THE DOMINATE

By the third century ad, there was a new period of crisis. The Roman Empire had by now grown to extend from Britain to the Middle East. It was too big to be ruled by one single, central authority.

Diocletian was declared emperor by the army in ad 284, which was by now the traditional way. He realised the need to reform the government of the Empire. In his reign, the Empire was divided into east and west, each with its own emperor. Diocletian, the supreme emperor, took the eastern part, symptomatic of a general shift eastwards in the Empire’s centre of gravity. Each emperor had a junior partner designated heir. In addition, he worked to reduce the political influence of the army. He also promoted the idea of the emperor as monarch. From now on, the emperor was to be dominus (master), rather thanprinceps.

Two particular emperors reigning during the Dominate call for special attention, Constantine and Justinian, the former reigning before the fall of the Western Empire, and the latter reigning afterwards.

Constantine

Following Diocletian’s abdication in ad 305, Constantine emerged as sole emperor following a civil war. His reign is mainly notable for two major developments.

The first of these is the toleration of Christianity, and Constantine’s sub­sequent conversion to Christianity. In earlier centuries, Christians had been persecuted, but all except one of Constantine’s successors were Christians.

The second development was the foundation of a new capital, at Constantinople (modern Istanbul). This was the culmination ofthe eastwards shift in power.

The fall of the Western Empire

Following the death of Theodosius I in ad 395, the Empire was split between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, abandoning Diocletian’s system of a divided Empire subject to one supreme Emperor. To a great extent, the story is from here one of two empires, Eastern and Western, rather than one.

The Western Empire survived less than a century. Overrun by incomers, there was a gradual retreat of Roman power. The province of Britannia was abandoned in ad 410 and, in the same year, Rome itself was captured by the Visigoths, a Germanic people. Ultimately, the last Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in ad 476 by Germanic tribes under the leadership of Odoacer.

The Eastern Empire endured until the fifteenth century, though the latter part of that was a story of gradual retreat. However, there was some recovery under the reign ofJustinian.

Justinian

Justinian I was born of a peasant family in Tauresium (modern Taor in the Republic ofMacedonia). Unlike the majority in the Empire as it then stood, his native tongue was Latin rather than Greek. His uncle and adoptive father, Justinus, was proclaimed emperor in 518, having risen through the ranks of the army. Justinus died in 527, having made Justinian co-emperor earlier that year. From that point Justinian reigned as sole emperor.

From 527 until his death in 565, Justinian reigned with vigour and skill.

As far as secular politics was concerned, Justinian’s goal was nothing less than the restoration of the glory of the Empire at its height. In this, he benefited from an ability to pick talented men to carry out his aims. Under the leadership of his generals, Narses and Belisarius, Roman armies once again marched forward to conquest. Much territory that had been lost was regained during Justinian’s rule. Italy, including Rome itself, was brought back within the Empire. However, these gains proved fragile, most of Italy being lost again within three years ofJustinian’s death.

More important for our purposes was the collection of Roman law made under Justinian’s direction, the Corpus luris Civilis. This task was delegated to a talented senior official, Tribonian. It is through this collection that almost all of our knowledge of Roman law comes. It is considered further in Chapter 2.

Essential Facts

• Roman private law forms the basis of many modern legal systems, including much of Scots law.

• Roman history is divided into several distinct periods. The early period, the Monarchy, when Rome was subject to the rule of kings, traditionally lasted from 753 bc until the last king was deposed in 509 bc. The Republic lasted from then until Augustus became the first emperor, in 27 bc. The Empire dates from this time, and is itself divided into two, the earlier period (the Principate) lasting until the accession of the emperor Diocletian in ad 284.

• Government in the Republic was divided between a number of mag­istrates, normally elected annually, who were advised by a council of prominent citizens called the Senate. The senior magistrates were the two consuls. Administration of private law was the responsibility of the praetors.

Roman society was divided into two classes, or “Orders”, the patri­cians and the plebeians. During the Republic, the plebeians were gradually able to impose sufficient pressure to achieve concessions, culminating in political equality during the Republic.

The fall of the Republic in 27 bc led to the establishment of a de facto monarchy. However, it was not until the Dominate that this could be openly proclaimed.

The most important emperor in the Dominate from the legal point of view was Justinian. He was responsible for the great collection of Roman legal materials known as the Corpus luris Civilis.

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