III Timetable of important events and laws

753 B.C.E. Traditional founding date of Rome

508 B.C.E.           Last king of Rome overthrown.

450 B.C.E.           Publication of the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written law

code.

169 B.C.E. Lex Voconia (Voconian Law) stating that in families with the highest property rating (i.e., the very wealthiest), women could not be made heirs. This was considered unfair and ways were found to get round it.

40 B.C.E. Lex Falcidia (Falcidian Law) stating that at least one-fourth of an estate had to be left to the heir or heirs; otherwise they could sue for "undutiful will.”

31 B.C.E. Octavian (Augustus) defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, marking the beginning of one-man rule over Empire.

18 B.C.E. Augustus introduces the lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus (Julian law on regulating the marriages of the social orders). The lex Julia de adulteriis (Julian law on adultery) probably dates from this year also [Chapter 2, Part I.B].

2 B.C.E.               Lex Fufia Caninia limits the number of slaves a slaveowner

could free in his or her will [Introduction, Part II].

4 C.E.                  Lex Aelia Sentia sets limits on the circumstances in which

slaves could be legally freed [Introduction, Part II].

At some point, either under Augustus or Tiberius (prob­ably either 17 B.C.E or 19 C.E.), the lexJunia (Junian Law) regulated the situation of slaves who had been freed without following the rules set out in the lex Aelia Sentia [Introduction, Part II].

9 C.E.                  Additional legislation on marriage, modifying the laws of

18 B.C.: the lex Papia—Poppaea (Papian—Poppaean Law) [Chapter 2, Part I.B].

color=black face="Times New Roman">41—54                Lex Claudia abolished tutela legitima for all citizen women

except freedwomen [Chapter 1, Part III.A].

46                        Senatusconsultum Velleianum stated women cannot provide

surety or take on financial obligations for anyone else [Chapter One, Part IV.D].

49                        A senatusconsultum Claudianum legalized marriage of a man

with his brother's daughter [Chapter 3, Part I.A].

52                        Another senatusconsultum Claudianum penalized a free

woman who entered into an informal union (contubernium) with someone's else slave [Chapter 3, Part I.B].

early 2nd c.

117—138             Senatusconsultum gave women the right to make wills

without going through complicated procedure of coemptio fiduciaria.

Senatusconsultum Tertullianum enables a mother who has ius liberorum to succeed to a child who died without making a will [Chapter 5, Introduction].

Floruit of jurist Julian, who put the Praetor's Edict into final form.

c. 160                   The Roman jurist Gaius writes his Institutes.

175—180             Law of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus bans marriage

between a guardian (tutor) and his ward (pupilla) [Chapter 3, Part I.C].

178                       Senatusconsultum Orphitianum gives a woman's children first

claim as her heirs if she died intestate [Chapter 5, Introduction].

193—235             Floruit of jurists Papinian, Ulpian, Modestinus, and

Paulus.

202—3                 Law of Septimius Severus and Caracalla relaxed the ban on

gifts between husband and wife [Chapter 2, Part I.E].

212                       Edict of Caracalla (Constitutio Antoniniana) granted Roman

citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire.

284—305             Publication of two collections of imperial rescripts (Codex

Gregorianus and Codex Hermogenianus) under emperor Diocletian.

Probable date of Sent.

295                       Edict of Diocletian against close-kin marriage [Chapter 3,

Part I.A]

320                       Constantine repealed Augustan penalties on the unmarried

[Chapter 2, Part II.A].

331  Constantine restricted unilateral divorce [Chapter 4, Part II].

380                       Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the Roman state

religion.

390                       Theodosius I allowed mothers who vow not to remarry to

serve as their children's guardian [Chapter 5, Part II.A].

438                       Publication of the Theodosian Code under Theodosius II.

476                       End of Roman emperors in the west.

527—565            Justinian emperor in the east, attempts to reconquer west.

Compilation and publication of Justinianic corpus of Roman law (Digest, Code of Justinian, Institutes of Justinian, Novels).