On Roman legal procedure, perhaps I can add some things. In most European universities, Law students are usually required to take a course in Roman Law. It was the case in my university up until a few years ago, when it was sadly suppressed. Studying Law myself and feeling cheated, however, I purchased manuals, consulted several college libraries and ended up writing a dissertation on immovable property in the Post-Classical period. Procedural law is usually ignored because continental lawyers tend to give more attention to Substantive law, but my dissertation touched upon the matter so I know enough to give some basic ideas. Context: Our main source of Roman Law is Justinian's legal compilation (the Corpus juris civilis), but the problem is that it corresponds only to a specific period in Roman legal history, thus offering a distorted view of what came before. It was compiled in the Eastern Empire about half a century after the fall of the West, and selectively included only clippings of the juristic writings of the great lawyers of prior eras and imperial constitutions taken out of context. All in all, I love this monumental work and have consulted it often, and it ensured the survival of a form of Roman Law later rediscovered in the Late Middle Ages and becoming the basis of Continental Jurisprudence-but Gaius' Institutes, a Roman legal textbook, miraculously rediscovered in the early 19th century in a palimpsest in Verona, is our main source for pre-Justinian Roman Law. Roman Civil Procedure: I can make no comment on Roman Criminal Procedure. Penal law is nowadays the most emblematic because it is often what we see in films, but civil law is what governs what any person, no matter the epoch, most frequently encounters in the day-to-day (purchases, loans, contracts, wills, etc.). As such, most of Roman Law is civil law: Justinian's Digest (part of his compilation) only devotes two of its 50 books to criminal law (books 47-48, the "libri terribiles"), and Justinian's Code, only one of its 12 books. Roman Criminal Law is therefore hardly studied-I know next to nothing about it-compared to Roman Civil Law, and the same goes for Criminal vs. Civil Procedure. The problem when talking about Roman Civil Procedure is the period of Roman Law we are referring to, as there are three different systems that largely correspond to the different periods of Roman Law (for a time coexisting all three at once). These are the system of "Legis Actiones" or actions of the law; the system of "agere per formulas" or formulary system; and the "cognitio extra ordinem" or extraordinary cognition. Legis Actiones: This is the oldest procedure, is largely based on (albeit not established by) the Law of the Twelve Tables and applied only to Roman citizens. The procedure had two phases: the first is called "in iure" ("in Law"), meaning before a magistrate with imperium called the "praetor." The plaintiff, like Dr. Ryan says, had the onus of "procuring" the presence of the defendant before the magistrate, and this was sometimes done by force, which the Law of the Twelve Tables permitted. This shows the ancient roots of the procedure, where the plaintiff would settle a private dispute by an act of violence, which a magistrate/judge would declare lawful ("jus est", loosely translatable as "it is right"-"jus" is a tricky word with a multiplicity of meaning, from whence we get "justice") or not, depending on circumstance. Whatever the case, once plaintiff and defendant were before the praetor, the plaintiff had to perform the "legis actio" or action of the law, which was a combination of words and gestures that he had to delivered with exact precision or otherwise he would lose his case. Gaius relates in his Institutes (IV, 11) in passing the story of a man who lost his case only because he pronounced the word "vites" (grapevines) as opposed to repeating the word the Twelve Tables said, "arbores" (trees). The gestures to be performed depended on the situation and "legis actio" employed, and probably could get quite comical, I think: for example (Gaius Inst. IV, 16), in the case of the dispute between two men over the ownership of a slave, after pronouncing the words of the "legis actio" each and imposing upon the poor chattel a wooden rod (representing a spear, the Roman symbol of ownership), plaintiff and defendant then had to engage in mock combat and struggle over the slave before the magistrate. After a short while, he would tell them to stop, would specify the terms of the legal conflict into a document called "litis contestatio" (to which plaintiff & defendant would then assent) and refer the matter to a "iudex", beginning the second phase of the procedure called "apud iudicem" (before the judge). A judge or judges in some formal assembly would decide over matters of fact and evidence, and plaintiff & defendant would argue for their favor. If the plaintiff's claim was granted, the remedy decreed by the court depended upon the "legis actio" employed. This system was slowly replaced by the "agere per formulas" until it was finally abolished in the time of Augustus (circa 4 BC). Agere per Formulas: Originally only for disputes between foreigners or between foreigners and Romans, it was opened to Roman citizens probably by the Lex Æbutia of 130 BC. It was much more flexible and not reliant on quasi-sacred declarations and gestures by plaintiff & defendant (which generally only the patricians knew well enough to perform). Like the system they would end up replacing, there was a stage "in iure" and a stage "apud iudicem" afterwards. In the first, the plaintiff would bring the defendant before the praetor-this time not by force but under threat of fines by the magistrate-, state his case, and the magistrate would fill out a form adapted from a generic "formula." (For example, if the case was about a debt, the blank formula would be something to the effect of "If N. N. is found to owe A. A. [a certain amount] of sesterces, let the judge condemn N. N. to pay A. A. said amount; otherwise, let him absolve him." These generic formulae were collected in the praetor's Edict, published annually by the magistrates.) After, again, specifying the terms of the case in a "litis contestatio" and adapting the generic form to the specific case, the praetor would refer the matter to a private judge (a layman) chosen by the plaintiff & defendant, who would also decide over matters of fact and evidence, not matters of Law (as a layman he was not versed in them anyway): this was the stage "apud iudicem." The judge had to base his decision on the "formula" given to him by the praetor, and his sentencing remarks were practically