Salvus Iulianus
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Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Iulianus Aemilianus (c. 110 – c. 170), generally referred to as Salvius Julianus, or Julian the Jurist, or simply Julianus, was a well known and respected
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
,
public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
, and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served in the Roman imperial state. Of north African origin, he was active during the long reigns of the emperors
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
(r. 117–138),
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...
(r. 138–161), and
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
(r. 161–180), as well as the shorter reign of Marcus Aurelius' first co-Emperor,
Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
(r. 161–169). In the Roman government, Julianus gradually rose in rank through a traditional series of offices. He was successively
quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...
to the Emperor Hadrian (with double the usual salary),
plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of ...
,
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
, '' praefectus aerarii Saturni'', and '' praefectus aerarii militaris'', before assuming the high annual office of Roman
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
in 148. Julianus also served in the emperor's inner circle, the ''
consilium principis The ''consilium principis'' (advisers to the ''princeps'') was a council created by the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, in the latter years of his reign to control legislation in the deliberative institution of the Senate. The ''princeps'' (from Lat ...
'', which functioned something like a modern
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
, directing new legislation, but also sometimes like a court of law. "Hadrian organized it as a permanent council composed of members (jurists, high imperial functionaries of equestrian rank, and senators) appointed for life (''consiliarii'')." In the 4th-century ''
Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...
'', the Emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
's ''consilium principis'' included Julianus. Though Julianus for decades served several emperors in succession, at high levels of the Roman imperial government, to investigate the details of his jurisprudence his written works on law are the primary sources. "The task of his life consisted, in the first place, in the final consolidation of the edictal law; and, secondly, in the composition of his great ''Digest'' in ninety books."


Life and career

Julianus was born during the last years of the Emperor Trajan (r. 98–117), probably at the village of
Pupput Pupput, also spelled "Putput", "Pudput", "Pulpud" and "Pulpite" in Latin, sometimes located in Souk el-Obiod ou Souk el-Abiod ( ar, أبيض or "white market"), is a Colonia in the Roman province of Africa which has been equated with an archaeolo ...
near the Roman colony of
Hadrumetum Hadrumetum, also known by #Names, many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician Phoenician colonies, colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal Kingdom, Vandal and Uma ...
, on the east coast of
Africa Province Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...
(now modern
Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...
in
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
). Apparently he came from a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
-speaking family. At Hadrumetum, an inscription has been discovered which describes his career in office.Diana Bowder, editor, ''Who Was Who in the Roman World'' (Ithaca: Cornell University 1980) at 119. He studied law with
Javolenus Priscus Gaius Octavius Tidius Tossianus Lucius Javolenus Priscus was a Roman senator and jurist who flourished during the Flavian dynasty. Many of his judgments are quoted in the '' Digest''. Priscus served as suffect consul for the ''nundinium'' (perio ...
, the head of the ''Sabinian'' ''school'' of legal thought. Julianus refers to Javolenus in his mature legal writings. Even as a young man he was renowned for his learning. According to his contemporary the Roman jurist
Sextus Pomponius Sextus Pomponius was a jurist who lived during the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Other writers have expressed a view that the name Pomponius Sextus was shared by another jurist, although Puchta (Cursus der Institution, vol. ...
, Julianus (along with Aburnus Valens and Tuscianus) eventually came to lead for a time this very influential school of
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
. A student of Julianus, namely Sextus Caecilius Africanus, perhaps later followed as the head of this ''Sabinian school''.Adolph Berger, ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law'' (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society 1953), "Iulianus" at 522. During the
Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
the classical Roman law flourished. Two schools of legal thought contended: the ''Proculian'' (earlier linked to
Labeo ''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however, ...
) and the ''Sabinian''. It appears there was some rivalry between Julianus, who led the Sabinian, and another Roman jurist, a contemporary named
Publius Iuventius Celsus Publius Juventius Celsus Titus Aufidius Hoenius Severianus (AD 67– AD 130) — the son of a little-known jurist of the same name, hence also Celsus filius — was, together with Julian, the most influential ancient Roman jurist of the High Class ...
, who led the Proculian. Neither one quoted the other in his writings, apparently. Among long-standing, close colleagues of Julianus were the aforementioned jurists Africanus and Pomponius. During this period Hadrian (r.117–138) also appointed Julianus to revise into final form the
Praetor's Edict The Praetor's Edict ''(Edictum praetoris)'' in ancient Roman law was an annual declaration of principles made by the new ''praetor urbanus'' – the elected magistrate charged with administering justice within the city of Rome.Such Edicts were also ...
, which up until then had been announced annually. Thereafter, Iulianus became occupied with writing his own substantial commentary on developments in
Roman law Roman law is the law, 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 ...
, his celebrated ''Digestorum libri xc'' igesta in 90 books Under the next emperor,
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...
, Julianus continued serving in the imperial council, the ''consilium principis''. Subsequently, he became governor of Germania Inferior under Antoninus Pius, and later
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...
under the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Julianus then returned to his native region where, c. 168–169, he concluded his career as
proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Africa Province Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...
. He seems to have died during the co-reign of
Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
(r.161-169). Little is known of his private life. Yet Julianus (whose own date of birth is uncertain) evidently was related to the emperor
Didius Iulianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dal ...
(133–193, r.193). Perhaps through his daughter from Hadrumetum, who married into "one of the most prominent families of Mediolanum" (modern
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
), he became the grandfather of Didius Iulianus, or else his uncle. Yet Didius was unfortunately a notorious scoundrel, who nonetheless was evidently raised by the mother of the noble Emperor
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
(r.161–180).


