Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/56

Context

The treatise From the Laws or Customs in Palestine by Julian of Ascalon, a well-educated architect whose biography is unknown, is a source of singular importance for the study of legal history and the practices of construction in 6th-century Palestine. The work, organized into sections that treat the four physical elements as essential factors in landscaping and building, contains a plethora of detailed information about techniques of erecting public and private structures in settlements of the region. In the section on air, which largely examines circulation in shared spaces, Julian outlines the practices of erecting multistorey buildings that are shared by separate owners at Caesarea and Ascalon.

Text

(1) Εἰ ψιλοῦ ὄντος τοῦ ἐπικοίνου τόπου βουληθεῖεν οἱ τούτου δεσπόζοντες οἰκοδομῆσαί τε καἰ ἐποικοδομῆσαι (οἷον εἰ τῆς κάτω θέσεως δεσπόζει τις, τῆς δευτέρας θέσεως ἕτερος, τῆς δὲ τρίτης καὶ τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἄλλος) εἴτε ἀπὸ πτώσεως, εἴτε οὕτως αὐτῶν ἀγορασάντων, χρὴ μὲν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐξακολουθεῖν τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας, περὶ δὲ τῶν στεγῶν, εἰ μὲν (καθὼς εἴρηται) νεουργεῖς εἴησαν αἱ στέγαι καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενόμεναι, ἕκαστον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖν ἄχρι τῆς χαρακώσεως. (2) Εἰ δε συνισταμένων τῶν στεγῶν ἡ τῆς πρώτης θέσεως δεηθείη διορθώσεως, ἐν μὲν τῇ Καισαρείᾳ ἔθος τι διέδραμεν, ὥστε ποιεῖν ἕκαστον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στέγην, καθὼς προείρηται, ἐν δὲ Ἀσκάλωνι ἐξ ἡμισείας μοίρας τόν τε ἐπικείμενον καὶ τὸν ὑποκείμενον ποιεῖν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ μέσον συνιδόvτες καὶ τὸ ἀκόλουθον, τὸν μὲν ὑποκείμενον δύο μοίρας φαμὲν ἐν τῇ στέγῇ δεῖ παρέχειν, τὸν δὲ ἐπικείμενον μίαν, ὡς εἶναι δίμοιρον καὶ τρίτον. (3) Εἰ δὲ ἡ ἀνωτάτω δεηθείη στέγη ἡ πρὸς τοῖς δώμασι, δεῖ τὸν ὑποκείμενον ποιεῖν πᾶσαν τὴν στέγην συνδιδόvτων αὐτῷ πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν τοῖς δώμασι κεχρημένων, ἐν τῇ σανίδι καὶ τῇ ταύτης καθηλώσει, κατὰ ἀναλογίαν τῶν ἑαυτῶν οἰκημάτων. (4) Εἰ δὲ ἐν ταῖς στέγαις οἴνους ἢ ὄσπρια ἤ τι τοιοῦτον ἐν ὡρίοις ἀποτιθέασι, τῆς δοκώσεως διδόναι τοὺς ὑπερκειμένους τὸ δίμοιρον μέρος, τοῦ ὑποκειμένου παρέχοντος τὸ λοιπὸν τρίτον.1

Textual Note

Ed. Saliou 1996

Corrigenda Note

J. L. Rife adopts the reading of ὑποκείμενον (Genausensis gr. 23) instead of ὑπερκείμενον (Vaticanus Ottobonianus gr. 440); cf. Saliou 1996, p. 59.

Translation

(1) If the proprietors of co-owned land that is undeveloped want to erect a house and add an upper part—that is, someone would own the lower level, another the second level, another the third, and so on—either because of the collapse (of an earlier building), or because they bought the land with that intention, it is necessary with regard to the house to follow the precepts concerning the house. Moreover, regarding the floors, if, as has been said, they are new construction and did not exist from the beginning, each owner one must arrange his own floor up to the lathwork (2) If, when the floors have been assembled, repair to the first level is needed, the custom at Caesarea is that everyone makes their own floor, as has been said, but in Ascalon, the owner above and the owner below make (the floor) half and half. We adopt a practice that is between (the two) and consistent (with them). We say that the owner below must provide two parts to (make) the floor and the owner above one part, that is, two-thirds and one-third. (3) If an uppermost floor to support (roof-top) structures is needed, the owner below must make the whole floor, while all those who make use of the structures nevertheless contribute to the project in planks and nails, in proportion to the part of the building each owns. (4) If they store wine, beans, or some such seasonal produce on the floors, then the owners above (must) give two-thirds for the joists, (while) the lower one (must) provide the remaining one-third.

Translation Note

Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Saliou 1996

Works Cited

1 Julian of Ascalon, Le Traité d’urbanisme de Julien d’Ascalon: Droit et architecture en Palestine au VIe siècle, ed. Catherine Saliou, Travaux et mémoires du Centre du ercherche d’histoire et civilisation de Byzance, Collége de France. Mongraphies 9 (Paris: de Boccard, 1996), ch: 35.1-4.

Additional Bibliography

Mikhail J. Sjuzjumov, O Traktate Juliana Askalonita, Antičnaja Drevnostʹ i Srednie Veka : Sbornik Naučnych Trudov 1 (1960): 3–34
Besim S. Hakim, Julian of Ascalon’s Treatise on Construction and Design Rules from Sixth-Century Palestine, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians / Society of Architectural Historians 60 (2001): 4–25

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published January 20, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/56.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4.” 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 January 20, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/56.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4

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, “Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4”
Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Julian of Ascalon, From the Laws or Customs in Palestine 35.1-4”

Additional Credit:

TEI encoding by William L. Potter
Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife

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