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The Colonate in the Roman Empire

The Colonate in the Roman Empire

The Colonate in the Roman Empire

Boudewijn Sirks, University of Oxford
January 2024
Available
Hardback
9781009172608
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    The fourth and fifth centuries AD gave rise to a particular phenomenon in the Roman Empire: the colonate. The colonate involved the fiscal regulation of a relationship of surety between landowners and farmers in the later Roman Empire and played a major role in agrarian and social relations, with implications for these farmers' freedom of movement and transmission of status. This study provides a clear and comprehensive reassessment of the legal aspects of the phenomenon, embedding them as far as possible in their social and economic contexts. As well as taking the innovative approach of working retrogradely, or backwards through time, the volume provides a thorough assessment of two critical sources, the Theodosian and Justinian Codes, and will therefore be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Roman law and the agricultural and social history of late antiquity.

    • Provides a comprehensive reassessment of the legal aspects of the colonate
    • Adopts an innovative approach to the Theodosian and Justinian Codes as valuable historical sources assessed within their original contexts
    • Presents all ancient sources in translation

    Reviews & endorsements

    'This book presents a meticulous and comprehensive analysis of ancient Roman normative texts, primarily drawn from the Codes of Theodosius and Justinian, pertaining to the institution of the colonate. It will undoubtedly serve as a valuable reference for those engaged in research on late antiquity, in particular thanks to the insights it offers into the economic and social changes of the period through its application of new historical-legal methods.' Kamil Sorka, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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    Product details

    January 2024
    Hardback
    9781009172608
    360 pages
    235 × 155 × 20 mm
    0.707kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • 1. The colonate in the east under Justinian (527/534–565/642)
    • 2. The colonate in the year 438 in Theodosius' code
    • 3. The colonate in the east 438–527
    • 4. The colonate in the west 438–ca. 506
    • 5. The colonate between Theodosius' Code and Diocletian, and the third century (438–293/268/249).
      Author
    • Boudewijn Sirks , University of Oxford

      Boudewijn Sirks is Emeritus Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford and an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College. He was formerly Professor of Private Law and Legal History at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt and is currently Member of the Direttivo of the Associazione Storico-Giuridica Costantiniana.