Legal works


The ''Praetor's Edict''

Soon after 125, the emperor Hadrian appointed Julianus to collect and revise all the ''edicta praetorum'' or Praetors' Edicts available. For centuries each incoming
praetor urbanus Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
had issued these annual edicts, which announced his legal positions for the next year. "The contents of the praetorian Edict can be summed up as constituting the praetor's programme of office: he is announcing to the public, at the beginning of his term, how he intends to exercise his office." For centuries, until the end of the
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
(to 44 BC), this document had been a most influential and pervasive legal authority in
Roman law Roman law is the law, 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 ...
. By the 2nd century, however, the Praetor's Edict merely might adopt novel procedures to enforce new legislation made elsewhere, e.g., by imperial enactment. In a
senatus consultum A ''senatus consultum'' (Latin: decree of the senate, plural: ''senatus consulta'') is a text emanating from the senate in Ancient Rome. It is used in the modern phrase ''senatus consultum ultimum''. Translated into French as ''sénatus-consulte' ...
, Hadrian directed that the revision by Iulianus thereafter be made perpetual. Professor Michael Grant writes that his revision proved to be of some use to the poor. Another scholar writes, "The Edict, that masterpiece of republican jurisprudence, became stabilized. ... By order of
adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin language, Latin given name Adrianus (given name), Adrianus or Hadrianus (disambiguation), Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria (river), Adria from the Venetic language, Venetic and ...
the famous jurist Julian settled the final form of the praetorian and aedilician Edicts." Yet our sources for this major reform are "meagre and late", so that it "is difficult to tell what Julianus in fact did." A key feature of the Praetor's Edict was its organisational scheme, the order in which the various subjects of the law are presented. This sequence had obviously "grown up gradually from one generation to another. How far Julian's final redaction departs from the hitherto traditional arrangement we have not the means of judging save in some exceptional cases." Nonetheless, certain changes in the Edict wrought by Julianus are well known, e.g., regarding
intestate succession Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
, that affecting shares of inheritance among children in the ''Bonorum possessio unde liberi''. Moreover, his other alterations do not seem problematic. It was this received "edictal order of topics" that was already widely used in juristic works of the Principate, during the classical period of Roman Law. Among Roman jurists, "Julian's work on the Edict was traditionally regarded as of great importance she is repeatedly spoken of as ''compositor'', ''conditor'', ''ordinator'' of the Edict."


His ''Digesta'' in 90 books

Of his own writings, his principal work was the ''Digesta'', a systematic treatise on civil and praetorian law which was often cited by Roman legal writers. “It is a comprehensive collection of
responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
on real and hypothetical cases; in general, it followed the edictal system.” The works of Iulianus, in particular his ''Digesta'', "are among the most highly appreciated products of Roman juristic literature." Prof. Schulz, however, notes the reluctance of classical Roman jurists to formulate principles. "Even in the more theoretical works, such as Julian's... ''Digesta'', case law is dominant, and no attempt is made to translate the cases into abstract principles." This literature, however, does employ "casuistical form" rather than "simply strung together" ''responsa''.
" oblems are considered from the point of view of general theory, with the result that imagined cases play a considerable, perhaps even a predominant, part. But even so, a plain statement of the theoretical result of the cases, a formulation of the principle to be deduced from them, is avoided."
Other scholars remark on the ascendancy that his writings earned Julianus. According to Prof. Buckland, his presence worked to transcend the opposing schools or sects of Roman law which had continued for several centuries. Prof. Sohm states:
"His vast acquaintance with practical case-law, the ingenuity of his own countless decisions, his genius for bringing out, in each separate case, the general rule of law which, tersely and pithily put, strikes the mind with all the force of a brilliant aphorism and sheds its light over the whole subject around--these are the features which constitute the power of his work. Roman jurisprudence had completed its dialectic training under
Labeo ''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however, ...
and Sabinus, and the time had now arrived for applying to the immense mass of materials the principles, categories, and points of view that had been thus worked out. Julian's ''Digest'' exhibited Roman jurisprudence in all its strength, and its success was proportionately great. ... From the time of Salvius Julianus, and as a consequence of his labors, there was but one jurisprudence, and the lines on which it was progressing were those marked out by him."
The purpose of his ''Digesta'' was to expound the whole of Roman law. "It contains a collection of ''responsa'' of the most varied kinds: answers by letter, answers in disputations (to be inferred when the answer is introduced by ''dixi''), true ''responsa'' in the technical sense, and answers to questions which occurred to the author in the course of theoretical speculation."


