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Period: 31 BCE to 284
Principate
Gaius Octavianus Augustus officially became emperor (princeps) in 31 BC, when he defeated Mark Antony at the Battle of Actio. He formally restored the republic by leaving the government to the Roman Senate. In reality, however, he retained all power in the state through a number of lifelong powers and titles. He transformed the Roman form of government from a republic into a monarchy. -
212
Constitutio Antoniniana
Caracalla published the famous edict of the Constitutio Antoniniana. After Caracalla everything changed and everybody had the same law called ius civile. All free inhabitants of the Roman Empire had Roman citizenship. During his reign (211-217) there was the biggest number of rights. -
Period: 284 to 305
Diocletian
Diocletian divided the empire for better administration. It was tetrarchy (2 Augusti, 2 Caesars). In 285 Diocletian made Maximian his co-emperor (Augusti). Since 293 Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were Caesars. -
Period: 284 to 641
Dominate
Diocletian ascended the throne in 284. -
295
Codex Gregorianus
It is named by Gregorianus - the author. It is the oldest private collection of constitutions - roughly from Hadrian (117-138) to Diocletian (295). The exact date of the publication is unknown. -
295
Codex Hermogenianus
It is also named after its author, the lawyer Hermogenian, who was an influential official. It is a private collection of imperial constitutions. It was created in its original form around the year 295, later it was published again and expanded especially by imperial constitutions from the years 364-365. -
Period: 395 to 476
The Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was a state unit that was established after the division of the Roman Empire in 395. The Western Roman Empire with its capital Rome fell in 476 when the Germanic ruler Odoaker deposed the last de facto Western Roman emperor Romulus Augustus. -
Period: 395 to 1453
Eastern Roman Empire
It was the continuation of the Roman Empire. The center was in Constantinople. The division (Eastern & Western Empire) was still relative, as the legislature remained common to the whole empire until 438. After that the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II established that the validity of the laws of one emperor was not immediately automatically assumed in the other part of the empire, it was up to emperor's discretion. Byzantine empire disappeared when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople. -
436
Codex Theodosianus
It is a collection of laws from the time of late antiquity. In 436 it was issued by the East Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This is an important official codification of all law at the time, including in particular all imperial regulations issued since 312. -
506
Lex Romana Visigothorum (Breviarium Alaricianum)
It was proclaimed in 506 by the Visigothic king Alarich II. He divided Roman law into new law (leges) and old law (ius). His sources were Theodosius' Codex, Gaia's textbook, an excerpt from Paul's Sentences, several constitutions from Gregorian and Hermogenian, and Papinian's response. -
Period: 527 to 565
Justinian
Justinian was the Eastern Roman emperor from 527 until his death in 565. He is best known for Corpus Iuris Civilis (body of civil law). This was an effort to create a unified system of law and eliminate conflicts between legal norms. This was done by a commission headed by an excellent lawyer Tribonian. His compilation: Codex, (Code) Digesta, (jurisprudence) Instituta, books for teaching, textbooks Novellae (latest statues). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbsxAsmNwzU -
654
Liber Iudiciorum
It is a set of laws first promulgated by king Chindasuinth. In 654 his son king Recceswinth published law code again but enlarged. -
726
Ecloga
Leo III with his son Constantine issued a new legal code called Ecloga. -
Period: 1050 to 1140
Irnerius
Irnerius was an Italian lawyer and also founder of the school of glossators. He is behind medieval reception of Roman law. He taught Corpus iuris civilis to students at the University of Bologna. Irnerius introduced the custom of explaining Roman law using glosses. Gloesses are originally only brief explanations at the edges of pages. His students Martinus Gosia, Bulgarus, Jacobus de Boragine and Hugo de Porta Ravennate continued with his work. -
1075
Dictatus papae
It is a papal bull (legal act by pope) issued in 1075 by Pope Gregory VII. It meant a catolical reform. The meaning of it was the complete emancipation of the Latin Church as a universal Christian institution, run by the Pope.