confined to "I condemn" or "I absolve", based on the plaintiff & defendant's (and their advocates') allegations and proof. The execution of the sentence was mostly voluntary (and often monetary, except when it referred to the return of things owed or wrongfully appropriated), but in the case of non-compliance by the defendant, the praetor could be called on to order the seizing of all (not just some) of his assets and their public auctioning. Hence why compliance was so high, one assumes. Cognitio extra ordinem: This procedure was formally established under Augustus, and was originally reserved only for very special cases (thus why it is "extra ordinem" or extraordinary), but its purview was slowly broadened by successive emperors until Constantine the Great finally abolished the formulary system in an imperial constitution in the year 342, which left the "Cognitio" standing as the only judicial procedure. In it, there is no distinction between instances of Law ("in iure") and Fact ("apud iudicem"), as there is only one magistrate who presides over the whole process. The plaintiff substantiates his claim in writing in the form of a "libellus conventionis." This document kickstarts the proceedings, and has to be answered by the defendant similarly in a "libellus contradictionis" if he is to participate: which he no longer has to! Given that the more prominent role of the magistrate allows him to continue the proceedings whether the defendant appears in court or not. (There is still a "litis contestatio", but its importance is largely residual at this point.) The process is conducted mainly in writing (whereas the "legis actiones" and the "agere per formulas" were predominantly oral), and the judge is much more inquisitive: proof is sought by the magistrate rather than presented or alleged by the parties, and public or notarized documents, as well as legal presumptions, practically determine the outcome of the trial. Sentencing largely depends on the public authority now, and the courts' remedies-outside of the return of specific goods-are mostly monetary (though not always, on account of rampant inflation in the Late Empire). To ensure the defendant's compliance with the verdict, the courts conserved the power to auction all of their assets as a penalty, although at times only a specific item of the defendant's would be seized and sold. Conclusion: I have really gone off the rails with this one, haven't I? I originally intended this to be a short comment, but here we are. At any rate, the "cognitio extra ordinem" survived the Western Empire through Justinian's Compilation (later rediscovered in the 12th century, when Roman Law started to be taught again in Europe by Irnerius' School of Glossators) and Ecclesiastical courts. With many variations, it remains the basis of most-if not all-continental judicial procedure; my country, whose laws I learnt, included.
I like footnotes even more than the original channel. The questions often explore curiosities I didn't know I had, and I really like to put it in the background as I do other things. The podcasts are great too. It's a very original project.
These videos are perfect because they let me just listen to you talk. The narration for your book is fantastic, but I would have loved it if it was you. Thank you for these fantastic contributions to the historical community.
I would assume for civil cases, if you had a patron, the patron would be incredibly helpful in enforcement of the verdict. I love this format. You answering follow up questions to your videos is important in my mind. Thanks!
Wow. Incredible Qs and As. So civil law was enforced the pretty much in the exact same way as in the US today. You need to be rich enough to convince a lawyer to take your case otherwise nothing will get done and the poorer you are the more harsh the punishment. Things don't change much.
I love your channel! It's one of the only ones I stay completely caught up with! One request: Please increase the volume of your videos! I don't want to miss a word!
Dr. G! The way you describe Roman legal proceedings makes me think of the time in the aughts when I worked in Kiev. Colleagues involved in lawsuits would depend on the wealth and power of their family for an outcome but then, sometimes, it was as simple as "We think the judge liked us". My question for you to consider for a Footnotes answer is... What was the most common cause of death in the upper classes? Obviously it wasn't starvation but lifespans in the equestrian and patrician classes weren't strikingly more than the rest, so what did 'em in?
Not Garrett (obviously) and late, but bacterial infections (and their complications, like appendicitis) were more common because of poor hygiene, and often fatal because of the lack of effective therapy.
Would you mind discussing the persecution of pagans in the late empire? What happened to the Greek and Roman priesthoods, philosophers and temples in late antiquity, etc Love your channel!
Most of the priesthoods of Rome were suppressed by the Christians with the exception of the title of Pontifex Maximus (supreme pontiff) who was only the 5th highest priest in ancient times, but had the most administrative power. It was held by Julius Caesar, who used its power to reform the calendar, and later by Augustus who added it to his basket of republican offices. The emperors held onto the title until Gratian was persuaded to pass it on to the Pope. The Christians were given a monopoly of the right to teach, so pagan philosophers could no longer instruct the youth, nor could pagan priests teach Etruscan, Egyptian or Akkadian. Justinian ordered the closure of Plato's Academy at Athens in 529 AD.
I preordered your new book, which arrives today. Looking forward to reading it. Loved your first book…informative, interesting, entertaining. A fun read.
Hey Garret, I am loving this Q and A videos, very informatives and well made. I'd be very happy if you answered my question in one of them: How did recruitment and/or conscription evolve in the Roman army throught its history?.
Salve, Garret! Since you mentioned Aeneas, Romulus and Remus... i'd love to know your take on archaic roman monarchy and on the historicity of the roman reges. I concede that perhaps, it'd take longer than a Q & A video... it'd be awesome, nontheless. Vale!
Roman (and indeed basically up until the pre-modern age) birth control was surprisngly effective, and there were lots of options for it, it just tended to take a bit longer to take effect. Measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, and cholera were just a few of the product brands that kept families small and manageable.
