Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

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days. If he does not do so, let him be disinherited. Then in the second case, let my brother … Antonius be my heir, and let him accept my estate in the next 60 days. If he is not my heir, I give him as a legacy 750 denarii . I name as curator of my goods in camp, for their collection and restoration to Antonia Thermutha, mother of my heir, Hierax, son of Behax, elite sol dier of the same troop, the squad of Aebutius, so that she may guard it herself until my son and heir comes into his own and receives it from her. I give Hierax 500 denarii as a legacy. I give Antonia Thermutha, mother of my heir, 500 denarii as a legacy. I give my prefect 500 denarii as a legacy. As for my slave Cronio, I wish him to be free after my death so long as he handles everything correctly and hands it over to my heir or procurator, and that the manumission tax be paid out of my estate. Let fraud be absent from this will. [A list of witnesses, some of whom participated in the ritual, follows.] This illustrates the two different ways to leave property in • a will. Here four people are given fixed “legacies”; Satrianus (or, if he does not accept, Antonius) is “heir” to the rest of the remaining assets and liabilities of the estate, and in fact is correctly described as the “sole heir,” even though others profit from the will. The clause “all others are hereby disinherited” is designed • to protect the will in case Antonius had (or could be claimed to have) other direct descendants besides his son. They would have to be made co-heirs or (as here) explicitly disinherited.

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