, the grand cham- berlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi), who was a eunuch. It is Claudian’s two at- tacks on Eutropius that are the inspiration and central focus of this paper which will examine the significance of the figure of the eunuch for the topic of the end of unity between east and west in the Roman Empire.
  • Hadrian and the Greek East

    Hadrian and the Greek East

    HADRIAN AND THE GREEK EAST: IMPERIAL POLICY AND COMMUNICATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Demetrios Kritsotakis, B.A, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Fritz Graf, Adviser Professor Tom Hawkins ____________________________ Professor Anthony Kaldellis Adviser Greek and Latin Graduate Program Copyright by Demetrios Kritsotakis 2008 ABSTRACT The Roman Emperor Hadrian pursued a policy of unification of the vast Empire. After his accession, he abandoned the expansionist policy of his predecessor Trajan and focused on securing the frontiers of the empire and on maintaining its stability. Of the utmost importance was the further integration and participation in his program of the peoples of the Greek East, especially of the Greek mainland and Asia Minor. Hadrian now invited them to become active members of the empire. By his lengthy travels and benefactions to the people of the region and by the creation of the Panhellenion, Hadrian attempted to create a second center of the Empire. Rome, in the West, was the first center; now a second one, in the East, would draw together the Greek people on both sides of the Aegean Sea. Thus he could accelerate the unification of the empire by focusing on its two most important elements, Romans and Greeks. Hadrian channeled his intentions in a number of ways, including the use of specific iconographical types on the coinage of his reign and religious language and themes in his interactions with the Greeks. In both cases it becomes evident that the Greeks not only understood his messages, but they also reacted in a positive way.
  • Journeys to Byzantium? Roman Senators Between Rome and Constantinople

    Journeys to Byzantium? Roman Senators Between Rome and Constantinople

    Journeys to Byzantium? Roman Senators Between Rome and Constantinople Master’s Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Michael Anthony Carrozzo, B.A Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2010 Thesis Committee: Kristina Sessa, Advisor Timothy Gregory Anthony Kaldellis Copyright by Michael Anthony Carrozzo 2010 Abstract For over a thousand years, the members of the Roman senatorial aristocracy played a pivotal role in the political and social life of the Roman state. Despite being eclipsed by the power of the emperors in the first century BC, the men who made up this order continued to act as the keepers of Roman civilization for the next four hundred years, maintaining their traditions even beyond the disappearance of an emperor in the West. Despite their longevity, the members of the senatorial aristocracy faced an existential crisis following the Ostrogothic conquest of the Italian peninsula, when the forces of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I invaded their homeland to contest its ownership. Considering the role they played in the later Roman Empire, the disappearance of the Roman senatorial aristocracy following this conflict is a seminal event in the history of Italy and Western Europe, as well as Late Antiquity. Two explanations have been offered to explain the subsequent disappearance of the Roman senatorial aristocracy. The first involves a series of migrations, beginning before the Gothic War, from Italy to Constantinople, in which members of this body abandoned their homes and settled in the eastern capital.
  • The Athenian Agora

    The Athenian Agora

    Excavations of the Athenian Agora Picture Book No. 12 Prepared by Dorothy Burr Thompson Produced by The Stinehour Press, Lunenburg, Vermont American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1993 ISBN 87661-635-x EXCAVATIONS OF THE ATHENIAN AGORA PICTURE BOOKS I. Pots and Pans of Classical Athens (1959) 2. The Stoa ofAttalos II in Athens (revised 1992) 3. Miniature Sculpturefrom the Athenian Agora (1959) 4. The Athenian Citizen (revised 1987) 5. Ancient Portraitsfrom the Athenian Agora (1963) 6. Amphoras and the Ancient Wine Trade (revised 1979) 7. The Middle Ages in the Athenian Agora (1961) 8. Garden Lore of Ancient Athens (1963) 9. Lampsfrom the Athenian Agora (1964) 10. Inscriptionsfrom the Athenian Agora (1966) I I. Waterworks in the Athenian Agora (1968) 12. An Ancient Shopping Center: The Athenian Agora (revised 1993) I 3. Early Burialsfrom the Agora Cemeteries (I 973) 14. Graffiti in the Athenian Agora (revised 1988) I 5. Greek and Roman Coins in the Athenian Agora (1975) 16. The Athenian Agora: A Short Guide (revised 1986) French, German, and Greek editions 17. Socrates in the Agora (1978) 18. Mediaeval and Modern Coins in the Athenian Agora (1978) 19. Gods and Heroes in the Athenian Agora (1980) 20. Bronzeworkers in the Athenian Agora (1982) 21. Ancient Athenian Building Methods (1984) 22. Birds ofthe Athenian Agora (1985) These booklets are obtainable from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens c/o Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. 08540, U.S.A They are also available in the Agora Museum, Stoa of Attalos, Athens Cover: Slaves carrying a Spitted Cake from Market.
  • Studia Translatorica Vol. 10