Hi Toldinstone, I'm a big fan. My question is, how did the economy and wealth across the Roman empire change over the period between the glory days of the 2nd century and the fall of Rome in 476?
Glitch in youtube fixed. I was finally able hear. Good stuff. Here is my question. How were legions raised? You just hear and Caesar raised a legion, the 33rd... Was there like a Roman Walmart where you could buy 1 an eagle, 5000 suits of armor/swords/javelins, the craftsmen to support the legion.
Hi, Dr. Ryan, Any chance you could point in the direction of some of the Russian sources you mention at ~ 12:30? I'm studying Russian at university and, besides learning history, I could also use the translation practice. Keep doing what you're doing, I'm loving the two new channels.
That's very generous of you! To be honest, I don't know the archaeology of the Crimea well enough to have a "dream list" of sources I'd love to see translated. The most famous sites, for what it's worth, are Chersonesos and Panticapaeum.
There's a lot more than Russian archaeology that remains unknown in the Anglosphere. I assume that anything to do with nuclear physics has been translated and pored over in the Pentagon, but the other sciences and arts also bear examination. For example, Grunya Sukhareva published extensively about what the West calls autism/Asperger's syndrome decades before anyone outside Russia had heard of it, but her work remains unknown. Russian work in psychology and linguistics is also worth looking at.
What did the average (literate, wealthy and informed) Roman think about Parthia during the Imperial Era? Was there any sense of rivalry between the two empires which may begin to resemble the sort of sentiment that built up over the course of the Cold War? Or was Rome largely unconcerned with her largest neighbor when not at war with them?
How did wealthy Romans manage so many villas across the Empire? How did they get money to overseers to manage them? How did they buy or sell them from a distance?
Has any manual for USA of the Gladius and Scutum been found? I ask because I practice Historical Fencing and am aware of Vegetius and the Epitoma, however it is more a manual for military training.
The 1976 BBC series, I, Claudius, has been called the greatest piece of television ever made. I was wondering if you could address the question of how accurate historically the series is. If you need specific points to address, perhaps 1) how accurate is it that Claudius allowed himself to be poisoned to put Nero in office of emperor with the aim of making the empire unpalatable to Romans to re-establish the Republic. 2) the scenes depicting the child Claudius catching a young wolf cub that was dropped by an eagle and it being used as a omen of Claudius’ rise to power as a savior of Rome… Thank you… .
I submit to you, professor Ryan, the notion of creating an episode for your main channel on the most exquisite time capsule known to exist; the mostly unexcavated remains of Herculaneum. Given the extensive knowledge of city planning, layouts, customs and traditions, and the sudden nature of the disaster unique compared to that of settlements to the east, combined with what is already known about the ancient town a reasonable set of assumptions can be made about what can be found in future excavations. To start: outside the fortified walls the tombs should be intact, with marble cladding and all manner of funerary items found inside each mausoleum. The wealthy retirement community would have high quality shops for all manner of dry goods, the finest textiles and jewelry, statues and other treasures. I am curious if there are complete maps of the known tunnels created by the Berbers and others, the late eighteenth century mapping and sketches of the Villa De Papyri is incredibly accurate. That information could be a good addition to any presentation for the example of what is still untouched and unknown. Properly executed, a video on the subject from a true scholar could spark the imagination of a generation of budding historians and archeologists.
My field intersects! Researchers have been trying to use Machine Learning to read some scrolls from the Villa De Papyri. Many are heavily damaged (obviously), but technology theoretically makes them at least partially legible. If I'm not mistaken, it's even possible to somehow "unroll" the scrolls and read the chemical signature of the ink to infer the letters in the texts (using lasers maybe). Perhaps some lost classics lie in wait, to be rediscovered within hopefully a decade. Forgive my half-baked explanation, but in my defense it's quarter to six in the morning. I recommend going down the rabbithole on this one yourself though.
Whenever I hear the name Pompey, I can't help thinking of the English football team, Portsmouth, who inexplicably get called Pompey, and the crowd cheers "Play up Pompey!". I have no idea how they got this name. Portsmouth is a PORT (of course) and seafaring, especially naval, was the main employment.
Robert Garland said it's foolish to think of any legal system like what we have and that issues of "justice" were settled in back alleys. You look at the grave steles and you're overwhelmed with KILLED BY BANDITS on so many. But you didn't run to the law, you and brothers maybe entered into some blood feud w/ another family. Garland made the interesting point that in the legal system they had, the only testimony that counted from a slave was after the slave had been tortured for it.
q n a: what lineage can b traced following the children of Marc Antony n the Ptolemaic dynasty’s, Cleopatra VII, last pharaoh? His widow, Octavia, raised them 2 b royal wards. Where in the empire would their roots hav spawned?
I've heard that Roman and Greek writers didn't write in depth analyses of the languages of the people they encountered. Why do you think this was so? Also, is there any indication the Greeks or Romans noticed that their languages belonged to the common stock of Indo-European?
What? Rich and influential people were afforded a different standard of justice than the poor and average folk? Well I for one am glad we've left such a primitive and unfair system in the past. Though I came here in the first place because I was more curious about the policing aspect of the Roman world. I've heard the legions were tasked with law enforcement when not on campaign, but were they the only police? I'd imagine that there might be some manner of town guard forces to keep order.
