Law - Ancient Roman Law

Following the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, the patricians took control and the 12 tablets became law.

Glossary entry on the plebiscitum Publilium or Lex Publilia.

The curia was the senate house where Roman senators met during the Republic.

The 4 periods of Roman History, Regal (Regnal), Republican, Imperial and Byzantine, correspond with changes in the central government.

The fasces were a symbol of Roman power.

Foedus is translated treaty, but it has a more specific meaning.

Besides being jealous of Commander Stilicho's imperial ties, Praetorian Prefect Rufinus had another reason to keep Stilicho from defeating Alaric and the Goths.

Laws about and restricting prostitution.

The Licinian Rogations were proposals and then Roman law designed to help the plebeians of Rome in the fourth century B.C.

Officium is a term used by the Romans for duty.

Proletarii were members of the low class of ancient Romans.

We owe the ancient Romans a debt of gratitude for many of our modern legal concepts.

Glossary entry on ancient Rome's Comitia Centuriata.

Short descriptions of the three branches of Roman government during the Republic.

The abbreviation SPQR means the Senate and the Roman People, but what is the Latin?

Women in Roman law from the 1911 Encyclopedia, on the About.com Guide to Women's History site.

The basis for Roman law. Table I concerns having both accuser and accused present; Table III with paying off an assessment or being put into chains; Table IV with inheritance and disposing of deformed infants; Table IX with bribery.

From Ancient History Sourcebook, the passage from Livy on the rituals Romans used when declaring war.

From Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius site, the law entries from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.

From the Ancient History Sourcebook. Polybius compares the governments of Rome and Carthage.

Roman military site for enthusiasts and wargamers. It lists the Roman legions, campaigns (with maps and timelines), a glossary with images, and miscellaneous instructions for wargamers.

Portions of Cicero's dialogue on Roman law, from the Ancient History Sourcebook.

"The Idea of Roman Jurisprudence," by Edward Gibbon from Ancient History Sourcebook. Chapter 44 of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Diotima's article collection on law of various cultures.

Roman Law suggested and required reading list for University of Pittsburgh Law School Ancient Law course. Also see Law of Ancient Israel, Mesopotamian Law, and Greek Law reading list.

From Smith's Dictionary entry on Roman law in Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius site, the terms appellatio and its verb appellare (appellate) refer to "the application of an individual to a magistrate, and particularly to a tribune, in order to protect himself from some wrong inflicted, or threatened to be inflicted."

Polybius describes the types of Roman government, the Roman officials, the senate and the role of the people in government at the end of the Punic War.

An article on Roman law. "The Twelve Tables was a complete ius civile. They covered all areas of the law, emphasizing the procedure that was to be followed for various crimes. They made the law transparent and, in theory, applicable to all citizens. But the wealthy generally found ways to escape judgment."