Other works

It is known that "Julianus also wrote commentaries on works of two earlier, owlittle known jurists, Urseius Felix 'Urseius'', 4 booksand Minicius 'Minicius'', 6 books and a booklet ''De ambiguitatibus'' n doubtful questions"


Excerpts in ''Corpus Juris Civilis''

Following are short quotations of Julianus (c. 110 – c. 170) presented, chiefly from his ''Digesta'', also from his ''Minicius'' and his ''Urseius'', taken from among Julian's hundreds found in the ''
Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. It is also sometimes referred ...
'' (Byzantium 533), as commissioned and promulgated by the Emperor
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(r.527–565), namely, in that part of the ''Corpus'' called the '' Digesta Iustiniani'', in 50 books. These quotations are translated here by Alan Watson as ''The Digest of Justinian'', published by the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia 1985), two volumes. Traditional ''Digest'' citation (book, chapter, source) follows the quotation. *''libri 7 digestorum'': "If the seller has misrepresented the condition of a farm but not its measurements, he is still liable to the buyer; for example, suppose he said there were fifty ''jugera'' of vineyard and fifty of meadow, and the meadow is found to be larger but there are one hundred ''jugera'' in all." 19.1.22 *''libri 13 digestorum'': "When we indeed agree on the thing delivered but differ over the grounds of delivery, I see no reason why the delivery should not be effective. ... Again, if I give you coined money as a gift and you receive it as a loan, it is settled law that the fact that we disagree on the grounds of delivery and acceptance is no barrier to the transfer of ownership to you." 41.1.36 *''libri 15 digestorum'': "It is not possible for every point to be specifically dealt with either in statutes or in ''senatus consulta''; but whenever in any case their sense is clear, the president of the tribunal ought to proceed by analogical reasoning and declare the law accordingly." 1.3.12 *''libri 27 digestorum'': "We cannot follow a rule of law in instances where there has been a decision against the ''ratio juris''. 1.3.15 ere, the latin text at the top of the article: ''In his, quae contra rationem iuris constituta sunt, non possumus sequi regulam iuris''.*''libri 54 digestorum'': "The nature of a cavil, which the Greeks call ''sorites'', is this, that the argument leads by short steps from what is evidently true to what is evidently false." 50.17.65 *''libri 59 digestorum'': " person conceived after his grandfather's death can neither take the estate on the latter's intestacy as ''suus heres'' nor receive ''bonorum possessio'' as cognate relative, because the ''Law of the Twelve Tables'' calls to the inheritance a person who has been alive at the time of the death of the man whose property is in question." 38.16.6 *''libri 84 digestorum'': "Age-encrusted custom is not undeservedly cherished as having almost statutory force, and this is the kind of law which is said to be established by use and wont. For given that statutes themselves are binding upon us for no other reason than that they have been accepted by the judgment of the populace, certainly it is fitting that what the populace has accepted without any writing shall be binding upon everyone. What does it matter whether the people declares its will by voting or by the very substance of its actions? Accordingly, it is absolutely right to accept the point that statutes may be repealed not only by vote of the legislature but also by the silent agreement of everyone expressed through desuetude." 1.3.32:1 *''libri 88 digestorum'': "Whenever anyone stipulates for oil under a time clause or other condition, its value ought to be assessed when the obligation vests; for from that moment it can be sued for. If it is otherwise, the loss is the debtor's." 45.1.59 *''libri 6 minicius'': "If it is agreed that a landlord should not bring an action against a tenant and there was a lawful ground for the agreement, the tenant nevertheless can bring an action against the landlord." 2.14.56 *''libri 3 urseius ferax'': "A man agreed to buy land from one who had mortgaged it to a third party, provided that the vendor discharged the encumbrance before the first of July. The question was whether the purchaser could effectively bring the action on purchase to require the vendor to redeem the land. The reply was: Let us consider what was agreed between the parties. If their agreement was that come what may, the vendor should redeem the land before the first of July, the action on purchase will lie for its redemption and the sale will not be regarded as conditional, as though the purchaser said, 'I will buy the land, if you redeem it by the first of July' or 'provided that you redeem it in that time from Titius.' But if the purchase were made under condition, there will be no action to get the condition realized." 18.1.41