Honestiores and humiliores have their modern equivalent, as we all saw when a wealthy and famous sportsman drove slowly through LA pursued by police who had a warrant for his arrest for murder.
I'm no expert what so ever, but, one gets the impression that for the elite, there was no predictable law. The Emperors who stayed alive could get away with being the "head of a mafia", and even Senators could be murdered and have no justice if the Emperor suspected them of "treason". Slaves had no recourse against masters. A free Roman citizen was suppose to be able to avoid at least being crucified, that's what I've read. Also, vigilante justice wasn't uncommon. That's the impression you can get without really living in Roman times.
if people accepted that being well regarded by the magistrate (friends), or having money or power will determine how a grievance will proceed, then i suppose these things weren't considered "corrupt"...but did they have a negative concept (or a concept at all) of corruption? what sort of things would make an ancient roman shake their head and find corrupt and appalling. they seem to have a vert "well, that's just how the world works" kind of outlook 🙂
@@toldinstonefootnotes come to think of it... i suppose nepotism wouldn't have been considered shocking at all in their world too 🙂(i wonder when it did gain traction as being a "bad thing"...seems like a modern notion?)
Minor criticism: you may consider answering the question mentioned in the title using the entire video, or at least closer to the beginning. I don’t think you pad your runtime, but other RUclipsrs definitely do. I thought your whole video was great, but, others might just want to spend their time on the question posed in the title.
Iff the leader of a family was a senator, and he died in office would his male heir iff old enough take his place at the senate. Or would there be someone else voted in. TIA.
2:33 " Not because there is any birth control "? Didn´t I read once they had condoms? Also tried to not screw on the wrong days to prevent children? But I also am almost sure I read they had condoms...?
*The fact that there are any scientific or general academic discoveries in other languages, such as Russian, which haven't been translated into English is so ridiculous to me. Translation is a cheap and easy thing to do, especially in a language as widely spoken as Russian* *Tbh the fact that there are Russian academic documents which remain untranslated reeks to me of a political motive, not a logistical or financial constraint. It's always annoying when politics gets in the way of good academic work* 😮💨
That history is not very long. The Crimean Khanate existed from 1441, latterly subject to the Ottoman Empire, until it was annexed by Catherine the Great in 1783. So the Crimea was Russian for only seventeen decades.
Dear Garrett, How prevalent was the Greek language in and around Jerusalem in the mid-to-late 1st century, when original bits of the New Testament began to appear, written of course in Greek, and only in Greek? Inasmuch as Romans occupying the region knew Greek, they were a ready-made audience, but how prevalent was the language among Jews? Commonly to deal in commerce, or more broadly among non-traders? I hope you can answer my question verbally, but if not, please reply to me in writing. Thank you ~ Native Angeleno
On Roman legal procedure, perhaps I can add some things. In most European universities, Law students are usually required to take a course in Roman Law. It was the case in my university up until a few years ago, when it was sadly suppressed. Studying Law myself and feeling cheated, however, I purchased manuals, consulted several college libraries and ended up writing a dissertation on immovable property in the Post-Classical period. Procedural law is usually ignored because continental lawyers tend to give more attention to Substantive law, but my dissertation touched upon the matter so I know enough to give some basic ideas.
Context: Our main source of Roman Law is Justinian's legal compilation (the Corpus juris civilis), but the problem is that it corresponds only to a specific period in Roman legal history, thus offering a distorted view of what came before. It was compiled in the Eastern Empire about half a century after the fall of the West, and selectively included only clippings of the juristic writings of the great lawyers of prior eras and imperial constitutions taken out of context. All in all, I love this monumental work and have consulted it often, and it ensured the survival of a form of Roman Law later rediscovered in the Late Middle Ages and becoming the basis of Continental Jurisprudence-but Gaius' Institutes, a Roman legal textbook, miraculously rediscovered in the early 19th century in a palimpsest in Verona, is our main source for pre-Justinian Roman Law.
Roman Civil Procedure: I can make no comment on Roman Criminal Procedure. Penal law is nowadays the most emblematic because it is often what we see in films, but civil law is what governs what any person, no matter the epoch, most frequently encounters in the day-to-day (purchases, loans, contracts, wills, etc.). As such, most of Roman Law is civil law: Justinian's Digest (part of his compilation) only devotes two of its 50 books to criminal law (books 47-48, the "libri terribiles"), and Justinian's Code, only one of its 12 books. Roman Criminal Law is therefore hardly studied-I know next to nothing about it-compared to Roman Civil Law, and the same goes for Criminal vs. Civil Procedure.
The problem when talking about Roman Civil Procedure is the period of Roman Law we are referring to, as there are three different systems that largely correspond to the different periods of Roman Law (for a time coexisting all three at once). These are the system of "Legis Actiones" or actions of the law; the system of "agere per formulas" or formulary system; and the "cognitio extra ordinem" or extraordinary cognition.
Legis Actiones: This is the oldest procedure, is largely based on (albeit not established by) the Law of the Twelve Tables and applied only to Roman citizens. The procedure had two phases: the first is called "in iure" ("in Law"), meaning before a magistrate with imperium called the "praetor." The plaintiff, like Dr. Ryan says, had the onus of "procuring" the presence of the defendant before the magistrate, and this was sometimes done by force, which the Law of the Twelve Tables permitted. This shows the ancient roots of the procedure, where the plaintiff would settle a private dispute by an act of violence, which a magistrate/judge would declare lawful ("jus est", loosely translatable as "it is right"-"jus" is a tricky word with a multiplicity of meaning, from whence we get "justice") or not, depending on circumstance. Whatever the case, once plaintiff and defendant were before the praetor, the plaintiff had to perform the "legis actio" or action of the law, which was a combination of words and gestures that he had to delivered with exact precision or otherwise he would lose his case. Gaius relates in his Institutes (IV, 11) in passing the story of a man who lost his case only because he pronounced the word "vites" (grapevines) as opposed to repeating the word the Twelve Tables said, "arbores" (trees). The gestures to be performed depended on the situation and "legis actio" employed, and probably could get quite comical, I think: for example (Gaius Inst. IV, 16), in the case of the dispute between two men over the ownership of a slave, after pronouncing the words of the "legis actio" each and imposing upon the poor chattel a wooden rod (representing a spear, the Roman symbol of ownership), plaintiff and defendant then had to engage in mock combat and struggle over the slave before the magistrate. After a short while, he would tell them to stop, would specify the terms of the legal conflict into a document called "litis contestatio" (to which plaintiff & defendant would then assent) and refer the matter to a "iudex", beginning the second phase of the procedure called "apud iudicem" (before the judge). A judge or judges in some formal assembly would decide over matters of fact and evidence, and plaintiff & defendant would argue for their favor. If the plaintiff's claim was granted, the remedy decreed by the court depended upon the "legis actio" employed. This system was slowly replaced by the "agere per formulas" until it was finally abolished in the time of Augustus (circa 4 BC).
Agere per Formulas: Originally only for disputes between foreigners or between foreigners and Romans, it was opened to Roman citizens probably by the Lex Æbutia of 130 BC. It was much more flexible and not reliant on quasi-sacred declarations and gestures by plaintiff & defendant (which generally only the patricians knew well enough to perform). Like the system they would end up replacing, there was a stage "in iure" and a stage "apud iudicem" afterwards. In the first, the plaintiff would bring the defendant before the praetor-this time not by force but under threat of fines by the magistrate-, state his case, and the magistrate would fill out a form adapted from a generic "formula." (For example, if the case was about a debt, the blank formula would be something to the effect of "If N. N. is found to owe A. A. [a certain amount] of sesterces, let the judge condemn N. N. to pay A. A. said amount; otherwise, let him absolve him." These generic formulae were collected in the praetor's Edict, published annually by the magistrates.) After, again, specifying the terms of the case in a "litis contestatio" and adapting the generic form to the specific case, the praetor would refer the matter to a private judge (a layman) chosen by the plaintiff & defendant, who would also decide over matters of fact and evidence, not matters of Law (as a layman he was not versed in them anyway): this was the stage "apud iudicem." The judge had to base his decision on the "formula" given to him by the praetor, and his sentencing remarks were practically confined to "I condemn" or "I absolve", based on the plaintiff & defendant's (and their advocates') allegations and proof. The execution of the sentence was mostly voluntary (and often monetary, except when it referred to the return of things owed or wrongfully appropriated), but in the case of non-compliance by the defendant, the praetor could be called on to order the seizing of all (not just some) of his assets and their public auctioning. Hence why compliance was so high, one assumes.
Cognitio extra ordinem: This procedure was formally established under Augustus, and was originally reserved only for very special cases (thus why it is "extra ordinem" or extraordinary), but its purview was slowly broadened by successive emperors until Constantine the Great finally abolished the formulary system in an imperial constitution in the year 342, which left the "Cognitio" standing as the only judicial procedure. In it, there is no distinction between instances of Law ("in iure") and Fact ("apud iudicem"), as there is only one magistrate who presides over the whole process. The plaintiff substantiates his claim in writing in the form of a "libellus conventionis." This document kickstarts the proceedings, and has to be answered by the defendant similarly in a "libellus contradictionis" if he is to participate: which he no longer has to! Given that the more prominent role of the magistrate allows him to continue the proceedings whether the defendant appears in court or not. (There is still a "litis contestatio", but its importance is largely residual at this point.) The process is conducted mainly in writing (whereas the "legis actiones" and the "agere per formulas" were predominantly oral), and the judge is much more inquisitive: proof is sought by the magistrate rather than presented or alleged by the parties, and public or notarized documents, as well as legal presumptions, practically determine the outcome of the trial. Sentencing largely depends on the public authority now, and the courts' remedies-outside of the return of specific goods-are mostly monetary (though not always, on account of rampant inflation in the Late Empire). To ensure the defendant's compliance with the verdict, the courts conserved the power to auction all of their assets as a penalty, although at times only a specific item of the defendant's would be seized and sold.
Conclusion: I have really gone off the rails with this one, haven't I? I originally intended this to be a short comment, but here we are. At any rate, the "cognitio extra ordinem" survived the Western Empire through Justinian's Compilation (later rediscovered in the 12th century, when Roman Law started to be taught again in Europe by Irnerius' School of Glossators) and Ecclesiastical courts. With many variations, it remains the basis of most-if not all-continental judicial procedure; my country, whose laws I learnt, included.
Thank you for providing so much additional context!
You can´t get a law degree in a civil law country without at least 2 semesters of Roman Law. You did good, studying by yourself.
This is an excellent read, thanks for expanding on what was said in the video!
Um… hello…? Based?
Please go off the rails more often - very interesting reading, thank you!
And let's not forget how Cicero's ' Cui Bono ? ' laid the groundwork for every detective story ever written since😉
Thank you, Garrett. It's always a great pleasure learning from you.
I like footnotes even more than the original channel. The questions often explore curiosities I didn't know I had, and I really like to put it in the background as I do other things. The podcasts are great too. It's a very original project.
Thank you for answering my question!
My pleasure!
These videos are perfect because they let me just listen to you talk. The narration for your book is fantastic, but I would have loved it if it was you. Thank you for these fantastic contributions to the historical community.
I would assume for civil cases, if you had a patron, the patron would be incredibly helpful in enforcement of the verdict. I love this format. You answering follow up questions to your videos is important in my mind. Thanks!
You sir are extremely knowledgeable on Roman history and culture.
You deserve far more subscribers than you have.
Wow. Incredible Qs and As. So civil law was enforced the pretty much in the exact same way as in the US today. You need to be rich enough to convince a lawyer to take your case otherwise nothing will get done and the poorer you are the more harsh the punishment. Things don't change much.
Uh huh, totally.
Here in the US we have the law that allows lawyers to work on contingency, so you do not need to pay anyone upfront. That is progress.
@@unconventionalideas5683 maybe in some states.
He didn’t like your comment for a reason.
@@unconventionalideas5683 “Works on contingency? No, Money down!”
I love your channel! It's one of the only ones I stay completely caught up with!
One request: Please increase the volume of your videos! I don't want to miss a word!
This is such a fantastic channel!
Thank you for your informative response. I have been on the waiting list for your book at the library for ages, it's very popular...for a good reason!
Dr. G! The way you describe Roman legal proceedings makes me think of the time in the aughts when I worked in Kiev. Colleagues involved in lawsuits would depend on the wealth and power of their family for an outcome but then, sometimes, it was as simple as "We think the judge liked us". My question for you to consider for a Footnotes answer is... What was the most common cause of death in the upper classes? Obviously it wasn't starvation but lifespans in the equestrian and patrician classes weren't strikingly more than the rest, so what did 'em in?
Illness.
Not Garrett (obviously) and late, but bacterial infections (and their complications, like appendicitis) were more common because of poor hygiene, and often fatal because of the lack of effective therapy.
Digging in the sands of history I’ve noticed one thing among countless. If there is no cure it doesn’t matter how much money you have.
Would you mind discussing the persecution of pagans in the late empire? What happened to the Greek and Roman priesthoods, philosophers and temples in late antiquity, etc
Love your channel!
That would be the bar association
They mostly converted over the generations. There was suppression of course, but you couldn't have that if people weren't converting en masse.
Most of the priesthoods of Rome were suppressed by the Christians with the exception of the title of Pontifex Maximus (supreme pontiff) who was only the 5th highest priest in ancient times, but had the most administrative power. It was held by Julius Caesar, who used its power to reform the calendar, and later by Augustus who added it to his basket of republican offices. The emperors held onto the title until Gratian was persuaded to pass it on to the Pope.
The Christians were given a monopoly of the right to teach, so pagan philosophers could no longer instruct the youth, nor could pagan priests teach Etruscan, Egyptian or Akkadian. Justinian ordered the closure of Plato's Academy at Athens in 529 AD.
Thank you! Love the format!
I preordered your new book, which arrives today. Looking forward to reading it. Loved your first book…informative, interesting, entertaining. A fun read.
Hey Garret, I am loving this Q and A videos, very informatives and well made.
I'd be very happy if you answered my question in one of them: How did recruitment and/or conscription evolve in the Roman army throught its history?.
Salve, Garret! Since you mentioned Aeneas, Romulus and Remus... i'd love to know your take on archaic roman monarchy and on the historicity of the roman reges. I concede that perhaps, it'd take longer than a Q & A video... it'd be awesome, nontheless. Vale!
Recently discovered your channel and am really enjoying these question and answer videos!!! Keep up the good work!!!!!!
Fascinating stuff!
Roman (and indeed basically up until the pre-modern age) birth control was surprisngly effective, and there were lots of options for it, it just tended to take a bit longer to take effect. Measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, and cholera were just a few of the product brands that kept families small and manageable.
Fantastic video, completely off topic but I noticed Chernow's Grant on your bookshelf - How is it?
In my view, solid but unspectacular. Certainly worth a read, if you enjoy biographies!
@@toldinstonefootnotes thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!
Hi Toldinstone, I'm a big fan. My question is, how did the economy and wealth across the Roman empire change over the period between the glory days of the 2nd century and the fall of Rome in 476?
Very interesting! I am glad to have been born in this era.
Glitch in youtube fixed. I was finally able hear. Good stuff. Here is my question. How were legions raised? You just hear and Caesar raised a legion, the 33rd... Was there like a Roman Walmart where you could buy 1 an eagle, 5000 suits of armor/swords/javelins, the craftsmen to support the legion.
Love the q/a
"Who you are really determines what gets done for you."
Nihil novi sub Sole.
What was the Roman presence in northern Iberia? Some maps show a lack of control in the Basque region.
That's weird modern Basque propaganda. The last bits of Iberia were annexed by Augustus.
@@QuantumHistorian That makes me even more interested!
