roman law
entries
the duel that changed rome
rome and alba longa staked the future of their cities on a duel to the death of three against three. the legend of the horatii and the curiatii and the mythic origin of the provocatio, the citizen's right to appeal to the people.
the dictator of the roman household
before governing the world the romans were governed by their own fathers. the terrifying power of the paterfamilias and the legal right to pass the capital sentence on his children.
the invention of the consulship
how to govern after outlawing the kings. the roman senate invents the divided magistracy of the two consuls and the power of the veto to prevent new tyrannies in the year 509 bce.
the untouchable politician of rome
the tribune of the plebs and the power of the veto. the sacrosanctitas, the magical legal shield that protected popular leaders and gave them the power to paralyse the senate and the whole republic.
the blood on the twelve tables
appius claudius's crime against young verginia unleashes military chaos. a father kills his daughter to save her from slavery, bringing down the decemvirs and clearing the way for the publication of the twelve tables in 449 bce.
the law that legalised love
the patricians prohibited by law any marriage with plebeians to shield their purity of blood. the pressure of the plebs forces through the lex canuleia in 445 bce and opens the first crack in the wall of power.