Influence and legacy


Among Roman jurists

His opinions influenced many other jurists, thanks to the clarity and finesse of his reasoning, as is demonstrated by the fact that, in the Digest, there are 457 fragments written by Iulianus. His name also appears first in the list of contributing jurisprudents prepared by order of Justinian, the ''Index Florentinus''. Centuries after his death, Emperor Justinianus would refer to him as ''legum et edicti perpetui suptilissimus conditor''. The 2nd-century ''Digesta'' of Salvius Iulianus was repeatedly excerpted, hundreds of times, by the compilers of the 6th-century
Pandectae The ''Digest'', also known as the Pandects ( la, Digesta seu Pandectae, adapted from grc, πανδέκτης , "all-containing"), is a name given to a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine e ...
(or ''Digest''), created under the authority of the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
emperor
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(r. 527–565). This imperial ''Pandect'' or ''Digest'' (part of the
Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. It is also sometimes referred ...
) was meant by the emperor to serve as a compendium of juristic experience and learning, being drawn from the works of prior Roman jurists. "It has been thought that Justinian's compilers used ulian's ''Digest''as the basis of their scheme: in any case nearly 500 passages are quoted from it." Julian died during the reign of the philosophical emperor
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
(r.161-180), who described him in a
rescript In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation. Over ...
as ''amicus noster''. "His fame did not lessen as time went on, for later Emperors speak of him in the most laudatory terms. ... Justinian speaks of him as the most illustrious of the jurists."


Among modern scholars

" me modern authorities would regard ulianusas the greatest of all the Roman jurists, not excluding even
Papinian Aemilius Papinianus (; grc, Αἰμίλιος Παπινιανός; 142 CE–212 CE), simply rendered as Papinian () in English, was a celebrated Roman jurist, ''magister libellorum'', attorney general (''advocatus fisci'') and, after the dea ...
." "With Iulianus, the Roman
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
reached its apogee." Professor
William Warwick Buckland William Warwick Buckland, FBA (11 June 1859 – 16 January 1946) was a scholar of Roman law, Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Cambridge from 1914 to 1945. Life William Warwick Buckland was educated in France, at Hurstpierpoint ...
and Professor Peter Stein take stock of Iulianus, his rôle and style, and compare him to a great jurist who flourished during the 18th century:
No other jurist exercised so great an influence on the destinies of the law."
His ''Digest'' was
a comprehensive treatise on both
civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...
and
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
ian law. ... The principal characteristics of Julian's work seem to be a very lucid style and a clear recognition of the fact that legal conceptions must move with the times. He seems to have played somewhat the part which
Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...
did in English law. He did a great work of co-ordination and generalisation, sweeping away unreal and pedantic distinctions. rof.Karlowa justly observes that the appearance of Julian was epoch-making.
Professor Fritz Schulz places the Roman jurist Iulianus in the context of the growth and development of Roman law, praising his personal contribution made when Roman jurisprudence reached its full height:
The heroic age of creative geniuses and daring pioneers had passed away with the
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
. Now their ideas were to be developed to the full and elaborated down to the last detail. The culminating point in the curve of this development lies unquestionably with the age of Trajan and Hadrian, when the
Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
itself reached its zenith. Julian's ''Digesta'' are the greatest product of Roman jurisprudence; they dominate legal science till the end of the Principate. After Julian a slight decline is sometimes observable, but on the whole the science of law remained on the same high level till the middle of the third century.Fritz Schulz, ''History of Roman Legal Science'' (Oxford University 1946, 1967) at 99.


See also

*
Africanus Africanus is Latin for "African". It may refer to: People Ancient Roman cognomen * Africanus Fabius Maximus, the younger son of Quintus Fabius Maximus (consul 45 BC) and an unknown wife * Cresconius Africanus, a Latin canon lawyer of uncertain dat ...
*
Pomponius The gens Pomponia was a plebs, plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into Roman Empire, imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of ...
* Sabinus *
Labeo ''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however, ...
*
Celsus Celsus (; grc-x-hellen, Κέλσος, ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work, ''The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: grc-x-hellen, Λόγ ...
*
Papinian Aemilius Papinianus (; grc, Αἰμίλιος Παπινιανός; 142 CE–212 CE), simply rendered as Papinian () in English, was a celebrated Roman jurist, ''magister libellorum'', attorney general (''advocatus fisci'') and, after the dea ...
*
Ulpian Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...
*
Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
*
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julianus, Salvius 2nd-century births 2nd-century deaths 2nd-century Romans Ancient Roman jurists Imperial Roman consuls Imperial Roman praetors Romans from Africa Roman governors of Africa Roman governors of Germania Inferior Roman governors of Hispania Tarraconensis Salvii Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain