Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

2. Roman History – The Brief Version EEE R oman history is usually divided into three periods based on the form of the central government: the “mon archy” or “regal period,” when kings ruled; the “Republic,” a more democratic government; and the “Empire,” when (natu rally) emperors ruled. (Note that Rome was an empire [small e] in the sense of “conquering power” centuries before emperors came to the throne. I will use the capitalized “Empire” to refer to the time and form of government.) These divisions are not necessarily as important for the legal system as they are for some other aspects of Roman life, but they do determine where law came from, and give a general background against which to set specifically legal developments. The first three sections of this chapter will give brief explanations of the forms of gov ernment that define these three periods. The fourth will men tion a slightly different way of dividing things up that is more closely tied to legal history. The final one explains the history of a specific institution that is especially important for Roman law: Roman citizenship.

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