Justinian I, Novels 103.2-epil.
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/496
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
(2) Communicabit autem in nullo civilibus causis et fiscalium tributorum
exactionibus per tempora spectabilis locorum dux, sed ipse omnem privatam et publicam,
sicuti dictum est, causam discernet, et praecipue omnium providebit, ne desit fiscalium
illatio et ut puris utatur manibus - quod Stephanus spectabilis, qui nunc primus eius
factus est, et dudum servans approbatus est et rursus hoc agere eum per ea quae
praecesserunt confidimus -; maxime vero omnium cogitabit pro civitatum disciplina,
<et> ut nulla sit civitatibus publica turba. Nam et hoc eius administrationis
proprium est, qui dum suscepisset tumultuantem provinciam ex occasionibus aliis et
maxime ex diversitate religionum, pacificam demonstravit et omni tumultu liberatam. Quod
etiam rursus eum facere praecepimus, et si quando tale aliquid fiat, et ad secundam
venire Palaestinam et sedare quod turbatur, et nihil permittere in ea agi difficile, et
maxime in illa, quoniam videmus plurimos ibi emergere tumultus et non parvi horum
consistunt effectus.(3) Si autem opus fuerit et militibus residentibus in provincia,
etiam hos ei praebebimus ex numero quem nos statuimus fortissimo militari, et ad
civitatum ornatum et disciplinam in agris habitantium et ad fiscalium exactionem: divina
pragmatica forma, quae super his ei data est dudum, rata et nunc manente, quae non vult
neque spectabilem ducem neque gloriosissimum magistrum militum licentiam habere trahere
observantes ei milites, ne ulla ex hoc fiat civitatibus turba: quod numquam agitur
gubernante quidem eo civilem administrationem, providente vero etiam collatorum
disciplinae, et a militibus habente solacium, et quod sine ornamento est tam inter ipsos
milites quam inter alios per illos corripiente.(3.1) Erunt autem discreti omnibus
spectabilis locorum dux et proconsulis habens cingulum. Et ille quidem praeerit
militibus et limitaneis et foederatis et quicquid in provincia armatum omnino est,
exceptis qui deputati sunt proconsuli militibus, ille vero pro civilibus personis atque
negotiis et observantibus sibi militibus habebit providentiam et cautelam. Publicorum
tamen tributorum causa vel seditionis publicae nullus excipietur omnino spectabilis
proconsulis iurisdictione, sed omnium praesidebit, omnibus iubebit, et nullus resultabit
dispositionibus eius nec habebit occasionem ullam aut publicum fraudare aut populos
laedere publicae seditionis auctor, neque utetur nec cingulo nec dignitate nec
sacerdotio nec alio quolibet dignitatis privilegio, sed semet ipsum abripiet solummodo
noxiis si innoxius sit.(3.2) Haec igitur damus, sicuti praediximus, administrationi,
et custodire perpetue per hanc sacram pragmaticam volumus legem. Sed et tuam
celsitudinem custodire eam perpetue sancimus et secundum scriptum modum particularibus
dispositionibus tribunalium tuorum, et agnoscere omnes in reliquum tempus Palaestinos,
quia rursus eis proconsularitatis redditum est ius, et qui primae Palaestinae praesidet
proconsul est eis sicut <prius, et> priori liberatus supercilio nunc in maiori erit
honore debito civitati.(Epilogus) Quae igitur placuerunt nobis et per hanc sacram
pragmaticam et propriam declarata sunt legem, tua celsitudo operi effectuique tradere
festinet.Dat. kal. Iul. Constantinopoli pc. Belisarii v. 1
Textual Note
Ed. Schoell and Kroll [1895] 1993Translation
(2) The Admirable dux of the region at the time
will have no involvement whatsoever with civil cases or with the exaction of the public
taxes; it is the governor who will decide every private and public case, as has been
said. Above all he will see to the unfailing collection of the taxes, and to keeping his
hands clean; it is for upholding that hitherto that the Admirable Stephanos, now
becoming the first holder of this post, has gained a high reputation, and we are
confident that he will continue to do so by means of the above provisions. Above all, he
will see to the good order of the cities, and to their being free of communal
disturbance. That has been another characteristic of his tenure of office: because of
religious dissension, among other reasons, the province was in turmoil, when he took it
over, but he rendered it peaceful and freed it of all unrest. We charge him to do so
again, should anything of the kind ever recur, and also to tour Palestine II and settled
the cause of unrest, permitting no disaggreable occurrence there whatsoever—there, in
particular, because we observe that it has been the location of numerous disturbances,
which have had no slight consequences.(3) Should he have need of soldiers from those
stationed in the province, we shall also let him have them from whichever right
honorable military regiment we decide is the most fit for the purposes of both good
order in the cities and good behavior among rural residents, and also of exaction of
taxes. The divine pragmatic directive previously issued to him for those purposes, with
intention that neither the Admirable dux nor the Most Illustrious General is to have
license to withdraw the proconsul’s military guard, is to remain in force still, so as
to avoid any consequent civil unrest. That is something that will never occur as long as
he has charge of the civil government, with responsibility for good order among the
taxpayers while having the support of his guard, and disciplining any disorder among the
soldiers themselves and through them among others.(3.1) The Admirable dux of the
region and the holder of the proconsulship will be separate in all respects. The one
will be in command of the soldiers, limitanei,
foederati, and, in general, any armed force there is in the
province apart from the proconsul’s detachment, while the other will be responsible for
watching over civilians and their affairs, and for his guard of soldiers. However, if it
is a matter of public taxes or of a popular rising, absolutely noone will be exept from
the Admirable proconsul’s jurisdiction. He will be in command of all and give orders to
all, and noone will oppose his directives or have any occasion for causing loss to the
public treasury, or for offending against his fellow-citizens by leading a popular
uprising; nor will anyone use privilege from office, rank, priesthood, or any other
cause; his sole means of extricating himself from punitive measure will be innocence.(3.2) Those then, as we have said before, are the grants that we are making to this post
too, and that we wish to preserve in perpetuity by means of this divine pragmatic law.
We also decree that your Excellency is to observe them in perpetuity, and that they are
to be included, in these terms, in the individual written directives from your high
office. All Palestinians are to know in the future that the right to proconsular status
has been restored to them, and that the governor of Palestine I is their proconsul, as
before. Freed from his former disesteem, he will now enjoy the greater honor that is due
to their city.(Epilogue) Accordingly you Excellency is to take pains to put our
decision, manifest by means of this pragmatic and special law, into practical effect.Delivered at Constantinople, July 1st [536 C.E.], after the consulship of the Most
Distinguished Belisarius.2
Translation Note
Trans. Miller and Sarris 2018Works Cited
- 1 Justinian I, Rudolf Schoell, and Wilhelm Kroll, Novellae, repr. Hildesheim: Olms 1993, Corpus Iuris Civilis 3 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1895), bk: 103, section: 2-epil.
- 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: 682-684.
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 103.2-epil.,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published April 28, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/496.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Justinian I, Novels 103.2-epil..” 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 April 28, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/496.About this Entry
Entry Title: Justinian I, Novels 103.2-epil.
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 103.2-epil.”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Justinian I, Novels 103.2-epil.”
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