Western Civilization I / Unit 7 WC1 0623 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Roman Law: Overlap, Caracalla's Grant, and the Emperor as Law
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The idea
Provinces kept their law under Roman loyalty; the trial of Jesus is the anchor's case of overlap. In two twelve Caracalla granted citizenship to all free men and women, the Constitutio Antoniniana by convention, to ease taxation in the anchor's reading.
In practice
Precedent, spirit over letter, presumption of innocence: the anchor's claims.
Where people slip
Imperial decrees were unappealable. The emperor was the law.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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