Thank you. Just found your channel. Subbed most certainly!
Hi, Dr. Ryan,
Any chance you could point in the direction of some of the Russian sources you mention at ~ 12:30? I'm studying Russian at university and, besides learning history, I could also use the translation practice.
Keep doing what you're doing, I'm loving the two new channels.
That's very generous of you! To be honest, I don't know the archaeology of the Crimea well enough to have a "dream list" of sources I'd love to see translated. The most famous sites, for what it's worth, are Chersonesos and Panticapaeum.
There's a lot more than Russian archaeology that remains unknown in the Anglosphere. I assume that anything to do with nuclear physics has been translated and pored over in the Pentagon, but the other sciences and arts also bear examination. For example, Grunya Sukhareva published extensively about what the West calls autism/Asperger's syndrome decades before anyone outside Russia had heard of it, but her work remains unknown. Russian work in psychology and linguistics is also worth looking at.
What did the average (literate, wealthy and informed) Roman think about Parthia during the Imperial Era?
Was there any sense of rivalry between the two empires which may begin to resemble the sort of sentiment that built up over the course of the Cold War?
Or was Rome largely unconcerned with her largest neighbor when not at war with them?
Really interesting
Fascinating! So polygamy was more an Eastern norm?
Yes; with a few exceptions (like the Macedonian kings), both the Greeks and Romans were monogamous
Maybe another of your thought-experiment videos would be interesting: "Perry Mason in the Roman World." Work your way through a trial. Could be fun.
You need to write another book!
Stay tuned...
Great content. Your voice reminds me a bit of Grover Gardner. You might consider a career in audiobook narration.
Not sure what mic setup you used for this video but your voice is very quiet, had to turn up volume high.
thanks!
How did wealthy Romans manage so many villas across the Empire? How did they get money to overseers to manage them? How did they buy or sell them from a distance?
Fantastic video, as always. I’ve got a question, hope you see this!
In which era of Roman history would one encounter the most socioeconomic mobility?
Did the Romans or Greeks engage in whaling? If they did, what would that industry look like? Thank you.
My name is Víctor Cobián. Best regards and excellent channel!!
Has any manual for USA of the Gladius and Scutum been found? I ask because I practice Historical Fencing and am aware of Vegetius and the Epitoma, however it is more a manual for military training.
The 1976 BBC series, I, Claudius, has been called the greatest piece of television ever made. I was wondering if you could address the question of how accurate historically the series is. If you need specific points to address, perhaps 1) how accurate is it that Claudius allowed himself to be poisoned to put Nero in office of emperor with the aim of making the empire unpalatable to Romans to re-establish the Republic. 2) the scenes depicting the child Claudius catching a young wolf cub that was dropped by an eagle and it being used as a omen of Claudius’ rise to power as a savior of Rome…
Thank you…
.
great vid, the volume is kinda low tho
I submit to you, professor Ryan, the notion of creating an episode for your main channel on the most exquisite time capsule known to exist; the mostly unexcavated remains of Herculaneum. Given the extensive knowledge of city planning, layouts, customs and traditions, and the sudden nature of the disaster unique compared to that of settlements to the east, combined with what is already known about the ancient town a reasonable set of assumptions can be made about what can be found in future excavations. To start: outside the fortified walls the tombs should be intact, with marble cladding and all manner of funerary items found inside each mausoleum. The wealthy retirement community would have high quality shops for all manner of dry goods, the finest textiles and jewelry, statues and other treasures. I am curious if there are complete maps of the known tunnels created by the Berbers and others, the late eighteenth century mapping and sketches of the Villa De Papyri is incredibly accurate. That information could be a good addition to any presentation for the example of what is still untouched and unknown. Properly executed, a video on the subject from a true scholar could spark the imagination of a generation of budding historians and archeologists.
My field intersects! Researchers have been trying to use Machine Learning to read some scrolls from the Villa De Papyri. Many are heavily damaged (obviously), but technology theoretically makes them at least partially legible. If I'm not mistaken, it's even possible to somehow "unroll" the scrolls and read the chemical signature of the ink to infer the letters in the texts (using lasers maybe). Perhaps some lost classics lie in wait, to be rediscovered within hopefully a decade. Forgive my half-baked explanation, but in my defense it's quarter to six in the morning. I recommend going down the rabbithole on this one yourself though.
Was opium used in the Roman empire? How was it used, and did it cause problems?
He has a video about drug use in Rome including opium over on toldinstone
12:40 A small curious detail about the Bosporan Kingdom is that the coat of arms of Ukraine, a tridentlike symbol, evidently came from there.
Great channel. Do you speak Latin? It would be cool if you made a video in which you speak only Latin with English subtitles.
My favorite Roman just laying out facts
Whenever I hear the name Pompey, I can't help thinking of the English football team, Portsmouth, who inexplicably get called Pompey, and the crowd cheers "Play up Pompey!". I have no idea how they got this name. Portsmouth is a PORT (of course) and seafaring, especially naval, was the main employment.
