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Roman Emperor

Plebes
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  1. I am writing a research paper on the changes made to Roman law by Theodosius I. But one of his new statutes stuck out to me. It was a decree in 388 A.D. which banned interfaith marriages between Christians and Jews. The law says that anyone who enters into such marriages will be punished as if the crime was adultery. So what was the penalty for adultery, and therefore, the punishment for this law? Was it a death sentence? A fine? Exile? I've done a lot of searching and can't find anything concrete. Thanks!
  2. Roman Emperor

    Succession to the throne

    If a much more concrete method of succession to the imperial throne had been developed, would that have done anything to strengthen the Empire and perhaps stave off its fall for a few more centuries? Since I believe the throne was basically de facto hereditary, I don't understand why a series of laws were not passed to clarify it. I mean, in the UK and most other European monarchies, there is a long list of candidates that spells out who gets the throne next if so and so dies, which basically prevents any dispute since it is always known who gets it. But many times when an emperor died, there wasn't that procedure to follow. It was basically the last general standing gets it. Now I understand that the first few emperors couldn't do this since he still needed to maintain the pretense that the Republic was alive and well and there was no monarchy.But when that facade did eventually disappear, why was a system of succession not established?
  3. Roman Emperor

    How would you address a Consul?

    Emperors and kings are addressed as Your Majesty, Princes are Your Highness, while the POTUS is more modestly addressed as "Mister President". But how was a Roman consul styled and to be spoken to? Did they use something closer to monarchs or the US president, or was it just simply "Consul (fill in their name)"?
  4. Roman Emperor

    What was Augustus like?

    Hundreds of interesting individuals are a part of Ancient Roman history, but the one that fascinates me the most is the great Caesar Augustus. But every time I read up on this guy, I get a bunch of contradictory characteristics that make it nearly impossible to form a picture of what he was like. For instance, Suetonius remarked that Augustus was a very handsome Roman man. But then I later read that he was actually very sickly, nearly toothless, and had a problem with his skin. How can that possibly be considered "handsome"? Another example is personality-wise: some sources say that he was a very warm, easy-going, freindly person that liked to be one of the people. And then I read that he was also a cold, creepy, and all-around ruthless individual that would do whatever he had to for power. I find it hard to believe that someone could be charactized as both of those. So I'm just curious, based of what you have all read and heard, what was Caesar Augustus actually like? And I'm interested in any details that you have to offer: personality, physical appearance, eccentricities, etc.
  5. Roman Emperor

    Toga praetexta?

    I am trying to get together my toga costume for Halloween (yeah, I know. kind of early to be thinking about that already). Anyways, I'm not just settling on a cheap bedsheet. I want to do it right. The type of toga I had in mind I believe is called a "toga praetexta". It's the style with multiple, broad purple stripes running across it. For those who have seen HBO's Rome, I am talking about the ones that the senators have on. So my question is, does anyone know a good place to get the fabric for that design. I don't want to do any sewing for it, I would just want to find a place where it would be already made and ready to purchase. Any ideas?
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