Gaius Octavius Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Emperors are classified as good or bad; murderous or benign. When it comes to Roman law, there seems to be no criticism, no matter who instituted it. I am thinking here of all the emperors from Augustus to Constantine XI Dragazes. The political aside, do you know of any bad laws and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Emperors are classified as good or bad; murderous or benign. When it comes to Roman law, there seems to be no criticism, no matter who instituted it. I am thinking here of all the emperors from Augustus to Constantine XI Dragazes. The political aside, do you know of any bad laws and why? The Lex Aelia et Fufia of 150 BC provided the right of obnuntiatio. In essence, any curule magistrate (consul, praetor, curule aedile) or tribunis plebis could disband an assembly of the comitia, nulling attempted legislation, by declaring certain omens as unfavorable. This was only a political tool intended to give magistrates manipulative authority over legal assemblies. It's existence led to tactics that were divisive and volatile in my opinion. It's the very law that Bibulus tried to invoke during his consulship with Caesar in 60. It was later repealed in the tribuneship of P. Clodius (58). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 P.P., that seems more of a political nature. I was thinking more of such as 'Thou shalt not kill.', banking, interest, slaves, the law of the sea, women, etc. Insofar as this thread is concerned, I don't mind if it goes to the pre-empire eras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 P.P., that seems more of a political nature. I was thinking more of such as 'Thou shalt not kill.', banking, interest, slaves, the law of the sea, women, etc. Insofar as this thread is concerned, I don't mind if it goes to the pre-empire eras. Ahh, my apologies. Then you are looking for sumptuary laws. Legislated morality as such. An overview via William Smith's dictionary The Lex Oppia of 213 stands out as oppressive to our modern sensibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 P.P., in a very light vein, those sumptuary laws might be useful today as people spend themselves into penuary with weddings, funerals, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Diocletian's maximum price edict stands out as an example of failed monetary policy. Not only did it lead to hyper-inflation and a near total collapse of the economy, but it helped usher in serfdom (ie men were forced by law to pursue the trades of their father essentially in order to force someone to be a merchant despite the extreme likelihood of a failing enterprise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Augustus' family values legislation proved rather ineffective, and was also a bit hypocritical given the oversexed behavior of himself and his family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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