Was living to old age rare ? I always thought if you survived childhood life expectancy was similar to today
These videos have nice 2012 RUclips vibes
Robert Garland said it's foolish to think of any legal system like what we have and that issues of "justice" were settled in back alleys. You look at the grave steles and you're overwhelmed with KILLED BY BANDITS on so many. But you didn't run to the law, you and brothers maybe entered into some blood feud w/ another family. Garland made the interesting point that in the legal system they had, the only testimony that counted from a slave was after the slave had been tortured for it.
q n a: what lineage can b traced following the children of Marc Antony n the Ptolemaic dynasty’s, Cleopatra VII, last pharaoh? His widow, Octavia, raised them 2 b royal wards. Where in the empire would their roots hav spawned?
I know Russian - how much material is there on the Bosporan kingdom? Maybe I could translate a few passages for you to do a video?
We know Rome was a ghost town after it was sacked multiple times. Where did the Romans go? Did they die out or move somewhere?
I've heard that Roman and Greek writers didn't write in depth analyses of the languages of the people they encountered. Why do you think this was so? Also, is there any indication the Greeks or Romans noticed that their languages belonged to the common stock of Indo-European?
Greece was an Official language even past Afghanistan in Greek Buddhist Kingdoms of Punjab and Kashmir, just 500 km North West of Delhi
What? Rich and influential people were afforded a different standard of justice than the poor and average folk? Well I for one am glad we've left such a primitive and unfair system in the past.
Though I came here in the first place because I was more curious about the policing aspect of the Roman world. I've heard the legions were tasked with law enforcement when not on campaign, but were they the only police? I'd imagine that there might be some manner of town guard forces to keep order.
This video is a bit undermixed. Is it at -12.4?
Honestiores and humiliores have their modern equivalent, as we all saw when a wealthy and famous sportsman drove slowly through LA pursued by police who had a warrant for his arrest for murder.
Fast and Furious still has this family type.
Audio mega low volume
I'm no expert what so ever, but, one gets the impression that for the elite, there was no predictable law. The Emperors who stayed alive could get away with being the "head of a mafia", and even Senators could be murdered and have no justice if the Emperor suspected them of "treason". Slaves had no recourse against masters. A free Roman citizen was suppose to be able to avoid at least being crucified, that's what I've read. Also, vigilante justice wasn't uncommon. That's the impression you can get without really living in Roman times.
I also wondered how Romans enforced laws if technically they did not a police on civilians, or I thought so.
03:25 just like the modern era.
if people accepted that being well regarded by the magistrate (friends), or having money or power will determine how a grievance will proceed, then i suppose these things weren't considered "corrupt"...but did they have a negative concept (or a concept at all) of corruption? what sort of things would make an ancient roman shake their head and find corrupt and appalling. they seem to have a vert "well, that's just how the world works" kind of outlook 🙂
Oh yes, there were plenty of complaints about corruption - but it was generally accepted that your wealth and status were factors in any case
@@toldinstonefootnotes come to think of it... i suppose nepotism wouldn't have been considered shocking at all in their world too 🙂(i wonder when it did gain traction as being a "bad thing"...seems like a modern notion?)
What were the cults of the Roman era and are some of them still around?
SPQR
6:44 This is a lot like English for the past 200 years.
How much Greek did ancient Romans use? My brother is convinced Julius Ceasar wrote his works in Greek.
How far back do you feel history really reaches? If you could go somewhere to look for artifacts where would you go and why?
Minor criticism: you may consider answering the question mentioned in the title using the entire video, or at least closer to the beginning. I don’t think you pad your runtime, but other RUclipsrs definitely do. I thought your whole video was great, but, others might just want to spend their time on the question posed in the title.
Some say 50% of born child died in ancient Rome , is that true ?
Answer: Harshly
Iff the leader of a family was a senator, and he died in office would his male heir iff old enough take his place at the senate. Or would there be someone else voted in. TIA.
When the Romans sacked Judea after the fall of that region, where did the Jewish captives end up..doing what???
Did Roman's ever free their slaves? And could the slaves become citizens?
I use a lien and then have the IRS collect for me they collect 35% for themselves
2:33 " Not because there is any birth control "? Didn´t I read once they had condoms? Also tried to not screw on the wrong days to prevent children? But I also am almost sure I read they had condoms...?
*The fact that there are any scientific or general academic discoveries in other languages, such as Russian, which haven't been translated into English is so ridiculous to me. Translation is a cheap and easy thing to do, especially in a language as widely spoken as Russian*
*Tbh the fact that there are Russian academic documents which remain untranslated reeks to me of a political motive, not a logistical or financial constraint. It's always annoying when politics gets in the way of good academic work* 😮💨
Too much spittle!!!
Just a small correction: Crimea is legally and historically part of Russia, NOT occupied by Russia.
That history is not very long. The Crimean Khanate existed from 1441, latterly subject to the Ottoman Empire, until it was annexed by Catherine the Great in 1783. So the Crimea was Russian for only seventeen decades.
Lmao so nothing changes with the law.
That drool on your lips is pretty distracting brosef
Russian occupied Crimea? Stick to the classical stuff, you clearly aren't read up on recent (relatively) history.
Dear Garrett, How prevalent was the Greek language in and around Jerusalem in the mid-to-late 1st century, when original bits of the New Testament began to appear, written of course in Greek, and only in Greek? Inasmuch as Romans occupying the region knew Greek, they were a ready-made audience, but how prevalent was the language among Jews? Commonly to deal in commerce, or more broadly among non-traders? I hope you can answer my question verbally, but if not, please reply to me in writing. Thank you ~ Native Angeleno
Actually doesn’t get to the question on the thumbnail until 12:53.
Most annoying.