Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

, a constitution is a generic name for a

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

enactment by a Roman emperor. It includes ''edicts'', ''decrees'' (judicial decisions) and ''rescripts'' (written answers to officials or petitioners). ''Mandata'' (instructions) given by the Emperor to officials were not Constitutions but created legal rules that could be relied upon by individuals. One of the most important constitutions issued by a Roman emperor was Caracalla's ''

Constitutio Antoniniana The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' ( Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...

'' of 212, also called the ''Edict of Caracalla'' or the ''Antonine Constitution'', which declared that all

free men "Free Men" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, which originally appeared in his collection '' The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein'' (1966) and was later collected in ''Expanded Universe''. It is copyrighted by ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

were to be given

Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

ship and all free women in the Empire were to be given the same rights as Roman women.

See also

References

Further reading