    Studia Translatorica Vol. 10

    DOI: 10.23817/strans.10-28 Diana Cărburean Independent researcher/ Romania The Byzantine legal standard transposition strategies into the Romanian regulatory texts of the 17th century Abstract The Byzantine legal standard transposition strategies into the Romanian regulatory texts of the 17th century Unlike the Canon law texts available in the Romanian principalities – Moldavia and Wal- lachia – falling under the Slavic influence, the first legal acts which are subscribed to the secular law and which appear in 1646 [Carte Românească de Învățătură (en. Romanian Book of Learning) or Pravila lui Vasile Lupu (en. Vasile Lupu’s Code of Laws)] and in 1652 [Îndrep- tarea legii (en. The Law’s Rectification) orPravila lui Matei Basarab (en. Matei Basarab’s Code of Laws)] fall under the Greek-Byzantine influence. The present article aims to provide some information regarding the translation mechanisms applied by the Moldavian and Wallachian scholars of the 17th century who aimed at transposing the Byzantine Legal Standard to the everyday life of the two above mentioned Romanian principalities by means of fundamental procedures, such as “analysis (with the underlying meaning determination), transfer, restruc- turing, and testing” (Nida, 2004: 85) of the source message. The most precious information related to the translation process of those times is provided by the cases of untranslatability generated by the legal and terminological gap between the Receiver and the Transmitter. The identification and classification of these cases, but also the highlighting of the solutions the translator found to solve them, represent important steps in understanding the equivalenting process of two unequal legal systems that took place centuries ago in Eastern Europe, as illus- trated by the case of the two Romanian principalities and the Greek-Byzantine one.
  • ROTEX Gassolarunit Gas Condensing Boiler with Stratified Solar Storage Tank

    ROTEX Gassolarunit Gas Condensing Boiler with Stratified Solar Storage Tank

    For specialist technical operation ROTEX GasSolarUnit Gas condensing boiler with stratified solar storage tank Installation and maintenance instructions 0085 BM 0065 Type Rated thermal output GB ROTEX GSU 320 3 - 20 kW modulating Edition 09/2007 ROTEX GSU 520S 3 - 20 kW modulating ROTEX GSU 530S 7 - 30 kW modulating ROTEX GSU 535 8 - 35 kW modulating Manufacture number Customer Guarantee and conformity ROTEX accepts the guarantee for material and manufacturing defects according to this statement. Within the guarantee period, ROTEX agrees to have the device repaired by a person assigned by the company, free of charge. ROTEX reserves the right to replace the device. The guarantee is only valid if the device has been used properly and it can be proved that it was installed properly by an expert firm. As proof, we strongly recommend completing the enclosed installation and instruction forms and returning them to ROTEX. Guarantee period The guarantee period begins on the day of installation (billing date of the installation company), however at the latest 6 months after the date of manufacture (billing date). The guarantee period is not extended if the device is returned for repairs or if the device is replaced. Guarantee period of burner, boiler body and boiler electronics: 2 years Guarantee exclusion Improper use, intervention in the device and unprofessional modifications immediately invalidate the guarantee claim. Dispatch and transport damage are excluded from the guarantee offer. The guarantee explicitly excludes follow-up costs, especially the assembly and disassembly costs of the device. There is no guarantee claim for wear parts (according to the manufacturer's definition), such as lights, switches, fuses.
  • Introduction to Justinian's Novels in 529 A.D., in Order to Harmonize and Simplify Centuries of Roman Law, Emperor Justinian O

    Introduction to Justinian's Novels in 529 A.D., in Order to Harmonize and Simplify Centuries of Roman Law, Emperor Justinian O

