Justinian I, Novels 103.1
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/495
Context
The emperor Justinian directed a comprehensive reform of Roman Law
that compiled and edited earlier jurisprudence. This new sole authority on legal
matters, the Body of Civil Law (Corpus iuris civilis),
contained three parts, the Code, the Digest, and the
Institutes. The Corpus was produced under the general
oversight of Tribonian, the quaestor of the Sacred Palace, at Constantinople and issued
in 529-534 C.E., after which various new legislation under Justinian that was never
formally codified was collected as “new constitutions” (novellae
constitutiones). This constitution records an edict of Justinian delivered on
July 1, 536 C.E. in Constantinople; it is a “divine pragmatic directive”
(sacram pragmaticam formam) called the “Special Caesarea Law”
(specialem … Caesariensium legem). It recognizes the unique
importance of Palestine for its connections to biblical history and the Flavian dynasty,
and for its prosperity due to the wine and olive industries, by granting the governor of
Palestina Prima judicial primacy over the other two Palestinae as well as greater
strength military and protection. This law reflects the importance of Caesarea and the
entire region in Imperial geopolitical and economic strategy in the wake of the
Samaritan uprising of 529-531 C.E. and in the face of ongoing challenges to the
limes Arabicus.
Text
Hanc igitur quomodo non honorabimus, et vehemus eam ad proconsularitatis
eius figuram, et dabimus ei qui hanc administrationem habet proconsularem esse et
vocari? quod agimus per hanc sacram pragmaticam formam, vocari autem eam specialem
volumus Caesariensium legem: proconsulem vero efficimus eum qui
cingulum habet, et damus ei ut inter spectabiles adscribatur et habeat ea quaecumque
propria eiusmodi sunt administrationis, et audiat appellationum causas usque ad X libras
auri ex utraque Palaestina in eum deferendas, validamque semper existere, quo et nostras
praeceptiones possit melius et validius adimplere. Utatur autem nobili et antiqua toga
(dicimus autem purpurea stola) sacris mensibus eam circumamictus, fulgeatque tanto
honore et civitatibus praesit tantisque militibus, et quicquid utile est fisco et
nostris collatoribus agat. Pro annonarum vero occasione XX duas libras auri damus ei, ut
sibi et suo consiliario et oboedienti sibi officio haec dividat secundum quem ipse
voluerit modum, et haec ad nos annuntiet, ut ex sacra pragmatica forma etiam in his
divisionem nos confirmemus. Non enim patimur et ipsum et assessorem adhuc antiquam
vilitatem annonarum respicientes accipere, et eius officium sine solacio existere, cum
in tantis illationibus laborem periculumque sustineat: quatenus et devote ministret ei
et publicas exigat functiones et abstineat acceptionibus iniustis.1
Textual Note
Ed. Schoell and Kroll [1895] 1993Translation
How then should we not honor this province by restoring it to its
proconsular status, and granting the holder of the office the position and title of
proconsul? And that is what we are doing, by means of this divine pragmantic directive,
which we wish to be known as the Special Caesarean Law. We are
making its governor a proconsul, granting him inclusion in the ranks of the Admirable
[i.e., spectabiles], and conferring on him all that is proper to such
a post, including the right to hear appeals referred to him from both the Palestines, up
to ten pounds of gold in value. He is to have full power, so as better and more firmly
to be able to carry out our directions, and he will use the formal ancient toga [the
purple-bordered robe] as his dress on ceremonial occasions, such is the honor in which
he is to take a pride. He is to have authority over all those cities and soldiers, and
is to act in whatever way is expedient for both the public treasury and our taxpayers.
For stipends, we are giving him 22 pounds of gold for division between himself, his
assessor, and the staff under him, in whatever way he himself may decide, imparting that
information to us so that we may confirm the division, on those terms, by means of a
divine pragmatic directive. We cannot bear to see him and his assessor still earning the
old low level of stipends, and his staff being entirely unsupported, despite its work on
such large contributions to the revenue, and its liability for them. We thus wish the
staff to be his willing assistant, bringing in the taxes and accepting no unlawful forms
of payment. 2
Translation Note
Trans. Miller and Sarris 2018Discussion Note
Justinian here gives a spurious derivation of Stato’s Tower that links it to Greek history.Works Cited
- 1 Justinian I, Rudolf Schoell, and Wilhelm Kroll, Novellae, repr. Hildesheim: Olms 1993, Corpus Iuris Civilis 3 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1895), bk: 103, section: 1.
- 2 Justinian I, The Novels of Justinian: A Complete Annotated English Translation, trans. David Miller and Peter Sarris, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), bk: 103, p: 681.
Additional Bibliography
- Philip Mayerson, Justinian’s Novel 103 and the Reorganization of Palestine, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 269 (1988): 65–71
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Justinian I, Novels 103.1,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/495.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Justinian I, Novels 103.1.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/495.About this Entry
Entry Title: Justinian I, Novels 103.1
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Justinian I, Novels 103.1”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Justinian I, Novels 103.1”
Additional Credit:
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife