Description
Book SynopsisThis pathfinding study looks at how homicide was treated in Roman law from the Roman monarchy through the dictatorship of Sulla (ca. 753–79 BC) to show how criminal law can reveal important aspects of the nature and evolution of political power.
Trade ReviewOverall, this is an enjoyable and well-researched work, which offers an interesting hypothesis that I hope will be a useful addition to the wider debate on Roman law. As stated above, however, one of its greatest strengths is its consideration of the wider implications of homicide in Roman society. Accordingly, it sheds a fascinating new light on the wider issues of power in the republican period and beyond.
* Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of Contents
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Killing and the King
- Chapter Two: Power of Life and Death: Pater and Res Publica
- Chapter Three: Killing and the Law, 509-450 B.C.E.
- Chapter Four: Murder Was Not a Crime, 449-81 B.C.E.
- Chapter Five: Capital Jurisdiction, 449-81 B.C.E.
- Chapter Six: License to Kill
- Chapter Seven: Centralization of Power and Sullan Ambiguity
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