    Introduction to Justinian’s Novels In 529 A.D., in order to harmonize and simplify centuries of Roman law, Emperor Justinian ordered the codification that became known as the Codex Iustinianus—the Code of Justinian. However, in the next few years he created many additional laws, and in 534 he incorporated these into a second edition of his Code that superseded the first. Only this second edition survives. (Click here for Justice Blume’s annotated, English translation of the Code.) After 534, throughout the remaining years of his long reign (527-565), Justinian continued to issue laws to meet changing circumstances. These new “constitutions” —Novellae constitutiones, or Novels—never were compiled officially. Private manuscript collections were made of them in the East, though, and these collections appeared later in the West. Starting in the Renaissance, and continuing into the 20th century, scholars made critical editions of the Novels that incorporated elements from the three major collections and from other manuscripts, as they were discovered. (For a detailed history of the transmission process and the various compilations, see The Creation and Transmission of Justinian’s Novels at the Novels’ History link on this web site.) In making the English translation set out here, Justice Fred H. Blume used the Latin version established in the best-regarded critical edition of the Novels—that of Schoell and Kroll, which is volume three in Mommsen, Kruger, Schoell and Kroll’s Corpus Juris Civilis.1 (Volume one contains the Digest and Institutes, volume two, the Code.) Schoell and Kroll’s now-standard edition follows the Greek Collection of 168 in adding a group of 13 Justinian edicts after the 168 novels proper.
  • The Edictum Theoderici: a Study of a Roman Legal Document from Ostrogothic Italy

    The Edictum Theoderici: a Study of a Roman Legal Document from Ostrogothic Italy

    The Edictum Theoderici: A Study of a Roman Legal Document from Ostrogothic Italy By Sean D.W. Lafferty A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto © Copyright by Sean D.W. Lafferty 2010 The Edictum Theoderici: A Study of a Roman Legal Document from Ostrogothic Italy Sean D.W. Lafferty Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto 2010 Abstract This is a study of a Roman legal document of unknown date and debated origin conventionally known as the Edictum Theoderici (ET). Comprised of 154 edicta, or provisions, in addition to a prologue and epilogue, the ET is a significant but largely overlooked document for understanding the institutions of Roman law, legal administration and society in the West from the fourth to early sixth century. The purpose is to situate the text within its proper historical and legal context, to understand better the processes involved in the creation of new law in the post-Roman world, as well as to appreciate how the various social, political and cultural changes associated with the end of the classical world and the beginning of the Middle Ages manifested themselves in the domain of Roman law. It is argued here that the ET was produced by a group of unknown Roman jurisprudents working under the instructions of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great (493-526), and was intended as a guide for settling disputes between the Roman and Ostrogothic inhabitants of Italy. A study of its contents in relation to earlier Roman law and legal custom preserved in imperial decrees and juristic commentaries offers a revealing glimpse into how, and to what extent, Roman law survived and evolved in Italy following the decline and eventual collapse of imperial authority in the region.
  • Perceptions of the Ancient Jews As a Nation in the Greek and Roman Worlds

    Perceptions of the Ancient Jews As a Nation in the Greek and Roman Worlds

    Perceptions of the Ancient Jews as a Nation in the Greek and Roman Worlds By Keaton Arksey A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba In partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Classics University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © 2016 by Keaton Arksey Abstract The question of what made one Jewish in the ancient world remains a fraught topic for scholars. The current communis opinio is that Jewish communities had more in common with the Greeks and Romans than previously thought. Throughout the Diaspora, Jewish communities struggled with how to live amongst their Greco-Roman majority while continuing to practise their faith and thereby remain identifiably ‘Jewish’. To describe a unified Jewish identity in the Mediterranean in the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE is incorrect, since each Jewish community approached its identity in unique ways. These varied on the basis of time, place, and how the non-Jewish population reacted to the Jews and interpreted Judaism. This thesis examines the three major centres of Jewish life in the ancient world - Rome, Alexandria in Egypt, and Judaea - demonstrate that Jewish identity was remarkably and surprisingly fluid. By examining the available Jewish, Roman, and Greek literary and archaeological sources, one can learn how Jewish identity evolved in the Greco-Roman world. The Jews interacted with non-Jews daily, and adapted their neighbours’ practices while retaining what they considered a distinctive Jewish identity. Each chapter of this thesis examines a Jewish community in a different region of the ancient Mediterranean.